6 A Strong Foundation For Our Youth

#6

A Strong Foundation For Our Youth

Supporting the future of our community starts now and includes providing the tools, education and community resources to stabilize families, ensure the safety and well-being of children and promote self-sufficiency. The Next 10 will unite resources and partners to support our youth from birth through college, ensuring opportunity for future generations.

Our children are the most precious asset we have—our investment in them is an investment in our community’s future. I celebrate The Next 10 for its commitment to ensuring our community is a better place for this generation and those to come.”

TIFFANY MATHIS

Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois

Bolster Early Childhood Education

The 2015 Sangamon Success report commissioned by the Continuum of Learning identified the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) as the #1 recommendation for our community to adopt as the principle, local means to help low-income, first-time mothers get their children off to a good start. NFP is a nationally recognized, evidence-based, community health program that serves low-income women pregnant with their first child. Each new mom is partnered with a registered nurse early in her pregnancy and receives ongoing nurse home visits. NFP began operating locally through SIU School of Medicine in spring 2017 through start-up funding provided by the Community Foundation, Memorial Health System and HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Now, SIU School of Medicine is poised to expand the program while also improving the effectiveness of service coordination with other existing home visiting programs administered by Sangamon County Department of Public Health, Springfield Public School District #186, Springfield Urban League, and others. Strengthening these partnerships and programs will provide the most potential for changing lives at the earliest possible stages.

Develop A Community-Based Work Program For Youth

Youth employment programs offer opportunities to help young people, especially disadvantaged youth, gain the financial knowledge, skills and access to resources necessary to effectively manage finances through adulthood. These programs address a broad range of vocational skills and help youth gain the abilities and training necessary to be successful in transitioning to adulthood and careers. The Next 10 will support the coordination of a community-based work program for our youth—including creating urban/rural connections with neighboring communities—and help connect them to opportunities. This will include establishing partnerships with employers and integrating financial education into youth employment programs, as well as providing mentorship programs and support for high school students to identify college and/or workforce training pathways.

Promising Ideas

» Continue public school facility improvements throughout Sangamon County » Coordinate and share best practices among youth mentoring programs » Reinvention of Kidzeum as an essential component of the education infrastructure

DID YOU KNOW?

Illinois’ child poverty rate has been stagnant since 1990, at about 17%. More than twice the

percentage of Black and Latinx children live in poverty in Illinois compared with White children.

More millennials left Illinois than any other age demographic from 2011 to 2014, making the state the 2nd-biggest loser of young individuals nationally. The state’s youth outmigration problem threatens the state’s—and Springfield’s—long-term financial stability and economic vitality.

Launched in 2007, the Continuum of Learning is a multi-sector initiative aimed at improving Sangamon County’s economic future through increased educational attainment of its citizens. The project focuses on education across the

lifespan, from cradle to career.