From January to May of 2007, the Rice County Growing Up Healthy Campaign conducted twenty-two community dialogs with 161 participants.  Twelve of the 90-minute dialogs were in English, seven were in Spanish, and three were in Somali. Participants were asked to identify what they worry about most with regards to the health and safety of their children, what they would like to see changed to alleviate these worries, and asked to give feedback on specific existing programs and services within the county that serve families with young children.  During the summer of 2008, the Rice County Growing Up Healthy Community Leaders and service providers participated in similar conversations.

Over the course of these community dialogs many diverse issues were raised, but a number of common themes emerged.  Topics that were discussed most frequently included:

Ø    Health: Specifically the barriers that come when one lacks insurance

Ø    Safety: Community members are concerned about youth having safe places to play, child abduction, and traffic safety

Ø    Access to resources and services: Many participants expressed a lack of knowledge of what services and resources are available, difficulty navigating services/resources, lack of transportation to services, the need for more activities for children, and the problem of stigmatization of those who do access resources

Other topics that were brought up at multiple meetings included the lack of affordable housing and affordable childcare, as well as issues immigrants face including fear of deportation and accessing resources. Multiple groups mentioned a need for better understanding among diverse groups and cultural trainings.

Group participants also discussed solutions to community issues, including more safety education, a greater police presence, childcare co-ops, indoor space for recreation in the winter months, and many other suggestions.

Growing Up Healthy is now looking at ways to bring the community together to address these issues.  As we move through the fall and winter months, opportunities to take action and make positive community change will be identified. Please stay posted!

Here’s a great example of changing the system without having to get the State Legislature to pass a new bill… The Northfield Early Childhood Initiative Coalition has teamed up with the Outdoor Pool and Booker, the Northfield Book Bus, to offer 1 day pool passes to the people who live in the neighborhoods Booker services.  The idea is based on the model used by the Twin Cities libraries that offer one day passes to local museums and other attractions.  It is an easy way to provide access to families who might not otherwise have access to programs and activities in Northfield.  Because the pool and the library are both City of Northfield entities, it was a logical place to start, but the hope is that in the future there will be other kinds of passes available on Booker, too.  For now, the Early Childhood Initiative Coalition is just excited to have facilitated such a great program for families with young children in Northfield.

Growing Up Healthy has contracted with Grasstops, Inc. to help us set a policy agenda.  Why? Because the reality of addressing health disparities in Rice County means that we are likely going to need to make some policy changes.  Anne Bomstad-Miller, Executive Director of Grasstops is working with us to help us determine what, if any, policy changes at the local, county or state level might make life easier and better for families with young kids.  Anne is incorporating information from our original dialog series conducted in 2007, along with conversations she will be having with our advisory board, some of the direct service staff from the partner organizations, and our newly hired neighborhood leaders.  We hope to have list of potential policy changes to consider some time this summer…