The Commission on Children and Families, at the beginning of each month, will be providing readers with information about our commission. This commission is required by the state and provides grants to various projects and programs throughout our county.

As the months go by we will be letting you know about all the funded projects and what the various programs are up to.

I thought I’d start by giving you a general view of this commission. First, we have our Vision Statement – a wonderful wish for Grant County and its families: “Grant County is a place where today’s children will want to raise tomorrow’s families.”

The responsibilities of the Commission on Children and Families, in regards to children and families, are community planning; awareness, advocacy, and allocation of resources; monitoring and evaluation; and advising county court.

The commission also has some basic community priorities. These priorities are:

1. Provide support for strong nurturing families.

2. Provide early childhood supports.

3. Prevent alcohol and drug use, and then provide treatment.

4. Increase community involvement and provide collaboration among community partners.

5. Reduce juvenile crime through prevention efforts and provide treatment to youth already in the system.

The commission is made up of mostly volunteers, with the exception of Dana Brooks, the director of the commission; Nancy Carr, the administrative assistant; and Kerryann Woomer, the Grant County Program prevention manager.

Next month, we will take a look at the volunteers who are the Commission on Children and Families.

Kathy Currey is a member of the Grant County Commission on Children and Families.