Counties in Area:
Tama
Contact for Area:
Lori Johnson, Tama County Empowerment Coordinator
Tama County Public Health & Home Care
129 W. High Street,
Toledo, IA 5 2342,
(641) 484-4788, FAX: (641) 484-5447,
E-mail:
ljohnson@tamacounty.org
www.tamacounty.org/empowerment
Vision: All
children (age 0 – 5) living in Tama County will be healthy, have a safe,
secure, nurturing home and childcare environment, and be ready to succeed in
school.
Mission: To
enhance the quality of life in Tama County by promoting strong, healthy
families. Barriers will be overcome and
programs and services coordinated through community collaboration.
Purpose: To
ensure the collaboration within our community will provide our families with
children 0 – 5 years old, the resources and opportunities necessary for their
children to be healthy, safe, and secure, and ready to succeed in school, and
have available affordable, high quality child care, and access to a preschool
opportunity.
Community
Plan Priorities:
How we are collaborating to impact the priorities:
The Tama County Empowerment Board meets every other month
and as needed. The Board includes
childcare providers, service providers, education, business, Department of
Human Services, Board of Supervisors, Public Health, North Tama School
District, Meskwaki Settlement School, South Tama School District, Clergy, and
citizens from Tama County.
These Board members work together to create new initiatives,
strengthen existing programs regarding our initiatives, activities, and
programs available for children and families in Tama County, to eliminate
duplication of services and focusing on our priorities.
Sub-committees met and made recommendations to the Board
regarding funding, preschool scholarships, and professional development
activities.
Identify
services/programs funded by Community Empowerment:
|
Early Childhood Fund
|
Child Care Consultant, Training and Retainment, Provider
Support Program, Child Care Provider Training
|
|
School Ready Fund
|
Home Visitation, Health Care Coordination, Empowerment
Coordinator, Infant Toddler Specialist, Family Nutrition Specialist, Stork’s
Nest, Parenting Class, Dental Hygienist, Interpreter, Developmental
Screening, Preschool & Respite Scholarships, Lead Care Coordination, Safe
Kids, Happy Bear, Developmental Services, Professional Development,
Low-income Preschool Support, Quality Improvement, Training and Retainment
|
Key Identified Need/Priority: Parenting Education and Support
Measurable Goal:
Increased knowledge reported after education given, Increase in client
participation
Why
this important: In February 2001, the strangulation and
mutilation of a newborn infant (“Baby Chelsea”) by her desperate teenage mother
in our county. The baby was found near
the Chelsea water tower, across the street from her mother’s home, face down in
the snow wearing only a blue scarf.
Attempting to dispose of the infant and evidence of the offense, she
attempted to conceal the child’s body, by burning it. The baby’s mother was described as a junior, who was a popular
girl who played for South Tama Junior Varsity Basketball Team, was quite,
nearly a straight-A student who was college-bound, and had received academic
letters of achievement.
Tama County has a high incidence
of teen pregnancies, low birth weight babies, high poverty rates, high
substance abuse rates, lack of drug-alcohol free activities, high child abuse
rates, low high school graduation rates, high minority out of home placements,
and is seeing an increasing acceptance of violence.
State Result Linkage: