Summit On Youth Organizations, Individuals Gather To Discuss Issues Involving Children’s Services In Watauga County By Mike Shands Residents and organizations that care about youth in Watauga County should be sure to mark Monday, June 19 on their calendars. That’s when dozens of individuals and agency representatives will gather for the 2006 Watauga County Summit on Youth at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parents are welcome to attend the Summit on Youth to discuss issues and solutions concerning children’s services in Watauga County. Photos by Mark Mitchell Sponsored by the Watauga County Extension and Community Association and the Council for Children’s Community of Advocates in Charlotte, the summit is designed to identify policy initiatives and champions that address emerging issues and service shortfalls impacting the quality of life for ages birth through 17. It will bring those who are dealing firsthand with youth together with those who have the wherewithal to do something about issues impacting that segment of the population. “I think it’s going to be a really powerful day. I think anybody who cares about youth and can be there needs to be there,” said Nancy Reigel, the summit planning committee’s co-chairwoman. “This is going to make a lot of people’s jobs more meaningful and more effective by being there.” Some of those scheduled to participate in the summit include local elected officials, law enforcement and juvenile court system personnel plus representatives of the numerous agencies that serve youth in the High Country such as the Children’s Council, Western Youth Network, county health and social services departments, the Children’s Playhouse and Watauga County 4-H. Summit On Youth Schedule 8:30 a.m. – Registration & Learning Tour 9 a.m. – Welcome 9:05 a.m. – Sharings from Learning Tour 9:20 a.m. – Keynote Address 10 a.m. – Break 10:15 a.m. – “The State of Youth in Watauga,” data, implications and panel discussion 11 a.m. – Breakout: What are the issues, and what do we do? Noon – Lunch 1 p.m. – Group Readouts: identify allies and synergies 1:30 p.m. – A view for creating greater possibilities 2:40 p.m. – Breakout: Self selection of priorities to address 3:30 p.m. – Group feedback with action items and benchmarks of progress 4 p.m. – Wrap-up “If there are all these organizations that deal with youth, and all of them are concerned and worried about being able to fulfill what they’re trying to accomplish for youth, let’s bring them to the table and let the people who can do something about it hear about it in a constructive way,” Reigel said. “What we want to do is really ferret out those things that we, the community, can do something about because if you bring the community together there’s an awful lot that can be done.” Summit participants will: * Examine the services, challenges, gaps and overlaps of the community support system for youth, * Hear the experiences, challenges and opportunities of young people living in Watauga County, * Identify growing issues and risks for youth in Watauga County, * Clarify the public policy issues and questions these imply, * Invite input from subject matter experts, public officials and other members of the community and * Create an action plan that can be put before the community and its decision-makers. Guest Participants Dr. Jolie Bain Pillsbury, a nationally recognized child advocate expert, will serve as the summit’s keynote speaker. Pillsbury has helped achieve state-level system reforms in 24 states and has worked closely with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Danforth Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trust. The Summit on Youth will address a wide range of issues affecting Watauga County children ages birth to 17. Brett Loftis, another experienced child advocate, will also attend the summit and participate in a panel discussion. Loftis is the executive director of the newly formed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Council for Children and Children’s Law Center, one of the largest legal and child advocacy organizations on the East Coast. “Not only will we have people in Watauga County knowing what the issues are, but we’ll have people from outside who have also dealt with these issues in a broader context and who can bring their insight into what can be done,” Reigel said. Survey Says Reigel has sent a survey to all of the local organizations that serve youth asking them what their roles with youth are, what their major issues and concerns are and what they are doing about them. Agencies are supposed to return the surveys to Reigel before the summit so that she can compile a list of those issues. “They’ll spend the morning of the summit kind of working through what are the issues and honing down on those things that this group of people can do something about,” she said. “I think they will discover that they share several issues and concerns with other agencies.” Those issues could range from transportation to funding to recruiting volunteers to the creation of a countywide youth center. Organizations invited and/or planning on attending the Summit on Youth Elected Representatives of Watauga County, Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils Watauga County Schools Watauga County Department of Social Services Watauga County Health Department Local Law Enforcement Personnel Children’s Council The Playhouse Watauga County 4-H Western Youth Network Hospitality House OASIS Department of Juvenile Justice New River Behavioral Healthcare Alcohol/Drug Council Parent to Parent Family Support Network of the High Country High Country Amigos Blue Ridge Dispute Settlement Center Watauga County Schools Tobacco Prevention Program Watauga County Parks and Recreation Mountain Alliance Hunger Coalition High Country United Way “Transportation is a huge problem in this county because people are in pockets,” Reigel said. “A lot of these kids have both parents working, and they can’t get to where they need to be.” The format should provide a good idea of where service overlaps and gaps are, which should lead to increased efficiency by providers. The summit’s afternoon portion will be devoted to developing initiatives and identifying champions who will help drive those initiatives. All of those attending the summit will receive a resource binder with a summary of the survey results plus contact information for the various child service providers in the county. Reigel said that she is expecting a large turnout for the summit. The $15 registration fee to attend the summit is due by Saturday, June 10, and includes lunch, breaks and resource binder with information about all of the organizations participating. The late registration fee is $20. Display table space for organizations serving or supporting youth in Watauga County is also available by contacting Reigel. For more information or to register call Reigel at (828) 268-0637 or send an e-mail to nancy@reigelridge.com.