The Youth Meritorious Award Year-End Luncheon was held on June 13 at the Christ Reformed Church in Hagerstown. Youth Meritorious Award nominees and winners from the 2005-2006 school year and their families were invited to attend. The Washington County Board of County Commissioners and Delegate Robert McKee were welcomed as guests of honor. Several Washington County Community Partnership for Children & Families (WCCP) Board members were also in attendance.

The Youth Meritorious Award winners are chosen based on their scholastic achievements, social endeavors, leadership qualities, family activities, community service activities, and other positive characteristics. Washington County middle and high school-aged youth are eligible for this honor. Guidance counselors, principals and teachers from public and private schools and leaders of youth organizations provide the nominations. Each month, the WCCP Community Outreach Committee, a WCCP Board subcommittee, makes a recommendation to the County Commissioners of youth to be selected for the award that month. At a monthly County Commissioner meeting, the Commissioners present the Youth Meritorious Award to the youth and the youth is honored with a plaque and a savings bond. Congratulations to all the Youth Meritorious Award nominees and winners from the 2005-2006 school year!

Pictured Above: (from left to right) Zack Valko, Commissioner Greg Snook, Amanda Crowl, Commissioner Jim Kercheval, Sarah Hull, Commissioner Dori Nipps, Heaven Burkhammer, Commissioner Bill Wivell and Cory Shank

Congratulations to the Washington County Health Department for their recent award of $108,897.00 in Comprehensive Teen Pregnancy Prevention Strategies Funds. The program proposal developed by the Health Department and the Washington Community Partnership for Children & Families (WCCP) has four major components: 1) a public awareness campaign utilizing multiple media services targeting parents and teens, 2) awareness presentations to various community groups, 3) training to develop the skills of local agencies and organizations so that researched-based, model prevention programs can be expanded and implemented and 4) the acquisition of materials that will enable the distribution of educational and public awareness information. For more information, please contact Melissa Nearchos, WCCP Senior Project Coordinator, at 240-313-2097.

The Washington County Community Partnership for Children & Families (WCCP) has made progress in developing and adopting strategies for impacting Washington County’s priority Result Areas for Child Well-Being. The WCCP began soliciting project ideas from the community in February of this year that would impact Washington County’s priority Result Areas for Child Well-Being. Following the receipt of the idea submittals, the Community Partnership Team (CPT), a WCCP Board subcommittee, convened to consider the idea submittals, discuss other community needs uncovered in previous needs assessments and develop a recommendation of strategies to be presented to the WCCP Board. The following strategies were recommended by the WCCP Board and approved by the Washington County Board of County Commissioners:

School-Based Health Centers Expansion

The School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) deliver comprehensive services that are integrated with existing school health and pupil personnel services in support of educational goals. The program expands upon the delivery of traditional school health services by promoting wellness (preventative health) activities and is currently operational in two sites within the County (Western Heights Middle School and South Hagerstown High School (SHHS)). The expansion of the program to the SHHS site during the 2005-2006 school year at the encouragement of parents, school personnel and community members clearly demonstrated support for the program in addressing previously unmet needs within the community. Expansion to a third site, Williamsport High School (WHS), has been targeted for the 2006-2007 school year. Both the SHHS and WHS expansions are requiring specific building renovations that can be supported by this one-time only funding. These renovations are necessary as newly adopted SBHC regulations include specific facility space requirements that would exclude both schools as currently constructed as certifiable SBHC sites. In addition, one-time-only funding will include the purchase of start-up equipment and clinic supplies for WHS’s SBHC.

Project Life Saver

Project Life Saver is a tracking system that consists of a transmitter (i.e. small wrist bracelet) worn by a child with developmental disabilities (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mental Retardation, Down Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury, etc.) who might have limited verbal skills and be at risk of wandering. Adaptations may be made to wear the transmitter in another method more comfortable to the child; however, the transmitter must be worn at all times (24 hours a day/7 days a week). The device transmits a signal for up to a one-mile radius, allowing search and rescue efforts to be conducted quickly, potentially finding the child within minutes. This project is endorsed by several agencies within Washington County, including law enforcement. The tracking equipment would be inspected and tested on a monthly basis and could be sustained through a small maintenance fee paid by the recipients of the service.

Born Learning Campaign

This strategy calls for the implementation of the United Way of America’s Born Learning Campaign (BLC) to target all Washington County parents/caregivers of young children. The BLC is a nationally developed, model, early learning educational campaign utilized by over 60% of United Way affiliates across the country. The goals of a local campaign are to: 1) educate parents and caregivers so that they understand that enhancing children’s development in the early years leads to greater success in school and in life, 2) enhance the skills of parents and early caregivers, and 3) increase the utilization of existing services and resources that enriches the development of young children. This program consists of a media campaign (TV, radio, print, newspaper, billboard, Web banners), public service announcements and the distribution of educational materials already developed by the Ad Council. The BLC advises parents and child caregivers on how to incorporate enriching learning activities into the everyday routines of young children in order to promote their early development and readiness for school. A Campaign Coordinator would be hired to oversee this media campaign, conduct outreach to educate the community, and gain additional sponsoring partners.

Hunters Green Business Center Transit Needs

Hopewell Valley/Hunters Green Business Center is located north of I-70, along Hopewell Road and Route 63. The Business Center is home to over 20 businesses and distribution centers, which employ over 2,000 persons. Currently, there are an estimated 500 job vacancies within these businesses collectively. The Department of Social Services (DSS) reports that Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) clients are unable to access these positions due to the lack of transportation. Approximately 72% of these TCA clients are located within a ½ mile of an existing County Commuter route. DSS and the County Commuter have developed a pilot project to transport the TCA clients from the designated County Commuter stops to the Hunters Green Business Center employers. Utilizing the data collected on ridership from this pilot project, it is the intent that the County Commuter would be able to apply for State/Federal funding to sustain and/or expand this transportation service given the documented need for service.

With the Washington County Board of County Commissioners’ approval of these four strategies, the WCCP has presented the strategies to the Governor's Office for Children for final approval for implementation.