MINUTES
MANSFIELD ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 (No Jan. 2009 meeting –snowed out)
6:30-8:00 PM
Council Chambers- Town Hall
PRESENT: K. Grunwald (staff), A. Bladen (Chair), L. Dahn, R. Leclerc (staff), J. Stoughton (staff), J. Goldman, J. Higham, C. Guerreri, J. Higham, B. Lehmann, S. Baxter (staff), L. Dahn, D. McLaughlin, Liz Buczynski, Maria Gageonea
REGRETS: S. Daley, N. Hovorka, K. Paulhus, J. Greene
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ITEM |
DISCUSSION |
OUTCOME
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Open
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-Welcome: Chair A. Bladen called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM. -Vote to adopt the Minutes.
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The minutes of the Dec. 3, 2008 meeting were accepted as written. |
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Leadership Work Group |
-Update from Leadership Work Group-Power point & Survey : S. Baxter delivered a powerpoint presentation on the work of this group. K. Grunwald distributed a memo from Mansfield 2020 seeking input into the townwide strategic plan. C. Guerreri strongly suggested including this memo to Graustein as part of the review of the Community Planning grant. This shows strong support from the town for the work of MAC, and acknowledgement of the expertise that MAC brings to this process.
- Discuss commitment to Blueprint and Actions |
Complete and distribute the survey, if you haven’t already done so. Review questions about the identified Action Plan, and come prepared to answer these questions at the March meeting.
Volunteer to do a presentation of the Blueprint to a community group.
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Small Groups |
IT Group: A letter was sent to the UConn Work/Life group and a meeting was held with Tom Callahan and Matt Hart. A suggestion was made that this group conduct a feasibility study re: the need for expanded IT care. J. Goldman, A. Bladen and S. Baxter will be meeting with the Work/Life group on March 6, and they are looking for ideas as to what to request; is it still relevant to conduct a feasibility study? J. Higham asked if one of the elementary schools could be used as a site for IT care? C. Guerreri suggested using the RBA approach to look for no/low-cost solutions. Put together a report and plan using this model. A. Bladen asked who else needs to be involved; currently just Center Directors. Again, this fits into the RBA model. Cindy can assist with the process, and there might be TA money available to do this. What will resonate most with decision-makers at UConn? Create buy-in when you create the results statement; who needs to be at the table, and what are the roles that the partners can play in achieving the result? J. Goldman added that they have data on graduate students who have children that can be helpful in this process. J. Higham suggested adding a question for graduate students to answer. A suggestion was made to review the synthesized strategies from Graustein based on the feedback that they’ve received. J. Goldman made a plea to get stakeholders on this committee; esp. parents. Another suggestion was to include home childcare providers.
Parent’s Committee: J. Higham reported that they have reviewed the Family Information Packet, and have decided to create a bound booklet rather than a folder. If they get funding, they will get a refrigerator magnet. They have suggested that it will only include a list of resources for non-profit providers. For-profit providers and other businesses could purchase advertising. S. Baxter noted that she was recently at a CAN meeting, where the Family Information Packet was identified as a significant resource, but not all teachers were aware of it. J. Goldman suggested including the Community Asset Map in the packet. Suggestion to have an artwork cover design contest in the schools for the packet. Look at using “Mayors for Kids” to challenge the community to produce and distribute this booklet to all families of young children in Mansfield.
Membership: D. McLaughlin reported that the group has been putting together packets: one for prospective members and one for new members.
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IT Action Steps: establish a team, get oriented to the RBA process, and develop a timeline for the process. Look at getting some on-site TA on the RBA process, need to be very clear in terms of what assistance is needed. C. Guerreri will attend the March 6 meeting with the Work/Life Committee at Uconn.
Attend the 1-day overview on March 25 on RBA.
Parent’s Committee: move forward with finalizing the booklet. Suggestion to make the packet available at the pre-school screening.
Please provide parent feedback on what kind of information would be helpful for prospective members. |
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Next Meeting |
Topics for Next Meeting on March 4, 2009 Meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM |
Include discussion of the Mansfield 2020 memo. Email any other suggestions to S. Baxter. |
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Grunwald