DRAFT
MINUTES
MANSFIELD ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
6:30-8:00 PM
Council Chambers - Town Hall
PRESENT: K. Grunwald (staff), S. Baxter (staff), MJ Newman, J. Goldman, J. Stoughton (Co-Chair),
G. Bent (Co-Chair), L. Holle, V. Fry, J. Higham, T. Berthelot, C. Guerreri, R. Leclerc (staff),
Patty Braithwaite (guest)
REGRETS: J. Greene, L. Young, S. Daley, L. Buczynski, S.Conrad
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ITEM |
DISCUSSION |
OUTCOME
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Actions Needed |
-Welcome: members and guests introduced themselves. Patty Braithwaite expressed her interest in working on health strategies in our Plan; specifically in the area of nutrition.
- Minutes of 10/7/09
- Revisions to MAC By-Laws: G. Bent explained that the purpose of revisions was to bring the by-laws in alignment with the Plan for Young Children and the new action plan. J. Goldman did some brief editing, and proposed a simplified revision in Section 4 regarding resignation. Some discussion regarding this change. K. Grunwald suggested that we table any revisions to the by-laws that don’t specifically relate to the plan. T. Berthelot identified other areas that need to be clarified, such as the definition of a quorum. There was a suggestion that a small group get together to work on a complete review of the by-laws. |
The minutes were accepted as written.
Send suggested changes in the bylaws to Sandy; T. Berthelot volunteered to work on revisions. Current changes were adopted by the group, and the final changes will be adopted via an email vote. |
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Updates-For Your Information |
-Stone Soup Conference- October 20th: S. Baxter reported that 6 members of MAC attended. J. Higham was honored at the conference as a parent volunteer.
-Windham Prenatal Grant – G. Bent reported that the prenatal clinic at Windham Hospital received a $95k grant; we should pursue partnering with them.
-Graustein Site Visit Report: S. Baxter reported that staff from Graustein visited this week, with a diverse representation from MAC. The purpose was to respond to feedback that we received on our plan and to hear what our hopes are regarding the Option I grant opportunity. Their goal is to fund infrastructure. Some discussion regarding the difference between collaborative partners and funding sources for cash match. |
The application should be received in mid-Nov. and will probably be due mid-Dec. Staff will work on this and solicit feedback from MAC members. |
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New Business |
- Transition to New Plan for Young Children/ Review Action Plan for 2009-2010: J. Stoughton explained the connection to the existing Action Plan, much of which has been accomplished, and that we will still be working on this through March of 2010 as we transition. The Executive Committee identified remaining strategies in the context of the new plan. One of the large strategies is to create a plan for a feasibility study regarding increased infant/toddler care (whether and how it can be provided). S. Baxter provided some clarification regarding terminology that is used in the Action Plan. The United Way is restructuring, and would like to clarify the role of the Collaborative Agent. When this is changed this will need to be clarified in the bylaws.
-Review MAC structure chart- J. Stoughton reviewed the new structure as portrayed in the graphic created by Nancy Hovorka. It portrays areas of overlap and the relation of teams and the community to MAC. C. Guerreri asked for feedback on the structure/graphic, which will need to clarify in our proposal to Graustein, including what the Community is representative of (include a key on the side).
-Choose Your Team: J. Higham will serve as the team leader for Community Connectedness; K. Grunwald for the health team. A team leader is still needed for “successful learners”. Teams will review proposed strategies and look for areas of intersection with the priority focus on community connectedness.
-Discussion about the structure of the monthly MAC meeting: J. Stoughton suggested potentially extending the monthly meeting time and using additional time for teams to meet at MAC. One option is to start at 6 and have a meal for the group. J. Goldman pointed out that this could work against including other people who aren’t part of MAC, although they could be invited for that part of the meeting. Several options were discussed, and it seems that this should be left to the individual teams. Suggestion that we start next month meeting at 6 and plan on having a meal; with one hour devoted to team meeting time.
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S. Baxter will contact Nancy Hovorka re: proposed changes to the organizational chart.
If you have not signed up for a team please send an email to Sandy.
The Dec. 2 meeting will start at 6 and a meal will be provided.
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Other |
T. Berthelot asked whether or not MAC should take a position on the possibility of building a single school. Discussion re: what the role of MAC might be regarding that issue. This provides an opportunity to inform the community regarding this, including the possibility of presenting research findings on the impact of small vs. large elementary schools.
L. Holle reported on her attendance at the new Spouses Network at UConn for faculty, staff and graduate students. They are interested in the work of MAC, and Lisa provided them with a copy of the plan. They would like to link their website to ours. Many of the members are international students, and many of their concerns are around practical matters regarding getting a driver’s license, etc. They appreciated the Family Information packet, and are pulling together their own resource guide. Suggestion that the Community Connectedness team reach out to them. There are only 12-15 members of this group currently. V. Fry mentioned that the UConn HR Department offers many resources that they may be interested in.
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Meeting Evaluation |
S. Baxter led a discussion regarding meeting effectiveness. Some concerns were raised about the configuration of the table, and it was agreed that the next meeting will use the Council table.
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Next Meeting/ Adjournment |
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 6:00 PM- Town Hall, Council Chambers; a meal will be provided.
Agenda Items to recommend for next meeting: Meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM |
-By Laws Update -Role of Collaborative Agent -Spouses Network Update -1st Teams Meet |
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Grunwald