POUGHKEEPSIE – The new Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet has been launched now that the members of its executive committee have been announced.
The cabinet is a collaboration created by Mayor Robert Rolison and Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser.
Children’s cabinets are used by localities to bring together school districts, government agencies, child-serving community organizations, and others to improve their ability to coordinate youth support services.
Cabinets address young people’s holistic needs as they grow and develop. By creating common goals, sharing and comparing data and addressing gaps or duplications in resources, leaders in different systems – health care, human services, parks and recreation, higher education and others – are empowered to craft better policies and decisions.
While schools are of central importance in children’s lives, it is important to recognize that children spend much more time out of the classroom than in it, the officials note. Therefore, children’s cabinets are designed to facilitate cooperation and collaboration among schools, cities and other public services and institutions that children interact with outside the classroom, including libraries, health clinics, social workers and after-school programs.
The Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet was an outcome of the first-ever Poughkeepsie Summit at Harvard University, which convened more than 20 local officials and nonprofit leaders to discuss community development opportunities related to the city.
The summit focused on developing citywide solutions to help children succeed.
