POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced the launch of the County’s “Path to Promise” website, a resource and virtual realization of the County’s innovative initiative to ensure every child in Dutchess County has access to the assets necessary to become successful young adults.
The website provides a broad, evolving directory of more than 650 community resources, located throughout Dutchess County, from which children and their families can pick the most appropriate for themselves, based on their age, geography, and/or “Path to Promise” domains, or major elements of a child’s growth process, that interest them: Learning, Material Basics, Safety, Family/Social Relationships, Mental Health, and Physical Health. By focusing on the six domains and youth strengths, the “Path to Promise” assists young people throughout the County in the development of their competencies, values, and connections needed for future work and life.
Molinaro said, “Each child deserves the opportunity to succeed and determine their own future. Our multi-year ‘Path to Promise’ ensures every young person in Dutchess County, from birth to age 19, has the same access to the quality assets and resources needed to become successful at each stage of their growth and development. We invite young people, their families, stakeholders and anyone interested in developing a brighter future for Dutchess County’s next generation to explore our ‘Path to Promise’ website and all it has to offer.”
Following the recent end of the 2020-21 school year, the website is an indispensable wealth of information for students and their families. Visitors to the site can also sign up to receive updates about topics that interest them, such as emergency notifications, public advisories, meetings, events, newsletters, public surveys and press releases. Community organizations looking to have their youth resources added to the online directory can email path2promise@dutchessny.gov to learn more.
Since Molinaro announced the “Path to Promise” during his 2017 State of the County Address, a community-led project team engaged in dialogues with young people, service providers, funders, and residents to analyze existing youth services; develop a universal asset framework; and implement a plan to accentuate proven resources, resolve duplication of services and close gaps in services and supports.
The “Path to Promise” defines and categorizes the youth assets which the community values. The County has used this framework to compare the needs of its young people to current activities in the community, enabling it to better understand the domains and/or age groups with the most resources, as well as which areas require additional investment.
In June, County Executive Molinaro announced $3 million in “Learn, Play, Create” grants are available to non-profit organizations that directly serve children and families through the “Dutchess Invests” initiative, which allocates the $57 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to priorities identified by the community. Application instructions and guidance for the “Learn, Play, Create” grants are available online.
The new website is just the latest step in the “Path to Promise” the County has taken to further the initiatives, including, among others:
- hiring an Assistant Commissioner for Youth Services at the Dutchess County Department of Community and Family Services, who is responsible for implementing the “Path to Promise” and overseeing its success;
- hiring a Program Analyst Position created to ensure timely and appropriate management of New York State Office of Children and Family Services grants and contracts pertinent to the “Path to Promise;”
- establishing a “Path to Promise” Committee within the Youth Coordinating Council to provide a sustainable structure to help with implementation and improvement of practices;
- in partnership with Astor’s Head Start program, piloting Ready4K!, an evidence-based, text-messaging service for parents designed to support early literacy development.
- hosting several countywide youth summits to continue engagement with young people throughout Dutchess County on the initiative’s emerging developments and seek their input;
- contracting with The ART Effect to create “The TAG,” a digital youth hub, designed by teens for teens, to provide access to services, employment opportunities, and supports in real-time via Instagram, Facebook and a website, thetagatdutchess.org; and
- collaborating with Poughkeepsie-based music producer Tim McQueen and local youth musical group Ill Harmonic to create a “Path to Promise” song, entitled “Nothing About Me Without Me,” the initiative’s motto of inclusion and youth participation, #NothingAboutMeWithoutMe, which was conceived by local young people engaged in the program’s development.
Additional information about Dutchess County’s “Path to Promise,” including its history and development, is available on the County’s Youth Services webpage.
