The Partnership Board is the "process" piece of helping to develop and sustain a community that cares about children and families. In the summer of 2000, the Partnership formed three work groups that focused on three broad goals identified by the community through the Task Force on Youth. They are:

• All children will come to school each day ready to learn; get the skills they need to succeed; use those skills to do their best; and keep being successful as they move from grade to grade and school to school and on to work or college.
• Middle and high school youth are able to take part in different kinds of activities, after-school, on weekends, and evenings to help them grow in positive ways.
• All children, youth, and their families can get the services they need for their physical and emotional health, both to prevent problems and to deal with crises.

From August 2000 to October 2001, over 450 people from all corners of Arlington participated in work groups, focus groups, and public meetings to develop a first round of recommendations to meet these goals. The recommendations were released in the Partnership's 2001 Report.

The Partnership continues to support these recommendations as community priorities. Many have been acted upon by County, school, and community groups. The Partnership is monitoring the response to the outstanding recommendations and looking for creative ways for the community to implement them. In all its work, the Partnership strives to involve the community, in its committees, forums, and outreach meetings. More detail on the status and outcomes of the Partnership's 2001 recommendations are available in the Partnership's 2002 Annual Report. A more recent update can be found in our report Partnership Priorities, 2003–04.