• The Assets Initiative - Continuing to build community awareness and commitment to building assets in youth.
• A Strategic Plan - The Partnership will participate in the County-sponsored Strategic Plan on services to children and families, including parent education, childcare, and early childhood programs.
• Community Report Card - The Partnership is developing a community report card that will feature indicators of the health and well-being of Arlington's children and their families. The first report card will be released in Fall 2003. The Partnership hopes to engage the community in setting goals for specific areas addressed by the report card.
• Mental Health Awareness and Education - For teachers, parents, and students. Survey data on depression levels among Arlington youth reflects significantly higher levels than in other communities. The Partnership's recommendations include increased mental health resources in schools to train school staff, parents, and young people themselves in recognizing depression and anxiety. The Partnership will continue to monitor efforts with the schools, the Department of Human Services, and the PTAs concerning mental health awareness in the school community, including parent training.
• Exploring Community School(s) - Community schools use public schools as a hub to bring together many partners to offer a range of support to children, youth, families, and the larger community—before, during, and after school, seven days a week. Services offered might include health and mental health, recreation, parent education, and employment. The Partnership has formed a Community Schools Committee to look at different models that might work here in Arlington.
• Awareness/Prevention Campaign - Based on survey data. The Partnership has identified risk behaviors to address through an awareness campaign targeted to youth using an asset-focused approach.