Boone County News Release
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Joanne Nelson, Director
Boone County Community Services Department
Email: jnelson@boonecountymo.org
Phone: (573) 886-4298
Flourish Leads Community Planning with Boone County Children's Services Board
February 23, 2022 – The Boone County Children’s Services Board (BCCSB) has entered into a contract with Fostering Life – Changing Opportunities (Flourish) to support the Flourish Prep Internship Program, which will provide supportive services for youth interns. The program also hopes to help establish a local Youth MOVE chapter and support program participants in continuing to develop an action plan to address youth violence in Boone County.
Creating a community-driven response to address youth violence has been a priority for the BCCSB since 2019, when rates of youth violence increased. The BCCSB has used a community forum and youth focus groups to inform strategies for engaging the community in creating an actionable plan to decrease youth violence in Boone County. In June 2021, the BCCSB hosted for members of the community the Voices for Collective Impact: Youth Violence Prevention conference, which focused on creating an action plan and potential strategies to help address violence.
Leigh Spence, Director of Secondary School Counseling with Columbia Public Schools and BCCSB member, has expressed her excitement for the new contract with Flourish. “As a school counselor, I have seen the effect of violence on our young people and their families. This issue is vitally important to me and, through participation in youth focus groups and other conversations with teens, job training, mentoring, and positive community engagement were strategies our county youth identified as some strategies to deal with violence. Often adults plan FOR students and not with them. It is important to note that Flourish is addressing what our young people have asked for, including having an ongoing opportunity to share their opinions.”
Following the conference, the BCCSB released a Request for Proposals (RFP) in June 2021 to solicit proposals to address identified youth needs. The RFP incorporated information from the community forum, youth focus groups, and conference. In January, the BCCSB entered a contract with Fostering Life – Changing Opportunities (Flourish) to support the Flourish Prep Internship Program. The contract provides up to $47,558.85 for job coaching, job readiness training, career exploration, and case management for youth participating in an internship with Veterans United. The program serves Boone County high school students who experience social and economic barriers to post-secondary education and employment. In addition, funding will help establish a local Youth MOVE chapter and support for program participants to continue developing an action plan to address youth violence in Boone County.
Rachel Cooper, the Flourish Board Treasurer, states, “We are excited for the county’s support, because it will allow more resources to be dedicated to Flourish Interns’ efforts to convene diverse youth and adult community leaders in action planning. It will also enhance their ability to succeed in the application process for a local youth MOVE Chapter, which would connect them to a national network of resources and youth leaders.”
The proposal submitted by Flourish offers an exciting opportunity for the BCCSB to invest in supportive services for youth interns and allow youth to drive future action planning efforts. These are specific strategies conference participants hoped to see for our community.
Community members interested in assisting youth with action planning can reach out to Flourish by emailing internships@allyouthflourish.org.
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