CTSA: Jasper County, SC Vignette
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Engaging the Community through a Community Forum "First Steps to School Readiness" is a governor's initiative designed to improve South Carolina children's readiness for the first grade. The initiative's goal is to help families ensure that their children are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, and ready to face the challenges of school and learning. Jasper County is a poor, rural county near the South Carolina coast. The county is home to approximately 17,000 people, 58 percent of whom are African American. According to the 1990 census, the per capita yearly income in Jasper County was $7,984, more than $3,000 less than the state per capita income. Communities with these characteristics are a challenge for community development because they lack the resources to effectively involve citizens. Historically, Jasper County has lacked the necessary financial resources, structure, and citizen support necessary to sustain community-improvement endeavors. The first steps legislation required that each county form a county First Steps partnership board. The process required a widely publicized communitywide forum, jointly convened by local legislators and the state's Office of First Steps. The number and specific categories of board members (e.g., two early childhood educators, two healthcare providers) were included in the legislation. This process posed a challenge to the county's local health department staff, who also served as the community organizers. Jasper County had little experience in bringing its citizens together to work on common problems. There was no sustained community leadership to enable residents to effectively organize and address priority problems across race, class, and geographic lines. The public health community organizers had to find ways to engage all segments of Jasper County in the First Steps process. It was crucial to organize an intensive and far-reaching recruitment campaign to ensure full community representation. Community organizers used social marketing theory to attract community members to first steps. Every conceivable inexpensive avenue of community recruitment was pursued:
Community organizations and local businesses provided volunteers and food for the meeting. They also were important in getting the word out through their networks. Public health community organizers not only obtained full community representation, but also reached out to community members who possessed a sincere commitment to the project. The county forum drew more than 100 residents. All facets of the community were represented, including parents, public officials, the faith community, and law enforcement. The forum invited all comments and concerns. The election process was by category, with nominees were listed along the walls of the meeting room. Nominations were taken from the floor and each nominee was allowed a brief statement. The election was conducted by secret ballot, after the board was elected, they were introduced. The board reflected the make-up of the county, and was diverse in board members' ages, races, and occupations. First Steps is still in the rudimentary phases of development. The county First Steps board is gathering all the information it can about Jasper County to prepare to submit the initial $50,000 planning grant. The board is taking a slow, thoughtful approach and the entire group appears comfortable with current progress. With the exceptional level of commitment demonstrated by Jasper County residents and the effective community mobilization by public health staff, the future of the First Steps initiative looks promising.
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