Youth Master Plan

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

Our county developed a Youth Master Plan, led by our local school system, Wilson County Schools and a non-profit, Wilson 2020. Through this collaborative planning process, key leaders with the ability to make decisions, service recipients, faith community members, business community leaders, college and university partners, and citizens came together and discussed our community strengths and challenges openly. We developed a plan in May 2014 and have been working together as a community on implementation. Five Impact Teams continue to drive our work: Safety, Out of School Time, Health and Wellness, Education and Workforce and K-12 Academic Achievement. The purpose of the Youth Master Plan is to make our county a place where all children and youth, ages 0 -21 will be successful. DSS County staff accepted the opportunity to lead the Health and Wellness Impact Team and the outcomes achieved through our collaborative work in the past two years is producing valuable results: multiple grant resources have been leveraged as a result of working together to address systemic issues; large numbers of staff and community members have been trained on Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid, Wilson Food Network, a collaborative effort of community hunger assistance groups continues to meet and address needs strategically, Wilson County Department of Social Services and Wilson County Schools have integrated a joint home visit as standard operating procedure in all cases. We have embraced a System of Care concept – meaning that we are working together, not in silos; we have blended funding, we are implementing evidence based practices, and we are intentionally gathering feedback from our customers. Wilson 2020 is funded through community donations, county and city funding. Wilson County is truly an example of a community where collectively we are making a positive impact.