Parents

Parents and caregivers can connect to resources for their children and get involved in efforts to improve services, supports and opportunities for youth and families countywide.

Resources

If the family has an older child, view our School-Age and Adolescent resources.

For a child with complicated emotional and social needs, view the Wraparound resources.

If the family has exhausted other options and needs one-time financial assistance, view the Community Assistance Program resources.

Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)

The need for advocacy on children’s issues is ongoing.  The most passionate and educated advocates about those issues are the parents of children.  The Family and Children First Council has attempted to fill that need through the organization of the Cuyahoga County Parent Advisory Committee.   

The Parent Advisory Committee will consist of civic minded parents interested in sharing information, concerns, and suggestions to improve the lives of children, families and their community.  The committee supports MyCom by providing a venue for parents to discuss their concerns and participate in the development of a support system for their children. The goal of the committee is to strengthen families and communities by providing information, education and support.  Through information sharing and relationship building, the PAC will be able to champion the needs of all families in Cuyahoga County.  A portion of the membership population comes from the 8 MyCom communities and a portion of the membership population comes from the community at large   

The major focus of the Parent Advisory Committee will be developing leadership skills in the members in order to prepare them for relationship building with community leaders in the interest of advancing the needs of children.  Research suggests that improving family functioning through the introduction of leadership skills, family bonding activities, relationship building within one’s neighborhood and the community at-large, and reinforcing positive social behaviors, can reduce problem behaviors in children.  This parent forum will allow the membership to share concerns occurring in their individual communities and allow group problem solving to create a resolution.  

The membership participates in the following activities as they relate to the Parent Advisory Committee:

• Attend all PAC meetings
• Serve on subcommittees
• Participate in and conduct training sessions
• Attend events on behalf of the PAC
• Advocate for other parents in the community
• Provide needed information to parents in the community  

The Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI) recently completed and won an RFP process to be the Parent Advisory Committee vendor.  NLI will be responsible for recruiting and training parents to participant on regional teams and attend subcommittee meetings to provide the parent perspective.

Begining  in 2009, general meetings will be held once a month.  Meetings will be scheduled for the year for the following year.  All PAC members will be given a stipend that can be used for transportation to and from meetings or the cost of childcare.  The distribution of this stipend will be based on attendance at all required PAC meetings and events. 

For more information contact: 

Family & Children First Council
1801 St. Clair Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
(216) 698-2875       

Or  

Neighborhood Leadership Institute
1761 E. 30th Street, Suite 200
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 812-8700