THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411240648
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Pasquotank County leaders have hired a county social services worker to oversee administration of a major state grant targeting children through age 5.
Donna James-Whidbee, 32, who directs the Adolescent Parenting Program through Social Services, will begin as executive director for the Pasquotank County Partnership for Children on Dec. 1.
The partnership, whose 40-member board gets members from nearly every county agency serving children, formed out of Pasquotank's application for the Smart Start program, Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.'s plan to guarantee health and child care for very young children.
The county became one of 12 new partnerships accepted into the program this fall, and board members have been meeting regularly to work on short- and long-term plans for available funding in the coming years.
``I think it's going to be an excellent and successful program,'' James-Whidbee said Wednesday. ``It's something I do believe in.''
Board members decided Tuesday night how the first major pool of money, about $250,000, will be spent over the first six months of next year.
Nearly half the funds will pay to take about 65 children off a 150-person waiting list for subsidized day-care services, said County Manager Randy Keaton. The subsidies will allow low-income parents to go to work or school while their child is cared for.
About $56,000 will go toward hiring outreach nurses for the Health Department, who will work to make sure families are using available services such as well-baby checkups. Money also will be provided to hire outreach workers to spread information about child services through their communities.
Other outlays will provide matching funds for three vans to help transport people to service centers, and help develop a clearinghouse of information about community child-care resources, Keaton said.
In many cases, grant money will be used to bring in even more money through matching programs, Keaton said.
``There's a lot of ways we can use Smart Start dollars to draw down additional dollars,'' he said.
Keaton said board members are enthusiastic about the project as it begins to take shape.
``It's really exciting,'' he said. ``We've been working long and hard on this, and I think we're finally seeing the fruits of our labor.'' by CNB