Community Profile
Greene County
Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Inc.
February 15, 2002
Established ten years ago as Ozarks Fighting Back, Community Partnership of the Ozarks acts as an umbrella organization that provides management and oversight for both service delivery projects and collaborative groups which wrestle with solutions to the complex problems facing our community. Through the nine grants and contracts and the fourteen collaboratives and task forces which we manage and coordinate, we link other agencies, organizations, and community interests into a network of collaborators focusing on specific areas of need, especially issues affecting youth and families. Our mission is to “Facilitate and promote community problem solving by coordinating and developing all available resources for the betterment of the community and its people”.
The Partnership is governed by a 26 member Board of Directors, which meets on a monthly basis. Members represent education, government, law enforcement, health, business, media, the faith community, neighborhood associations and community agencies. United Way of the Ozarks acts as our fiscal agent. The Director of the Partnership reports to the President of United Way.
Our partnership covers 22 counties in Southwest Missouri, although Caring Communities is focused on Greene County. Springfield is the largest city that we cover, with a population of over 150,000. Although Springfield is 92% white, we are seeing a significant increase in the Hispanic population. Nearly all of our counties, including Greene, have shown an increase in child abuse and neglect as well as the number of students on free and reduced lunch.
However, most have recently demonstrated a decrease in the high school drop out rate.
While we address all of the six core results, our emphasis is on the following four: children safe in their families and families safe in their neighborhoods; children and families healthy; children ready to enter school; and children and youth succeeding in school. These areas of focus were chosen based upon asset mapping, focus groups, needs assessments, school and community statistics, and extensive discussions with key community leaders and neighborhoods.
Through our collaborations with others, we have been very effective in leveraging funds to enhance state and federal dollars for Community Partnership projects. An excellent example of leveraging in action is seen in the Caring Communities initiative as outlined below:
Local Investment | $1,220,075.00 |
In-Kind | 1,302,608.00 |
Participant Fees | 22,600.00 |
Other, State and Federal | 2,340,383.00 |
| 4,885,666.00 |
Caring Communities (flex funds) | 1,652,704.91 |
Total Community Resources | $6,241,442.91 |
Developing this leveraging capacity at the local level means more than just saying, “it’s the right thing to do”; rather it is what we must do, and we are. Thanks to our hundreds of partners, we have been able to show a good return on our investment. Just as importantly, it is through collaborating with these partners that new ideas have surfaced, new solutions have been developed, and new opportunities have come our way.
It would take many pages to thank all of our partners who come from so many disciplines. However, we recognize our partners in the faith community, education, business, youth organizations, local foundations, law enforcement, government, healthcare, the City of Springfield and other cities within our 22 county region, civic groups such as the Junior League and service agencies such as United Way and the Chamber of Commerce.
The fact that we have such broad representation on our Board, the fact that we continue to increase the number of collaborations, which we coordinate, and the fact we are able to get the right people to the table to tackle new problems is the result of a new way of thinking. The community is beginning to understand that in working together we can achieve more than the sum of our parts. Systems reform is working in Springfield.
We are making a positive difference in the lives of children and families in Southwest Missouri. Examples include: more families successfully making the transition from welfare to work; an increased number of accredited childcare providers; a decrease in the number of underage youth purchasing alcohol; an increase in attendance and a decrease in disciplinary actions; residents reclaiming their neighborhoods and an increase in prevention activities in 22 counties. Other collaborative outcomes include a physician handbook on domestic violence, the Rarebreed Youth Center, the Child Advocacy Center and a GIS study to name but a few.
With the support of the communities with which we work and the dedication of our volunteers and Board, we will continue to meet the needs of children and families in Southwest Missouri. “The challenge for every organization is to build a feeling of oneness…because the question is usually not how well each person works but how well they work together.”
Sincerely,
Melissa Haddow
Executive Director
