Baltimore and Denver Adopt NLC Platform for Strengthening Families

In Baltimore, Mayor Sheila Dixon hosted a press conference last Wednesday announcing the city’s adoption of the platform and proclaiming Strong Families Day. The press conference was attended by NLC Executive Director Donald J. Borut, as well as City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Maryland State Delegate Ruth Kirk and many other community leaders.

“I believe that we need to take steps now and continue to move forward by investing in our families, our children and our youth,” said Dixon. “Central to my vision for a cleaner, greener, healthier and safer Baltimore is the creation of an environment that supports the development of the human potential of every Baltimore City resident, beginning with our children.”

In Denver, Mayor John Hickenlooper noted how the platform also aligns with his city’s vision for investing in young people and their families.

“The National League of Cities’ platform and partnership are important tools for cities in developing strategic investments and infrastructure,” said Hickenlooper. “They provide opportunities to rethink how we invest in strengthening outcomes for our community’s human capital — our children, youth and families — and how we hold ourselves accountable for those outcomes.” 

Seventy-five cities and towns across the nation have adopted the platform, and many are using the platform to drive systemic change in their communities. 

Bringing Stakeholders Together in Baltimore

Mayor Dixon committed to establishing the “essential infrastructure” needed for a sustained community-wide effort to help young people and their families succeed. The City of Baltimore has already begun establishing this infrastructure by reconvening the Strong Families Committee, which brings together local government, private and nonprofit stakeholders.

The Strong Families Committee convenes under the auspices of the Family League of Baltimore, a quasi-governmental nonprofit organization housed within the city’s Office of Community and Human Development that initiates collaborative, strategic processes for improving the well-being of children and families. 

The committee recently met with staff from NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute), the Annie E. Casey Foundation, United Way and other groups to discuss four initial goals:

•    Implementing the platform;

•    Developing a shared definition of family strengthening;
•    Developing measurable indicators of progress; and
•    Developing strategies to infuse family strengthening principles into policy and practice throughout organizations and the city.

One of the committee’s first steps has been to use the platform as an assessment tool to identify what the city is doing well and where further action is most needed.

In her remarks, Mayor Dixon announced a commitment to taking concrete steps listed in the platform, such as expanding community schools and partnerships, assisting former offenders in transitioning back into the community and expanding afterschool programs. 

In addition, Baltimore city officials have been participating in site visits sponsored by the YEF Institute to showcase innovative models for improving school readiness for young children. Mayor Dixon also cited Baltimore’s efforts to incorporate family strengthening strategies into its signature mentoring program, Baltimore Rising, and its reentry pilot project, Reconciliation, Reintegration and Rising.

Dixon, Rawlings-Blake, Kirk and Borut all emphasized the importance of going beyond “bricks and mortar” to focus on human development and the well-being of families as the foundation for strong and vibrant neighborhoods. 

“Strong cities are built on a foundation of strong families,” said Rawlings-Blake, who discussed the city’s efforts to look “beyond roads and buildings.” 

NLC will continue to support Baltimore’s efforts by providing strategies and assistance and connecting the city with promising approaches from other cities.  

“We applaud Mayor Dixon and the City of Baltimore for adopting NLC’s Platform for Strengthening Families and bringing key community stakeholders together to help children, youth and families succeed,” said Borut.

Denver Invests in Human Capital

Two days earlier, on September 17, Mayor Hickenlooper and the Denver City Council issued a proclamation and resolution adopting the platform.

The resolution and proclamation cite NLC’s work with the City of Denver over the years to strengthen youth development opportunities, build a citywide system for afterschool programs, and to implement “an integrated youth development system focused on disconnected youth.”

Denver has participated in the YEF Institute’s City Leaders Engaged in Afterschool Reform (CLEAR) technical assistance project, which helped the city bring together key stakeholders to conduct a thorough assessment of afterschool needs, capacity and resources and to develop a citywide vision for afterschool.

The city also took part in the Institute’s Youth-City Connection project, and was one of six cities competitively selected in July to participate in the Municipal Leadership for Disconnected Youth project.

In adopting the platform, the city also committed to taking concrete steps to “coordinate youth-related efforts both internally and externally, work with other community stakeholders to leverage resources in a cost-effective, outcome-based manner, and demonstrate a return on these strategic investments to advance the health and well-being of children and youth in Denver.”

Mayor Hickenlooper will give a keynote address on “Investing in the Next Generation of Our Human Capital” at the 2007 National Summit on Your City’s Families, which takes place September 30 to October 2 in San Antonio. More than 400 municipal leaders from across the nation will learn from Denver’s success in building partnerships that serve and invest in children, youth and families.

Details: To learn more about or adopt the City Platform for Strengthening Families, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Michael Karpman at (202) 626-3072 or karpman@nlc.org.