Youth

Promote diverse activities, programs, transportation and facilities that include youth in a caring, supportive and healthy community.

• Develop youth centers county-wide to provide youth with gathering places and programs.

• Develop and build a centralized facility where youth serving organizations reside and where all volunteer efforts are coordinated for meaningful community service.

• Expand and enhance a transportation network that connects the community to youth activities, programs and locations.

• Encourage strong, accessible and affordable programs that collaborate with community and youth organizations to ensure broad interest areas are addressed, including artistic and cultural options.

• Support and enhance programs to foster community mentoring, civic engagement and a volunteer ethic.

• Develop and implement a career development program that mentors youth for work ethics, life skills and career choices.

• Support county-wide collaboration to ensure youth needs are supported and met in the outlying rural areas.

• Provide education and awareness for sustainable practices for generations to come for earth stewardship, from consuming choices to recycling and more.

Develop affordable and accessible early childhood care and educational options in our communities

• Create and develop innovative partnerships and collaborative efforts to provide subsidized childcare options for low to moderate income families.

• Recruit, retain and reward early childhood care providers to ensure availability of consistent, quality childcare options.

Promote a multi-generational community that connects families of diverse socio-economic levels in order to maintain the Yampa Valley as a “great place to raise kids.”

• Promote community awareness and embrace the researched developmental assets that support and create a strong sense of caring for our youth.

• Seek innovative partnerships to promote and develop community awareness for youth literacy and education.

• Promote affordable housing initiatives to foster a family-oriented community.

• Provide a wide variety of community programs and activities that focus on youth and their needs (e.g. school and sports activities, recreation programs, theater, arts and more).

Provide a community that is a healthy and safe place to raise kids.

• Support and provide a healthy youth culture that is drug, tobacco and alcohol free (e.g. compliance checks, discourage alcohol consumption at family-oriented activities, places for youth to congregate).

• Develop informal and formal local gathering places for youth that are drug and alcohol free (e.g. new library).

• Explore affordable health care plans for families to ensure access to health care options.

• Develop awareness for healthy eating, exercise and living.

• Continue to provide partnerships with law enforcement and youth to protect and serve.

• Develop and implement strong mental health programs for youth (e.g. suicide prevention, grief and counseling support systems).

• Expand and enhance a transportation network that safely connects the community to youth activities, programs and locations.

• Promote safe, affordable and licensed early childhood care.