On Tuesday, First Lady Cecile de Jongh convened the Virgin Islands Children and Families Council at Government House, St. Croix to discuss initiatives in progress to advance the welfare of the territory’s families with young children. As Chairperson of the Council, the first lady led an interactive discussion focusing on the territory’s efforts to reduce poverty by 50% by 2020 and other initiatives impacting socio-economic conditions in the Virgin Islands, including early childhood education; child health; detached youth; drop-out prevention; and family economic security efforts.

First Lady Cecile de Jongh convened the Children and Families Council at Government House, St. Croix on April 19, 2011. To the immediate left of the first lady is Karl Knight, Policy Advisor to the Governor, and Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner St. Claire Williams.

“Poverty is one of the most debilitating influences on society. Through the efforts of the Council we seek to break the generational poverty cycle and encourage better economic outcomes for families. By making education a greater priority in people’s daily lives, especially early childhood education, and in working with families, the business community and other partners, we seek to engage families and provide meaningful supports to elevate their opportunities now and in future years,” the First Lady said.

On behalf of the Poverty to Prosperity Working Group, Karl Knight, Policy Advisor to the Governor, delivered a body of recommendations to reduce child poverty in the territory. Knight noted that in utilizing the 2010 census data as a benchmark and the 2020 census as a yardstick, interim performance measures should be reviewed to pinpoint improvements made and work in progress. Knight also discussed how to best ensure the effort’s sustainability over the next ten years. 

The poverty reduction recommendations include developing programs to encourage teen pregnancy reduction; financial literacy; income and asset-building; employment retention; and microenterprise development. The Poverty to Prosperity Working Group was created following a summit on Poverty and Economic Opportunity held in May 2009 by the de Jongh/Francis administration to bring stakeholders of the Virgin Islands community together to address these complex issues.

On Tuesday, Council members recommended that a Commission on Poverty be established to further guide the Council’s goals and priorities to reduce the number of families with minor children living in poverty.

During the meeting, the First Lady underscored the susceptibility of detached youth in likely facing a life of poverty in later years. Detached youth are teens not in school and not employed. As part of the dialogue, several council members presented an inventory of ongoing programs targeting this segment of the population. 

The Department of Education highlighted its Twilight Program, which allows students who have been unsuccessful in school and/or who are on the verge of expulsion to continue their education in the evening, as well as its high school credit recovery program, which enables students to make up credits after school, during the summer and on weekends. In addition, in cooperation with the department of Labor, the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program provides academic support, work readiness skills and employment opportunities for high school students who may have ordinarily dropped out of school.

The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands highlighted its summer youth enrichment scholarships for students seeking to attend off-island programs; the Junior Angels initiative, which introduces VI youth to the worlds of volunteerism and philanthropy through internships and academic scholarships, as well as other initiatives targeting detached youth. Other Council members also provided summaries and agreed that in considering the needs for youth development in the territory, key initiatives must include youth mentorship and educational and employment programs during the teenage years.

In addition, CFVI president Dee Baecher Brown provided an overview of the recently launched 2010 Kids Count data on indicators impacting the socio-economic health and well-being of children in the territory. “We are always looking at early care in more detail, an area that we believe we can truly impact through community-based actions and initiatives.” A new link on the CFVI web site, www.cfvi.net, enables viewing of USVI Kids Count data, at www.datacenter.kidscount.org, a reference available for the first time. The online data includes information such as assessments on poverty levels for children and families, juvenile violent crime arrest rates, and information on dropouts and detached youth.

As part of the discussion, Family Connection Director Ellie Hirsh also provided recommendations on behalf of the Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) for professional development and curriculum best practices in order to meet educational standards and expectations.

The collaboration amongst members of the Children and Families Council ensures the Governor’s vision to improve the delivery of services in raising standards, heightening awareness and implementing cost-effective, data-driven policies as preventative measures in eliminating negative outcomes for the territory’s children and families.