On Wednesday, a forum on child well-being trends in Boone Country and resources available to help local children will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lebanon Public Library, 104 East Washington St., Lebanon.As part of IYI’s Youth Worker Café program, the forum is free and lunch will be served, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, email IYI Statewide Outreach Coordinator Debbie Jones at [email protected] or call (317) 396-2729.
This will be the first in a series of Youth Worker Cafés hosted by IYI in Boone County. Each Youth Worker Café will focus on a different youth topic that is relevant to the community.
This forum will feature two speakers. Emily Krauser, IYI’s data program manager, will discuss the state of children in Boone County and show attendees how to use data to tell a community’s story, how to find reliable data and statistics on children, and how to use IYI’s Kids Count Data Center. Carol Neary, IYI North Central field representative, will introduce attendees to the services and resources IYI provides including training, conferences, grants, library and consulting services. Boone County has one of the lowest child poverty rates and one of the highest high school graduation rates in Indiana according to the Kids Count in Indiana Data Book, yet the data also show that the rate of free and reduced-price lunch usage has increased since 2008.
Youth Worker Cafés are designed to bring together local youth workers to build relationships and inspire collaborations that will benefit children. This Youth Worker Café is made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Community Foundation of Boone County and IYI.
