HISTORY

In January 2002, Prescott, representative of a small community, and Tempe, representative of a diverse urban city, were selected as demonstration Community for Kids sites and were allocated dollars by the Arizona Community Foundation to begin a discovery and planning stage.  A $25,000 planning grant was given to each community to discover, consider, and move into action a plan that would guide the community toward ensuring that all children could have the best possible chance for success in school and life. Tempe Community Council and the Tempe Elementary School District took a lead role in moving the process forward. Key stakeholders representing organizations that have significant impact on families with young children were asked to participate on the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee determined what information would be gathered for use in planning. Three methods of information gathering were determined; statistical information, perceptions of the target populations, and interests and concerns of involved citizens and institutions. Statistical information was gathered from the City of Tempe , Tempe Elementary and Kyrene School Districts , Tempe Union High School District , the 2000 Census, Maricopa Association of Governments, Association for Supportive Child Care and the Arizona Department of Health Services. This data was compiled and published in the State of Tempe’s Children which is available on the web at www.tempe.gov/tcc.

To gather the perceptions of parents and caregivers of young children, the Steering Committee conducted a series of five focus groups in different areas of Tempe.  Four groups of parents and one group of child care providers responded to questions developed by the Steering Committee.

A diverse community group was asked to participate in a series of roundtables for the purpose of developing a Tempe Community for Kids Action Plan. Forty-eight representatives of local governments, education, faith, social service, business, and non-profit organizations took time over four months to study the community data and input from the focus groups to determine if there is a desire and a means by which the community could work together to improve outcomes for our youngest citizens.