Officials from the Childrens Defense Fund Minnesota (CDF) will discuss the latest data showing how well children in Otter Tail County and across the state are faring in a wide range of categories at a meeting on Wednesday, June 7 at 3:30 p.m. at Lakes Cafe, 136 W. Main St. in Perham.
The meeting is free and open to the public, and is being sponsored by the Perham Early Childhood Initiative. The officials will lay out CDFs latest findings from its 2006 Kids Count data book, which looks at key indicators of child well being in Minnesota, and charts the progress of children in Otter Tail County, and the other 86 counties across the state. People attending the meeting will be able to ask questions and discuss how best to address problems and opportunities facing children in the area.
This is a real opportunity for people in Perham and the surrounding communities to get a better understanding of how children are doing in a wide range of categories including how healthy they are, how prepared they are to start kindergarten, and how their families are doing economically, said Andrea Egbert , CDF Minnesotas Kids Count Coordinator. The findings have implications not only for the future of our kids, but also for our communities and for our economy. I hope people in the area will attend and find out how kids in their region are faring.
The Kids Count data book is released each year, and it provides a county-by-county snapshot of how children in Minnesota are doing. This year, the Kids Counts data book has a special focus on early childhood.
For more information, contact Andrea Egbert at egbert@cdf-mn.org or call 651-227-6121. Local contact is Patricia Nunn at the Perham Early Childhood Initiative at nunnp@yahoo.com or call 218-346-1474.
