Mayor's Commission for Children

Mayor’s Commission for Children April minutes 8:00 am Springfield Chamber of Commerce Tuesday April 8th, 2025 Commission members present: Dr. Kaleen Long, Dr. Elizabeth Andrews, Dr. Christy Davis, Amy Chenoweth Members not present: Brandy Harris, Mike White, Emily Denniston, Dr. Tom Masterson and Bria Coale Advisory Council present: Dr. Doug McNeal, Kimberly Shinn Brown, Dr. Jennifer Baker, Dr. Christine Moellering, Karen Kunkel, Jhasmine Watson, Jessica Daughtering Dr. Kaleen Long, Past Chairman filled in for Tom Masterson. There was not a quorum to approve minutes. Dr. Long welcomed acting City manager, Collin Quigley to our meeting. Brigitte’s last meeting was acknowledged by a gift from the MCC. Announcements around the table were made to the group. Dr. Christy Davis gave us and update on Early Childhood and Parents as Teachers. Some of the Demographics as of April 2025: Number of Families in PAT 2,540 Number of Visits 9,719 Number of Screenings 4,709 Families with 1 high needs indicator or more 61percent 2025-2026 school year 32 FTE for PAT Family Connects has contributed to increases in caseloads for parent educators. Early Childhood continues to remain steady with Wonder years and Early Childhood Special Education. The chart below shows the impact of such programs for children who were participants. Similar to what we see when children have some programming before Kindergarten and their ability to be ready for Kindergarten. Our next two meetings will be at the chamber with Bria Coale doing the presentation in May and June we will have Lincoln Hough visiting with group about the legislative session. July 2 will be our social at the Springfield Cardinals baseball game.