Family Policy Council Vacancy

City Manager Richard C. Rossi is seeking a Cambridge resident interested in volunteering to serve on the Cambridge Family Policy Council (Formerly Kids’ Council), which is dedicated to developing policy and program recommendations aimed at improving the quality of life for children, youth and families in the City of Cambridge, so that children and youth are:

• Ready for school;
• Healthy and live in safe communities;
• Succeed in school and are prepared for work;
• Engaged in enriching activities and civic life;
• Live in stable, self-sufficient, supportive families.

The Family Policy Council meets approximately six times per year on the 3^rd Thursday of the month, from 5:15-7:15 p.m.

The Mayor of Cambridge serves as the Chair of the Family Policy Council, and membership is comprised of key stakeholders in local government and in the community, which includes the following:

• City Councilor and School Committee member
• City Department Heads (City Manager designee, Assistant City Manager for Human Services, Chief Public Health Officer, Police Commissioner, Director of the Cambridge Public Library, and Superintendent of Schools)
• Representatives from the philanthropic community, a state agency serving children, youth and families, the business community, the university community, the early childhood community, the community-at-large, and youth (ages 14-18).

Recent Family Policy Council Initiatives

The Family Policy Council has been focusing on family engagement and developing recommendations to create and support genuine partnerships between families and the organizations and institutions that serve them by:

• Developing the FIND IT CAMBRIDGE website, which will make it easier for parents and other caring adults to find the amazing array of activities, services, and resources that are available for children, youth and families in Cambridge.
• Creating a City-wide Family Engagement Policy which was adopted by the Cambridge City Council on November 18, 2013.
• Developing recommendations to enhance the capacity of the Community Engagement Team (CET) by:
  • Hiring additional outreach workers and a full-time program assistant;
  • Developing and implementing a training program for those who do outreach and engagement work in Cambridge;
  • Establishing a more formal partnerships with the Cambridge Public Schools.
• Voting to support a second Book Bike by using money from the Friends of the Kids’ Council and asking for additional City funds to support operations of the second Book Bike.

Past Family Policy Council Initiatives:

• Cambridge Policy for Inclusion of Individuals with Disabilities in Out of School Time Programs
• Agenda for Children Literacy and Out of School Time Initiatives
• Center for Families

For more information, please contact Nancy Tauber, Executive Director, at 617-349-6239 or ntauber@cambridgema.gov.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest and, if possible, a resume, by Friday, May 20, 2016 to:

Richard C. Rossi, City Manager
City of Cambridge
795 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Ph. 617-349-4300
Fax 617-349-4307
citymanager@cambridgema.gov