Vision for Children at Risk

Vision for Children at Risk is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the well-being of children, families, and the community. Over the past two decades, we have advocated tirelessly to change the relentless inequities that persist in our region's systems. The work of building a better future for children at risk has never been easy, but it has always been rewarding. We do it by sticking to what we know works: engaging with the experience, passion, and creative voices of our community members. Our team is committed to empowering families and uplifting communities. We cultivate active collaborations to develop new ideas and methods for protecting our community's youngest and most vulnerable members.

Our approach focuses on four different focus areas, which are all deeply integrated: Family Engagement, Collaboration, Data & Research, and Advocacy.

Family Engagement:
At our core, we believe that family and community members are the key to children's well-being. We create spaces and opportunities for family and community support and strengthening, while empowering individuals and building avenues for positive system impact. We have three primary avenues for engaging with families: 1) We utilize and promote the use of café models. These include: Vitality Cafés, focused on individual wellness; Parent Cafés, a peer-to-peer experience focused on strengthening families; and Community Cafés, leveraging family and community voices for positive community change. 2) Our staff includes family support partners and family engagement specialists that dedicate time to walking alongside families as peer support. 3) We also use a parent advisory council model to create safe spaces for family and parent peer support. This model builds avenues for family and parent voices to be heard at a regional, state and national level.

Collaboration:
Vision for Children at Risk builds, facilitates, and supports coalitions and collaborative efforts dedicated to improving child well-being, all while actively engaging families and community members. Among the collaborative initiatives we support are PACT-STL: supporting primary prevention strategies to improve the safety, stability, and well-being of families; St. Louis Child Abuse & Neglect Network: working to prevent child abuse and provide safe, permanent homes for children; Project LAUNCH: fostering the healthy development and wellness of young children 0-8 years; System of Care: improving mental health outcomes for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances; and LEAP Ahead STL: an early childhood screening and referral effort. In addition, we hold periodic Children's Summit conferences to focus action and interest on aspects of child well-being. VCR has long served as an incubator to support strategic initiatives that address newly emerging needs of children, youth, and families.

Data & Research:
We track more than 40 key indicators of child well-being in the St. Louis metropolitan area at the ZIP code level and apply and equity lens through all choice points in our data process including selection of indicators, data collection (prioritizing the collection of disaggregated data), data analysis, the presentation of data, and data dissemination. We are also growing efforts to ensure that children's and families' lived experiences and needs are heard and elevated as qualitative data. Data is disseminated to the community through this report, through community café action-oriented work, and on the Vision for Children at Risk website, www.visionforchildren.org. This data calls attention to children's needs, as well as the challenges posed by disparities and inequities; it also provides a basis for planning initiatives that strategically target these needs. In addition, Vision for Children at Risk regularly shares information on trends and best practices in child advocacy and stimulates discussion through community forums, webinars, and our website. We strive to help our region better identify and respond to the needs and realities of children and families. We look forward to launching our 2nd phase of our website this year with the new and improved Children's Data Center, coming soon!

Advocacy:
The overall well-being of the St. Louis community is linked directly to how well children and families fare. By promoting the well-being of children, youth, and families, St. Louis can reverse the negative trends of recent decades related to the region's lagging population growth and economic development. A rising tide lifts all ships.
Vision for Children at Risk's advocacy strategies are centered on amplifying family and community voice at a local and state level through Parent Advisory Councils and Community Cafés. The Community Cafés use a structured model to take real community issues and create a safe space for community members and stakeholders to talk, learn, grow, and take action together...