VERMILLION, S.D. (KELO AM) - Carole Cochran, director of South Dakota KIDS COUNT at the University of South Dakota, has been appointed to the KIDS COUNT Network Steering Committee.
According to Cochran, the KIDS COUNT Steering Committee will serve a leadership and liaison capacity within the KIDS COUNT Network. Committee members work with the Annie E. Casey Foundation staff to implement strategies and monitor progress towards the goals listed in the KIDS COUNT Network Work Plan. As leaders, committee members will also identify issues and concerns faced by the KIDS COUNT network and provide leadership to the network in achieving goals. They will also work closely with the Foundation staff around programming for KIDS COUNT and other Foundation Initiatives. Steering Committee members are expected to participate in four meetings per year, which will require travel primarily to Baltimore, Maryland.
“KIDS COUNT state organizations improve programs and policies for children and families by collecting and reporting credible data and promoting the use of data-based advocacy and communications strategies,” explained Cochran, M.S.W., who was appointed to the committee based on recommendations from her peers currently serving on the committee.
South Dakota KIDS COUNT project is part of a network of projects supported and coordinated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Data and information are collected and published about the demographics, health, education, economic and safety of children. The data provide South Dakotans a broad picture of how the state's children are doing and provide parents, policymakers, advocates and others interested in the well-being of children with information they need to make informed decisions about policies and programs for children and families.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization, dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of UPS, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their mother.