WOODBINE – Mayor William Pikolycky briefed Woodbine Borough Council Feb. 1 about progress made to date to conclude an agreement with Stockton University that would potentially provide comprehensive community-based participatory needs assessment. The ultimate goal of the potential partnership is to improve indicators for quality of life, education, and well-being for children and their families.
The initiative is led by members of the Southern Regional Institute located at the School of Education. It comprises a team of researchers and other staff with expertise in fields including education, social work, public health and public policy.
According to Pikolycky, researchers and staff from Stockton will reach out to community members, borough administration, and other stakeholders to formulate this “multi-pronged approach” assessment.
“The value of this type of collaboration and consulting input is invaluable to Woodbine,” said Pikolycky, adding, “Other communities need to pay large sums of money which we could not afford. So we are really fortunate to be moving forward with hopefully obtaining Stockton expertise.”
Stockton has proposed that it conduct a first-stage review of specific well-being indicators that could be of concern to Woodbine residents as well as at the community or state levels such as community-based interventions or comprehensive and recreation programs. Stockton has also suggested that focus groups be created to discuss issues and potential solutions.
From the focus groups, Stockton will distill the most critical themes and create a strategic plan to mobilize and cultivate resources and support within the borough.
“The next step is that Stockton gives us a timeline and cost to get the project fully rolling. We’re looking at not only Stockton but also foundations and possibly relevant grants to help with the cost. We expect to be able to continue to report on this good news over the next few months,” concluded Pikolycky.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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