Preview of CAP4Kids/Rockford launch

Staff Report

Several community service organizations and government agencies will soon launch a new website to connect local children with the services they need. CAP4Kids/Rockford is almost ready to link area teachers, physicians, social workers, parents and all people who work with children to information about essential community resources. The website will be finalized and officially launched on Friday, April 22.

Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Janet Holmgren, chair of the ad hoc Prenatal to 6 Committee; Steven Schulz, M.D., Crusader Health pediatrician; Gordon Eggers, president/CEO of Crusader Health; Maichle Bacon, director of the Winnebago County Health Department, and several other community leaders have been working to collect user-friendly information about services for children and youth ages 21 and younger, pregnant mothers and their families in Winnebago and Boone counties. CAP4Kids.org/Rockford includes 21 information categories for the user’s easy reference and referral.

“The ultimate goal of the CAP4Kids/Rockford project is to improve the overall health

and well-being of Winnebago and Boone County children and their families, This website

will organize, coordinate, and empower child-focused community service providers, as well as increase knowledge of and access to services for the families who need them most. This is a website not just for pediatricians, but also for parents, teachers, social workers, pastors, and basically anyone who comes in contact with children on a regular basis. With this website, a list of resources to meet a particular child’s needs is just a mouse click away,” said Dr. Schulz.

“There has been a long-standing need for a resource that details provider information for the community that can be easily maintained and updated when information changes. We are pleased to be able to promise the community that this directory will be complete on April 22,” said Judge Holmgren.

The project is supported by members of numerous other organizations in the region, including University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, the Rockford Health Council, University of Illinois Division of Specialized Care for Children, Easter Seals, Youth Services Network, United Way of the Rock River Valley, United Way of Boone County, the Early Learning Council, Rockford College Early Childhood Program, Actual! Authentic Solutions, Come Together Rockford, Rockford Mental Health Association, City of Rockford Health and Human Services Department, The Workforce Connection, Rockford Public Schools District 205, Hoffman Law Office, Ltd., Regional Office of Education, Rockford Public Library, and Roosevelt University.

Anyone with a computer or access to a computer will be able to utilize the CAP4Kids/Rockford website to locate information specific to their service needs. It is not just a directory. The website includes information that cannot be found on many service organizations’ websites, such as fees and types of providers (check out the Behavior/Counseling/Addiction category).

For more information about CAP4Kids/Rockford, visit www.CAP4Kids.org/Rockford or e-mail cap4kidsrockford@gmail.com.

From the April 20-26, 2011 issue