CCLC names new executive director
The Child Care and Learning Center has announced the appointment of Lisa PaineWells of Front Royal to lead the organization as Executive Director.
“We were pleased to meet Lisa and learn of her experience in child welfare, behavioral health and juvenile justice and thrilled when we found that she also has the skills to provide supportive leadership to our team’’ said Kathi Dutilh, CCLC Board Chair. “She will help us to expand services, while supporting our strong child care and early learning team lead by Lisa Pendleton.”
Paine-Wells brings extensive understanding of children and family services to the Child Care and Learning Center. She has been a successful project management consultant for over 15 years. Prior positions include Administrator and Senior Project Director of Kids Insight and Senior Consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), based in Baltimore, Maryland. Among her successes is helping two states reduce their foster care rates through a team conferencing model. She is a mentor with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northwest Virginia and a former Warren County foster parent. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to support the Child Care and Learning Center staff and Board in providing quality, affordable child care for children in Rappahannock County,+” she said. “I’m looking forward to participating in the creation of a network of support for children and families in 2019.”
The CCLC Board has commissioned a study of children and family needs in Rappahannock County. With support from the Path Foundation, CCLC has contracted with Child Focus, Inc. http://childfocuspartne14r5s74. com. The well recognized group is now completing thaMt-F study. Its conclusions will be
included in a report to the
CCLC Board to be issued in January 2019.
This has been a time
of rapid change at CCLC, starting last summer when School Superintendent Shannon Grimsley approached CCLC to form a public-private partnership to serve the children left behind when Head Start announced that it would not be serving Rappahannock County children in 2018-19. Soon thereafter the County Supervisors voted to fund the Head Start type program now called the First Step Collaboration for low income three and four-year olds. As a result, CCLC was able to hire Carol Lucking to serve as Family and Child Service Coordinator. Lucking provides parenting skills development and brings years of counseling, social service and community-based counseling to CCLC.
Sustaining the First Step Program, and adding children who also qualify, requires ongoing funding and creative energies. In addition to the 17 children supported by the county funds, The Headwaters Foundation provided a grant to assist in funding three additional children for part of the year to bring the number of First Step children to 23. The public private partnership forged this summer to respond to the loss of Head Start is a positive first step to meeting the needs of all children in the county.
This fall Shannon Grimsley, the RCPS and CCLC Board worked together to write and submit a grant application for the Mixed Delivery Grant awarded this week by Governor Northam.