Many District of Columbia agencies have coordinated to provide summer activities food resources and other information for the Summer of 2008.  I hope you fund something of interest.

Family Movie Night Season Begins the at DC Department of Parks and Recreation
The District’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has announced that it will kick off “Fun Family Films Under The Stars,” its 2008 Family Movie Night Season”   Fun Family Films Under The Stars,” which continues until late-September, will afford all residents the opportunity to enjoy viewing the free, family-oriented films in DPR’s outdoor settings. As in previous years, viewers are invited to bring their own snacks, chairs and blankets.  This year, District residents will have a greater selection of viewing locations. Movies will be shown from 8:45 pm to 11 pm. Community members who arrive early enough for each screening will have the opportunity to place a vote between two movies that may be shown that evening The movie which receives the most votes will be shown.  On some nights movies had more than one location.  A listing of dates and times of “Fun Family Films Under The Stars” screenings is available on the DPR Website at www.dpr.dc.gov

DC Summer Fun Guide
Get quick and easy access to current summer programs for DC kids and teens with the 2008 DC Summer Fun Guide.  The Guide includes a summary of camps, recreation activities, reading programs, summer school, free summer meals, youth employment and more. 

- 2008 DC Summer Fun Guide
- 2008 Department of Parks and Recreation Spring Program Guide
- Locate a Program

DC Free Summer Meals Program 
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced the start of the District of Columbia’s Free Summer Meals program. The program runs through August 31, 2008.  District of Columbia residents are encouraged to call the Mayor's Citywide Call Center at 311 or view the DC Free Summer Meals locations by clicking here.

Metropolitan Police Department -- Summer of Safety 2008
Members of the Metropolitan Police Department have planned the Summer of Safety 2008 with their crime prevention partners from local business, city agencies and non-profit organizations.  There are 73 days in the summer break for the District’s public school students.  During those 73 days, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier wants to ensure that there are a variety of supervised activities and events available to District families for their children.  The police department will assist with providing supervised care with the following activities including Summer Jobs for Teens; - One-Week Overnight Camp for Youth; Summer Day Camps; 24-Hour Youth Activity Hotline; and a \Chance to Meet McGruff the Crime Dog.  For more information visit the MPDC's Summer of Safety website.

For more information, please call 311, the Citywide Call Center 24 hours a day, 7 days week.

Following the last month of Friday night Potluck Dinner & Discussions, we've received offers from individuals and community organizations to kick-off projects to support the ideas and suggestions coming out of our discussions. 

The Resident Councils at Potomac Gardens and Hopkins have newly elected leaders who are welcoming the attention and support of their residents and the neighbors in the Capitol Hill community. The Councilmember’s office will continue to support for these neighborhood initiatives over the summer months and beyond as individuals and organizations progress with ideas and projects that focus on helping youth and the community grow in positive directions.

Initiatives will be highlighted here in the future as activities and new partnerships lead to significant increases of positive changes in youth behavior in all our Capitol Hill neighborhoods. In other words, stay tuned...

As Tommy has me work on several policy fronts with the Committee on Human Services, I have to make sure I look at care and service delivery from several perspectives -- the government, the provider, the client, and the public. 

Although we cannot determine when court oversight of some of the agencies under the purview of the Committee on Human Services will come to a long awaited end, we must begin to look now toward the future and work on the development of a mechanisms that will be used to provide quality monitoring and oversight of the agencies as they exit current class action litigation.  We are striving to implement effective tools for monitoring and oversight that will replace those functions currently provided by the court.  I truly believe that our human service agencies, with strong leadership and a true visionary at the helm, can effectively govern themselves. I also believe that the Council of the District of Columbia is capable of performing its full oversight responsibilities without the involvement of the court. As agencies are working feverously towards reaching their court established benchmarks we must ensure that there is equal focus on ensuring quality practice.

Although reaching the court established benchmarks will end court monitor involvement in our agencies, this cannot be to sole focus for any agency. Quality practice must work hand in hand with benchmark attainment. Failure to focus on quality practice and lack of a plan to continue this focus post litigation will end us right back where we started and the residents of this city and more importantly the vulnerable populations that these agencies serve deserve more than a repeat of past failures. Children in the DC child welfare system who have already experienced more heartache than any child should, deserve more than a repeat of past failures. Our developmentally and physically disabled residents who may be totally dependent on grossly underpaid, under trained, and under appreciated direct care workers for most, if not all, of their daily living needs, deserve more than a repeat of past failures. Our committed youth who have fallen prey to the pressures of their economically burdened and violent neighborhoods, deserve more than a repeat of past failures. Although significant progress has been made within our human service agencies, more must be done in looking toward and planning for the future.

That drive is what keeps me, and many others throughout city government, coming back every morning to work on these difficult issues.

On Wednesday, June 25th the Committee held a hearing on B17-745, "Youth Mentoring Recruitment Incentives Amendment Act of 2008." Councilmember Wells heard testimony from nine organizations that provide mentoring services to the youth of the District.

The bill provides three incentives to entice mentors to get involved:

1) a $2,000.00 tax deduction would be available for mentors through qualified programs and with appropriate documentation
2) businesses that allow their employees to take time from their jobs to mentor would be eligible for a $10,000.00 tax credit (again, qualified programs and appropriate documentation needed)
3) District government employees could use accrued leave for their mentoring activities

There is currently an enormous unmet need to recruit new mentors.  One organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capitol Area, testified that they have 250 children currently awaiting mentors and all of the other witnesses agreed that the District needs more mentors.

This bill and its companion, B17-752 "Office for Youth Mentoring Establishment Act of 2008," seek to meet this need and provide for a centralized clearinghouse for matching mentors and youth to agencies that can help.

The following organizations and individuals testified at the hearing and provide mentoring services (feel free to contact them for more information or to sign up as a mentor):

College Bound -- www.collegebound.org
 Mahlet Getachew, Program Coordinator
 (202) 842-0858 ext. 106

The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund -- www.hoopdreams.org
 Theo Brannum - HDSF Program Director
  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop -- www.freemindsbookclub.org
 Tara Libert
 202-251-0343
  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, Inc. -- www.ercpcp.org
 (Project NIA Mentoring Program: Mentoring With A Purpose)
 Theresa F. Gibson, MPA or James Worthen
 202-373-5767

Mentoring ToDAY -- www.mentoringtoday.org
 Whitney Louchheim, Chief Operating Officer
 202-678-9001