Our Vision
All families in Nevada County have ready access to a well-integrated and coordinated support network that is easily available and well-funded.
Our Mission
The Community Support Network of Nevada County’s Mission is to facilitate collaboration among public and private family support organizations so that Nevada County children, youth, and families thrive.
Our Goals
Capacity Building: Building CSN Partners’ skills and abilities to sustain and improve their efforts in serving the community, specifically in the areas of organizational and collaborative capacity.
Service Integration: Improving and fostering communication, coordination, and collaboration of public and private agency services for families.
Networking and Advocacy: Identifying, raising awareness, building recognition, and enhancing visibility about existing and emerging issues that strengthen families and improve the health and quality of life for people in our community, especially those at risk and underserved.
History:
The seeds of the CSN were sown in 2008 when three collaboratives – the Family Connections Collaborative, the Family Advocacy and Support Team, and the Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) – began to figure out how to join forces as a single collaborative to better ensure that services provided to Nevada County families were meeting needs, and to identify and fill gaps in these services. The success of these gatherings, with support and funding from First 5 Nevada County and CAPC, nurtured a real sense of collaboration, which is thriving today.
Membership & Governance:
The Community Support Network of Nevada County (CSN) is an inclusive, voluntary association of individuals from the Nevada County community, with representation from government agencies, education agencies, community-based organizations, businesses, parents, faith-based groups, and others interested in improving the quality of life in our community. The fiscal agent for CSN is the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Western Nevada County (CAPCWNC, aka CAPC), a 501(c)(3). The CSN-CAPC Board attends to both CAPC and CSN business and planning, and consists of representatives of the collaborative’s partners. They meet monthly to support CSN staff, and to set the agenda for the public meetings based on input from meeting attendees. CSN is a First 5 Funded Partner and receives support from Nevada County CBCAP funds.
CSN-CAPC Board
The direction for CSN meetings is guided by a small group of members who have volunteered to participate in this leadership role.
Current members are:
- Nicole Mcneely, Child Advocates of Nevada County
- Rossnina Dort, Child Care Coordinating Council
- Melody Easton, First 5 Nevada County (Chair)
- Eli Gallup, Nevada County Superintendent of Schools
- Jim Amaral, Nevada County Probation (Co-Chair)
- Nick Ready, Nevada County Child Welfare Services
- Dena Malakian, Bright Futures for Youth
- Char Weiss-Wenzl, Nevada County Public Health
- Jolene Hardin, Young Parents Program
The CSN-CAPC Board currently meets via Zoom on the second Thursday of the month. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Contact the CSN Coordinator for time, location, and agenda: csnncorg@gmail.com
If you would like to join our board, contact us. Board members must be available to attend monthly Network meetings as well as monthly steering committee meetings, will act as liaison to one of the identified essential functions and help develop an action group to fulfill activities to meet their function, agree to a time commitment of approximately 8 hours per month, accept responsibility for their share of leadership and facilitation of periodic network meetings, and will support the generative culture of the Network. Members of the CSN-CAPC Board attend to both CAPC and CSN business and planning. Click here for CSN Meeting Agreements.