Charting Our Path Forward: The Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet Strategic Plan

November 30, 2023 - The Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet has released its comprehensive Strategic Plan, developed in partnership with the William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children's Zone, charting an ambitious roadmap to transform outcomes for every child in Poughkeepsie from cradle to career.

The Strategic Plan outlines a phased approach to building a coordinated system of supports and opportunities for Poughkeepsie's youth. Phase 1 (2023-2024) focuses on building the backbone infrastructure and activating the cradle-to-career continuum, while Phase 2 (2025-2027) centers on enhancing and scaling the cradle-to-career pipeline. Together, these phases lay out specific targets for expanding access to high-quality programs, from early childhood services through young adulthood, with a goal of serving 5,000 students annually by 2033.

At its core, the plan addresses fundamental questions about equity and opportunity: how can the community ensure that every child, regardless of zip code or circumstance, has access to the programs and supports they need to thrive? How can Poughkeepsie create sustainable funding streams to support this work? And how can partners across sectors: education, housing, health, and youth development, work together to create meaningful pathways to success? 

From launching neighborhood demonstration projects to developing strategic financing models for out-of-school time programming, from establishing shared quality frameworks across youth-serving organizations to deepening data collaboration with partners, the Strategic Plan provides a concrete blueprint for collective action. Read the complete Strategic Plan to explore the vision, goals, and actionable strategies that will guide the Children's Cabinet's work in the years ahead.