The community also has held a Health Summit, opened a Wellness Center, developed a Child Advocacy Center, started a Parents as Teacher program, and opened a Level III group home in Polk County for teenage boys. Planning has begun to open a similar home for teeneage girls.

Rhodes also told commissioners that the upcoming year will be tough for many children with the school system&squo;s builder&squo;s club program ending this summer.

Rhodes said many children in need attended the summer program and this year her department fears many children will not be supervised over the summer months. She said she also fears many children will be home this summer with little or no food since the builder&squo;s club program fed children during the day.

The Polk County Community Child Protection Team was established in response to Executive Order 142 in 1991. The purpose of the team is to promote a community wide approach to the problems of child abuse and neglect by bringing together designated community representatives to meet regularly and review cases of abuse and neglect and to review all child deaths in which a child/children have been involved in reported neglect or abuse.