Stephanie Lowery, Cheryl Fagan, Myra Holt, Lillian Hanson, Gail Benefield and Mitzi Carden

The Children’s Policy Council of St. Clair County held their first meeting since early this year.

The group, which is supposed to meet quarterly, met for the first time since February due to the pandemic.

The council, which has 40 to 50 local members, is part of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. They specialize in assessing needs of children and families and turning those needs into legislative action. They work with food banks, shelters, probation officers and mental health workers.

The CPC is comprised of representatives from organizations and departments such as the Sheriff’s Department, the Department of Mental Health, St. Clair and Pell City Schools, community volunteers and more.

A large topic of discussion at the meeting and throughout the year is a needs assessment sent to the state capitol, which addresses three top needs amongst children in St. Clair County.

The top three needs addressed by the CPC for the county were mental health, substance abuse and juvenile crime. According to executive director of the CPC Cheryl Fagan, every county in Alabama recognized mental health and substance abuse as two of the top three issues.

“They are the two seen throughout the state. It is a rampant problem,” Fagan said.

The hope is that the assessment of these needs for mental health reform and substance abuse reform will turn into legislation in Montgomery.

While they had a large gap in time between their last meeting, the drive to help children and families in the area has not been diminished.

“I have always had the interest of children close to my heart,” Fagan said. “It is about children and it is about education.”

Other business handled at the CPC meeting included a guest speaker from Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an organization dedicated to providing beds for children and families in need.