By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Information about upgrades to buildings in Pelican Rapids and New York Mills which house Family Resource Centers was provided to county commissioners on Nov. 3. One of them is the Bridge Center, a former church building in Pelican Rapids, and the other is a government-owned building which also serves as a Family Resource Center in New York Mills.

The goals of Family Resource Centers are to support families to be strong, healthy and successful. Services include parenting support, child development activities and parental leadership development. Currently there are more than 3,000 Family Resource Centers throughout the United States. 

“It’s great to see the support and enthusiasm for these centers,” said County Commissioner Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids. He and the other four commissioners (Dan Bucholz of Perham, Bob Lahman of Parkers Prairie, Kurt Mortenson of rural Underwood and Sean Sullivan of Fergus Falls) said they look forward to seeing the establishment of more Family Resource Centers throughout Otter Tail County.

Supporters of these centers agree that establishing Family Resource Centers here in west central Minnesota is well worth the effort. Commissioners past and present have expressed thanks for the grants provided counties in Minnesota by the Sauer Family Foundation of St. Paul.

A Family Resource Center can be located at either a school or other location in a community, situated as a welcoming hub of support, services and opportunities for families. All across the nation are success stories about economic self-sufficiency, family resiliency, child nurturing and improvements in children’s educational success.

Under the supervision of Otter Tail County, contractors assist the county with the development of Family Resource Centers to assist families in building strengths and meeting needs.

Each contractor, working with an existing Core Team, which includes community members, creates an implementation plan for each location including such elements as service locations, budget, programming plans, start dates and parent advisory committee plans.