Human Development & Education
Human development and support systems form the basis of a community. Strong families and individuals form the bedrock of our community. Quality education processes and effective social services are important to all of us. The arts are valued for the enrichment they bring to our lives and their positive economic impact. Recreational resources enhance our lives and improve the quality of life of the community. Of special importance is the education and training of our workforce.

The Chamber advocates:
Franklin Initiative: Hiring good employees is the most difficult challenge our businesses face. High school graduates frequently lack the academic and social skills that are needed to be successful employees. The Franklin Initiative, our community's school-to-career program, partners schools and businesses to help our young people develop the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to be successful employees. The Franklin Initiative deserves broad community and business support.

Teacher Training: There is considerable benefit to students if teachers can tie lessons to real-world activities. Unfortunately, many teachers, having been in an academic environment much of their lives, have not been exposed to modern businesses. They may find it difficult to show students how academic subjects relate to eventual employment. Schools of education should provide significant exposure to the world of work for their students, thereby helping them prepare for a critical part of their professional careers, preparing young people to become employed. Teachers should take advantage of every opportunity to gain experience in workplaces, including those coordinated by the Franklin Initiative. Businesses should seek every opportunity to expose teachers to the business environment.

Counseling: The school counseling support that young people receive is inadequate. There are insufficient counselors, and they need better tools to provide the necessary guidance to students. The counseling system needs to be reinvented and adequate resources must be made available so students and their parents can make better choices regarding post-secondary activities.

The Arts: The arts enrich our lives and bring more than $50 million into our community each year. Businesses should explore ways to support the arts. The Community for the Arts initiative, co-chaired by the mayor and IU's president, provides an excellent forum in which to develop specific initiatives. Infrastructure that supports the arts deserves public and private investment. Noteworthy projects that will make the community more "art-friendly" include the development of the Indiana Theatre, the construction and enhancement of the Farmer's Market project near Showers, and the improvement of traffic flow, parking, and streetscapes throughout the community.

Funding for the Arts: The "1 percent for the arts" mandate should be reviewed objectively to evaluate whether it is achieving the desired effect. Modifications, if appropriate, should be considered.

Indiana University: Without the presence of Indiana University, Bloomington would be a very different place. The community, and especially the business community, must support the university in every way possible. It is especially important that community businesses work together to ensure that the state legislature supports Indiana University.

Higher Education Partnership: A partnership between Bloomington and West Lafayette - Indiana University and Purdue University - should be developed with the goals of improving cooperative activities and working to ensure both universities are properly supported by the state legislature.

Ivy Tech: Ivy Tech State College plays an increasingly important role in the community as it trains more and more people to serve in the region's workforce. It should continue to receive strong support from the community and the state legislature.

Other Post Secondary Educational Institutional: There is a strong demand for post-secondary education that is accessible to persons who are already employed. Oakland City University and Indiana Wesleyan University are examples of institutions that fulfill this need. The community should value their presence and encourage their growth.

Executive MBA Program: Indiana University should establish an executive MBA program for local and regional professionals. The business community should provide the support to make this program a success.

Support of Community Education: Indiana University should seek to significantly increase its offerings of continuing education programs to community residents. Specifically, it should conduct a comprehensive survey to ascertain community needs and then develop programs to respond to those needs. The Chamber and the community should assist the university in this effort.

Housing: Housing should not be viewed as "affordable," "student," or "retirement," but rather a complex interactive system composed of those elements and many more. Under the assumption that the free enterprise system will respond to known needs, it is essential that the community develop a sophisticated process for sharing information that developers and the university can use to make critical market decisions. The initial effort of the Town-Gown committee to provide a system to routinely produce such information is a good start. It is important that the initiative receive support from all stakeholders so its full potential can be realized.

Diversity: The strength of a community, and of a workplace, has much of its basis in its diversity. Community and business leaders should join together to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunity to achieve their fullest potential. It is especially important that those who have personal limitations have ready access to the workplace, housing, and public accommodations.

Health Care: Health care is one of the basic needs in the community. Because of the many changes taking place, it is difficult for businesses and the public to keep informed and make the right choices. This is particularly true among small business owners and individuals who do not have the resources to monitor and respond to health care changes. All concerned parties should work closely together to ensure that information is available to everyone and that consumers are protected as the situation continues to evolve.

Supporting Our Youth: Community leaders must continue the aggressive initiatives - including increased youth activities, innovative policing, and improved facilities for troubled young people - that will eventually result in less youth crime. As an example of an innovative approach to providing worthwhile activities for our children, WonderLab should receive broad community support.

Childcare: Having excellent, affordable childcare available to all who need it is an essential attribute of a quality community. The care that children receive in their earliest years strongly influences their behavior as adults and their ability to achieve their potential. The performance of employees is significantly affected by the daycare arrangements they make for their children. Parents, providers, employers, social service agencies, and government must work together to provide appropriate childcare resources.

Nonprofit Organizations: Many nonprofit organizations in our community provide important social services. As the responsibility for providing human services continues to devolve from federal to state to local governments, these agencies will become even more important. Because of their importance, it is essential they operate efficiently and effectively and in a coordinated manner. Currently, this is not always the case. Areas that could be addressed include: increased coordination and consolidation of fund drives; consolidation of similar or related nonprofit organizations; sharing of administrative services; improved efficiency and effectiveness of measurement systems; co-location of agencies; certification; and improved training for staff and volunteers. The United Way should take a strong leadership position in making improvements.

Welfare-To-Work: Changes in federal policies and the critical need for capable workers combine to provide a real opportunity to get people off welfare and into the workplace. Representatives of government and the business and social service communities should work closely together to develop an effective welfare-to-work process for our community.

MCCSC: The funding formula used to provide resources to our school systems is flawed and results in under funding of Monroe County schools. Community leaders, and especially CALL, should serve as advocates and assist school leaders in forcing basic changes in the formula in order to better support our educational systems. Stakeholders should develop a more satisfactory process for funding the schools. This process should be advocated to decision makers.

Monroe County Library: The library is an essential community asset. It deserves strong community support and should be developed so that it continues to serve the diverse needs of the community. The library should seek ways to integrate services and resources with school libraries to maximize return on dollars invested in both.