The membership of the Partnership may form whatever committees or task groups it deems necessary to perform its duties and accomplish its goals. The number of task groups operating at any time remains fluid depending on the needs in the county, resources and opportunities available to the group. It is anticipated that issues will surface in the community that impact the welfare of its residents and whose solutions fit into accomplishing the vision, mission, and goals of the Collaborative. Groups interested in working on these issues will see PFCD as an umbrella organization that can assist Partners in achieving objectives for the common good of the county. Presently, task groups have been formed to work on these major areas – Poverty, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, and Communities That Care. These task groups will function as working planning groups whose primary goal is to:

Primary Goal: Identify gaps in services and ways to close those gaps effectively.
Steps to Reach this Goal:
• Collection of measurable baseline data (most important step)
• Identify research based effective prevention programs
• Identify agency or agencies most capable of filling the gaps identified
• Identify funding opportunities necessary to make the changes that were identified.
• Follow-Up and collection of measurable data to ensure that these programs are effective and accomplishing the goals that have been set forth.

In 2006, a second community needs assessment was completed. The results were similar to the first needs assessment which was completed in 1996. The Priority Issues chosen by the Strategic Planning Committee include:

Poverty
Substance Abuse
Teen Pregnancy

Task Groups
For each of these priority issues a task group has been formed and specific strategic plans for each issues is currently being written.