Monroe County Childhood Conditions Summit

A Partnership Of:

MC3 2025
A Decade of Growth: Empowering Youth, Strengthening our Village

Click for 2025 MC3 Summit Resources

MC3 Co-hosted By:

2025 Monroe County Childhood Conditions Summit

A Decade of Growth: Empowering Growth, Strengthening our Village

Over the past decade, the Summit has been guided by the concept that ‘what surrounds us, shapes us.’ Children and youth are shaped by the relationships they are a part of, the neighborhoods they live in, the places they learn and play, and the policies and practices developed by the organizations and institutions with which their families interact.

The (CDC) developed a framework called Essentials for Childhood intended for communities committed to the positive development of children and families. When children have access to safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments (SSNREs) they are more likely to thrive - and thriving children are more likely to grow into thriving adults. What we do as a community and in the community affects those conditions.

This year, we are looking back at 10 years of exploring what shaped childhood conditions in Monroe County and reviewing what we have been able to improve through intentional work across sectors. We also are exploring practical strategies for moving forward: in the next 10 years, how can we work collectively at the interpersonal, organizational, community and policy level to create a resilient, empowered community where youth and families thrive?

With that in mind, this 10th Annual MC3 is an opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments as a community, and explore what we can learn and achieve outside of MC3. What partnerships do we need to build and maintain, what resources do we need to leverage, and what ideas do we need to put into practice in our community to make Monroe County the best place to be a child?

This year, with a reduction to budgets across the County, we are also in the difficult place to announce that MC3 will not be budgeted and planned for 2026. This is in an effort to focus YSB funds on overall staff retention and the essential service of running an emergency shelter.

This does not necessarily mean the end of MC3 and it does not mean that the educational components and community building are going to disappear. In fact, perhaps they will come back stronger, but in a new format in the future. We will use 2026 as a time for practicing building partnerships, and leveraging resources to ensure that the momentum built through MC3 sessions over the past 10 years can continue to make positive impacts in our community.

We look forward to seeing you in November, and imagining our potential collective impact in the next decade!

Spatial Data for Community Resilience

Dr. John Baeten (he, him)

This presentation focuses on how geospatial information systems (GIS) can be utilized to provide tools to engage community members with new insights and data visualizations. We will cover accessing and understanding authoritative data sources, integrating these data into a GIS, analyzing data, and communicating findings to broad audiences. The presentation will showcase existing and planned GIS applications in Monroe County related to demographic data and quality of life metrics pulled from the American Community Survey. Once mapped, these tabular data provide insights into the spatial relationships that exist across our community.

Brain Based Strategies for Regulation and Engagement

Dr. Robin Donaldson (she, her)

The world has been a dangerous place for the last few years and our stress response systems have all been overloaded. This workshop will provide an overview of the neuroscience of the stress response system and introduce strategies that we can use to promote self-regulation and engagement for ourselves and the youth and families with whom we work.

Recording here

Impact of Fire Prevention: More than smoke alarms and stop, drop & roll

Stephen Coover (he, him)

This course goes beyond the basics to explore the true scope and power of fire prevention. Participants will examine missing strategies, technologies, and community engagement methods that reduce fire risk long before the first spark. Through real-world case studies, interactive discussions, and practical exercises, learners will gain insight into how public education, and behavioral change work together to save lives and property. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to champion comprehensive fire prevention efforts that make lasting community impact.

Advancing Child Well-Being through Economic Supports

Olivia Smith, MPA (she, her)

Join researcher and advocate Olivia Smith of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute for a deep dive into their recent policy campaign to establish a child tax credit in Indiana. Learn how they used legislative advocacy to get the new bill passed through the full Senate and how fiscal considerations and navigating the state’s budget process informed and guided their campaign. This presentation will leave participants equipped with new strategies and insights on how to advance financial supports for families like child tax credits and paid family leave, as well as a deeper understanding of Indiana’s budget process.

Collective Action: Multi-Sector Strategies to Build Community Protections

Stephanie Solomon, MPH (she, her), Colleen Yeakle, MSW (she, her), Olivia Smith, MPA (she, her)

What organizational collaborations enable collective action? We have all spent time in meetings where we share information but struggle to act on our potential partnerships. If thriving communities cannot be built in isolation, how can we effectively collaborate across sectors? At the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), we know that to prevent violence and enable community health, we must come together to confront the shared risks and build the protective factors that address multiple social problems. In this session, participants will engage in a hands-on activity exploring the mutual work required to improve childhood conditions in Indiana. We’ll share a successful multi-sectoral collaboration between ICADV and the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, and work with participants to identify opportunities to act across sectors.

Recording here

Mapping Conflict: Conflict mixed with accountability co-creates transformation

Li Meuser, MSW (Li, they)

Conflict can be overwhelming, leading us to act in ways that wreak havoc when stakes and emotions are high. While we may not be able to control the people and situations in our lives that challenge us, we can learn how to have choice with how we respond to what we can't control. Conflict mixed with accountability co-creates possibility (instead of combat), empowered transformation, and strengthened relationships.

How can we connect with conflict in ways that are non-punitive, while also empower and strengthen our relationships? Through a four-step-by-step practical de-escalation process rooted in trauma informed processes and practices, participants will learn that while conflict and discomfort may be messy, neither are inherently dangerous! Conflict and discomfort are a normal part of life, and can be utilized in ways to bring us deeper into empowered relationships with self, one another and life.

Strengthening Our Village Through Emotionally Responsive Practice

Jenny Gleason, MSEd (she/her)

Big behaviors often signal big needs. This session explores how understanding and responding to challenging behaviors through a lens of emotional development, culture, and community connection can empower both children and the adults who support them. Through real-life examples, evidence-based strategies, and reflective practices, participants will explore how emotionally responsive classrooms create a foundation for resilience, learning, and community well-being.

Insights From Three Decades of Working in Child Services

Lara Weaver (she/her)

Use creative expression to build skills for reflective practice with community based artist and child advocate, Lara Weaver, in conversation and collaboration with Tara Green.

This is an interactive and unplugged session designed to nurture those who work with and for children and families. Our work can be deeply emotional and we know we need to take care of ourselves - but sometimes it can feel like we're just adding 'self care' to our long list of to-dos.

Together will explore how you can use creative expression intentionally to metabolize difficult experiences and feelings, to build empathy and insight, and to employ strategies for connection. Our conversation will generate care and enthusiasm for the work we do and the community we are creating.

From Individual to Systemic Change: A Disability Justice Approach through CtLC

Kat Chappell (she, her), Beth Crain, MSW (she, her)

Join us to learn about the principles and tools of the Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) program. CtLC tools are person-centered and designed to be user friendly, giving anyone at any age the tools they need to plan for their best lives. Explore how to use these tools to help you live your good life and consider how you might to effectively plan and implement the principles of disability justice and accessibility in the workplace to expand the impact of CtLC on a wider scale.

Effects of Economic Instability on the Family and Children

Collin Bates, JD (he, him)

This presentation will explore the reality that economic hardship and family instability are often at the core of DCS intervention. Financial insecurity, inadequate housing, and lack of access to basic resources increase parental stress and can impair the ability to meet children’s needs. These conditions are too often mischaracterized as neglect when they are more accurately symptoms of poverty. The Indiana DCS has recognized this connection by implementing policies that provide assistance to parents with open cases, including referrals for housing support, employment services, and financial counseling. This presentation examines the relationship between poverty, family stability, and mental health, highlighting how families with DCS involvement can utilize DCS policies as meaningful tools for advocacy. Ensuring lasting family well-being requires more than service compliance—it requires addressing the economic foundations that allow families to remain safe and stable.

From Story to Strategy: Aligning Cultural Relevance with the Science of Reading

Ugonna Ahumibe (she, her)

This interactive workshop explores how the conditions in which children grow shape their success as readers. These include access to books and diverse materials, supportive mentors, engaged caregivers, cultural leaders who share stories, and positive environments in schools, libraries and after-school programs. Using storytelling as an entry point, participants will explore practical ways to connect cultural traditions with key reading skills like recognizing sounds, connecting sounds to letters, reading with accuracy and ease, building word knowledge and understanding meaning. We will design simple and adaptable activities for classrooms and other youth-serving spaces. The focus is on making literacy instruction engaging and relevant to children’s lived experiences. Attendees will leave with strategies highlighting how supportive conditions across families, schools, communities and peer networks help all children thrive in literacy and beyond.

Bringing SSNREs to Life: Thriving Connections Youth discuss the impact of SSNREs

Thriving Connections youth

Thriving Connections (TC) is an intentional community whose goal is to eliminate poverty by bringing together diverse perspectives to address stereotypes and break down individual, community, and systemic barriers. TC participants study poverty, its causes, its impacts, and seek out resources and connections to create a place where everyone thrives. TC is an initiative of the South Central Community Action Program (SCCAP).

In this session Thriving Connections youth will discuss how SSNREs have played a role in their journey, alongside their parents, to fight poverty. They will discuss the ways the Thriving Connections community has shielded them from stigmas associated with poverty, how TC’s Youth Extra-curricular fund has given them access to involvement, and how the empowerment created by their direct participation in community building has helped build interpersonal skills that they will carry throughout their lives.

Recording here

Recording: Opening Remarks at the 10th Annual Monroe County Childhood Condition Summit

Melanie Vehslage, Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County & representative of Building a Thriving Compassionate Community Subcommittee

Honorable Judge Holly Harvey

Senior Judge Stephen Galvin

Tara Green, MC3 Planning Team & representative of Building a Thriving Compassionate Community Subcommittee

Recording: Lunch Spotlights

Melanie Vehslage, Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County

Lisa Greathouse, IU Health Community Health & Monroe County Health Department - School to Farm Program in partnership with Purdue Extension

Kate Seader, Wonderlab Museum of Science, Health and Technology

Christine Herring, People and Animal Learning Services (PALS)

Julien Calvert & Leah Franklin, Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County