Welcome to the Children's Policy Forum website of Vision for Children at Risk and the St. Louis Metropolitan Children's Agenda. The site provides detailed data and policy information related to children's issues in the St. Louis region. It also establishes an online community for the exchange of information and ideas. We invite your suggestions for content to be added to the site or ways in which it can be improved. Learn more about this site!
Find Data.
Data and information from Vision for Children at Risk supports effective community planning and program design for area children and families.
Every two years, VCR publishes the Children of Metropolitan St. Louis (CMSL) report containing comprehensive data on over 25 indicators of child well-being. Search the CMSL data online in the Info Center.
Community resource and best practice information is carefully reviewed and promoted in the Fundamental Needs section. Learn more about our data and information features.
Work Together.
Key Community Collaborations
Family Support -- Family & Community Partnership
Early Childhood -- Regional Early Childhood Council
Maternal/Child Health -- Maternal, Child & Family Health Coalition
Youth Development -- Youth Development Providers Network/St. Louis for Kids
Safe Neighborhoods/Youth Violence -- Safe Neighborhoods/Strong Communities Coalition
Advocate For Kids.
Join a Regional Early Childhood Council Committee to help improve the lives of young children. A complete meeting schedule can be found here.
Attend the RECC 2012 Scenarios for Success Conference March 30-31.
Advocate for kids, by joining our online community. Share your expertise or promote your own efforts to improve the lives of St. Louis children and families on our Message Boards.
In the Spotlight

Collective Impact for St. Louis Children: Where are we now?
Rich Patton, Executive Director of VCR, shares his thoughts on the progress towards collective impact in the St. Louis Region and what it means for the children of our region and the efforts of organizations to work together on kids issues.
Child Abuse Prevention Month Recap
The St. Louis Family & Community Partnership held their annual Child Abuse Prevention Month event on April 10th. It was a wonderful event with broad community support. Check out pictures from the event, interviews with Partnership members, and facts on child abuse. Although the month of April is over, we encourage everyone in the community to make a commitment to help prevent child abuse throughout the year. Fill out this commitment card and mail it to us or scan it and email us. We'll post your commitment on Facebook and on our website.
Mayor's Commission Takes on Youth Violence
Liz Hoester, who staffs the Mayor's Commission on Children, Youth, and Families, recaps the quarterly meeting of the commission and reports on their efforts to tackle youth violence in St. Louis.
Hearing on Nathan's Law
Child Care Safety Facts
Child care safety is an issue that ha gotten a great deal of media attention in the last several months. Find out more about this issue and learn what we all can do to ensure all children are safe while being cared for away from home.
RECC Chair Speaks on the "Deadly Day Care" news series
Today's edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carries a guest commentary by Doug Rasmussen, Senior Vice President of the St. Louis County Economic Council and co-chair of the Children's Agenda Regional Early Childhood Council. The commentary, titled Bad Child Care Sabotages Our Future, addresses the tragedy of the deaths of many Missouri children in unregulated child care settings, as well as the broader need for quality child care to promote the well-being of all St. Louis area children and the region as a whole.
Community Meetings This Week

