Polk County Social Services will host a Grand Opening event for their second Family Resource Center (FRC) at the East Grand Fork Senior High Center on Nov. 14 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., featuring games, door prizes, resource booths, and free food. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 2:45. The event will create a chance for families in the EGF area to preview the programs and supports we have to offer parents looking to strengthen their parenting skills and enhance their leadership development.
Polk County Social Services has been meeting with our core stakeholders’ group (Crookston Public School District, East Grand Forks School District, Alluma, Polk County Public Health, CareerForce, Campbell Library, Crookston Public Library, and Tri-Valley Opportunity Council) in developing a plan to provide services to Polk County residents.
“We are pleased to partner with our core stakeholder group to open the FRC to help meet the needs of families. Having one location for agencies to provide services has been one of our goals to help support families,” says Polk County Social Services Director Karen Warmack.
A careful evaluation of the Community Needs Assessment and Action Plan completed by Polk County Public Health for 2020-2024 was completed along with a Parent Assessment Survey in February 2023. Both data elements showed unmet needs in the Polk County community and which community concerns are a priority, including mental health, education, economic stability, and social connectedness.
“We’ve had monthly meetings with community stakeholders in the East Grand Forks area for about the last 10 months,” says Polk County FRC Coordinator Victoria Ramirez. “We took an environmental scan of the area to try to find a location or community partner that we could collaborate with that would be a good fit. We were looking for a space that is family-friendly, accessible, safe, centrally located, and with good parking. The East Grand Forks School district identified a space that matched all our needs and the family resource center’s vision/mission aligned with the goals of strengthening students and families in their district.”
