NOTE: A SoundVU interview with Child and Family Policy Center Director Debbie Miller is available on-line or via the telephone. See below for details. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Community Services Directory, the only comprehensive listing of nonprofits and social services throughout Middle Tennessee, is now accessible through a new website created by the Child and Family Policy Center at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.
The Child and Family Policy Center undertook stewardship for the directory when the Council of Community Services was forced to shut its doors in late 2001. The directory, now in its 31st edition, has become a vital resource for those working in the field of social services, according to Debbie Miller, director of the Child and Family Policy Center.
“When we took responsibility for the directory, we realized that most of the purchasers were professionals, such as school counselors, social workers and employees at government agencies,” Miller said. “We thought it would be wonderful if parents, community volunteers and others not inclined to pay $45 for a hard copy of the directory could access the information as well. So we have made the directory available for free through the Internet.” The website is www.vucsdirectory.org/ One of the advantages of uploading all the information to a Web database is that the center can provide sub-directories that target specific community needs. “For example, if a particular agency deals primarily with children and youth, or, perhaps, senior citizens or homelessness, we can produce a smaller, less expensive sub-directory that meets the agency’s specific needs,” Miller said. “We also have the ability to print the directory on a CD for those who don’t want to carry around a two-pound book.”
Alice Raver, coordinator of the Community Services Directory, is responsible for updating the information on the database and handling directory requests. “If a service provider needs to correct or update information, we quickly upload it on the website so the directory stays current,” Raver said.
Also available on the same website is the Directory of Out-of-School Activities that the Child and Family Policy Center compiled at the direction of Nashville’s Metro Council. The directory provides students and their families information about appropriate activities before and after school as well as during the summer for young people of all ages. In addition, there is information from the Faith-Based Organization directories that the center has compiled.
Persons interested in purchasing a Community Services Directory or finding out more about the project should contact the Child and Family Policy Center at (615) 322-5638 or go to the website at www.vucsdirectory.org/.
-VU- SoundVU – A brief interview with Debbie Miller, director of the Child and Family Policy Center at Vanderbilt is available.
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