Poverty summit starts today in Mitchell

A two-day conference on poverty in South Dakota will begin today at the Highland Conference Center in Mitchell.

Titled “Summit on South Dakota Children and Families in Poverty: Working Together, Building on Cornerstones,” the conference will review progress on four cornerstones that are intended to build prosperity and combat childhood poverty in South Dakota.

The cornerstones are economic security, housing, health and nutrition, and education. A fifth cornerstone — building public will — will be addressed at a later meeting in the spring of 2010.

The conference is hosted by South Dakota Voices for Children, a statewide, nonprofit organization designed to improve the lives of children in South Dakota.

Today’s schedule:

• 1 p.m.: Registration

• 2 p.m.: Opening session

• 3:45 p.m.: Economic security cornerstone

• 6 p.m.: Dinner/housing cornerstone

Thursday’s schedule:

• 8:30 a.m.: Health/nutrition cornerstone

• 9:45 a.m. Education cornerstone

• 10:45 a.m.: South Dakota in the national context

• 11:30 a.m.: Invitation to shape the future

• 12:15 p.m.: Closing luncheon

• 1:30 p.m.: Adjourn

Tags: news, local, poverty