[Adopted by Order No. 94-036 (Ch. 2.137 of the 1993 Code)]
A. 
In the past 30 years, the American family has undergone major change. There has been an increase in the number of single-parent families, blended families, divorced families, dual-career families, teen parents and children not living with families.
B. 
Changed family patterns pose significant challenges to parents who are trying to raise children without blueprints or knowledge of how to cope. Many of the old and traditional extended family supports do not exist. The Commission on the Family thereby is established to create a Quincy organization which will both genuinely seek to determine the real range of family needs and assemble the public and private resources necessary to meet the challenge.
There is established in the City of Quincy a Commission on the Family, hereafter referred to as the "Commission."
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
The Commission shall have the following duties:
A. 
To prepare and complete a family needs assessment to determine the current and future needs of the family.
B. 
To identify, evaluate and recommend to the families of Quincy those resources available to meet needs.
C. 
To provide families with a directory of, and contact with, all those agencies, public and private, providing services to families.
D. 
To identify those areas of family need where resources are lacking and work toward the creation or discovery of those resources at all levels of the public and private sector to meet those needs.
E. 
To work specifically with families to explain ways in which the public school system can be more effective in meeting the changing needs of families.
F. 
To work with City departments and the public school system to create those after-school and evening programs that will provide wholesome and meaningful educational and recreational opportunities for youth.
G. 
To work closely with all service provider departments of the City to create new and innovative ways in which families can be assisted by those dynamic and growing institutions.
H. 
To provide families with a sense of family community that breaks down the sense of isolation that many parents and children feel as a result of the changing family structure.
I. 
To work with the Police Department, particularly the drug unit, to provide the Department with a sense of how families feel about law enforcement, as it pertains to them, and how it could become more effective and more sensitive to family needs.
J. 
To assist new families moving into the City of Quincy in becoming acquainted with the Commission on the Family and with all services provided to families in areas such as education, health, recreation and employment.
K. 
To create an atmosphere or climate in which people fully understand the full scope of community resources to keep the family strong.
L. 
To establish and maintain a channel for Quincy citizens of all ages to volunteer their efforts in ways to help children and families, including but not limited to such activities as mentoring and talent banks.
M. 
To create an annual calendar of events, family-oriented, nonalcoholic events. Said calendar shall be distributed free of charge to Quincy residents. The Commission shall look into private sources of funding, but public sources shall not be excluded, to publish said calendar.
The Commission shall consist of 17 members, all of whom shall either live or work in Quincy.
A. 
Thirteen appointments to the Commission shall be made by the Mayor for a term of three years, with four members being appointed on the first Monday of February. Vacancies, as well as initial appointments, shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term. So far as practical, members appointed shall be from the following fields: public education, law enforcement, City planning, job training, domestic violence, recreation, clergy, business, media, social services, community services, health care, and mental health. The Commission shall annually elect a Chairperson from among it members and may elect other officers as it deems necessary. All members shall serve without compensation. The Commission shall meet at least 10 times a year. Nine members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of those present shall be sufficient for any action taken by the Commission, except where this article provides otherwise.
B. 
For the initial appointments to the Commission, the Mayor shall appoint members as follows:
(1) 
Five members for a term of three years.
(2) 
Four members for a term of two years.
(3) 
Four members for a term of one year.
C. 
Thereafter the Mayor shall appoint each successor to a term of three years. No member of the Commission may serve for more than two consecutive terms. A member having served two consecutive terms must remain off the Commission for at least one year before becoming eligible for reappointment.
D. 
Four appointments to the Commission shall be made by the Family Council in a manner to be determined by the bylaws of the Family Council.
A. 
The Family Council shall be a source of information and serve to advise the Commission on the Family on the needs of the family, resources necessary to meet those needs and any and all other matters inherent in the operation of the Commission on the Family.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
B. 
There shall be established, by the Commission, a Family Council, hereafter referred to as the "Council." The Council shall have at least 15 members, but not more than 25. Members shall be chosen by the Commission upon the recommendation of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Family, with any member of the Commission having the right to submit a name or names directly to the Commission for consideration. All members of the Family Council must reside in Quincy.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
C. 
Appointment of members to the Family Council shall follow the following guidelines: families which are blended, are affected by divorce, contain dual careers, have grandparents raising grandchildren, follow a traditional model and represent different areas of the City.
D. 
Members of the Council shall be appointed for three-year terms, with 1/3 of the members being appointed on the first of February of each year. Four alternate members shall be appointed, who in the absence or the inability of any member of the Family Council to attend and participate in the affairs of the Commission may be designated by the Chairperson of the Commission to act in the place of a regular Council member.
E. 
For initial appointments to the Council, the Commission shall appoint members as follows:
(1) 
One-third of the members for a term of three years.
(2) 
One-third of the members for a term of two years.
(3) 
One-third of the members for a term of one year.
F. 
Thereafter the Commission shall appoint each successor to a term of three years. No member of the Council may serve for more than two consecutive terms. A member having served two consecutive terms must remain off the Council for at least one year before becoming eligible for reappointment.
G. 
The Council shall meet at least 10 times annually and shall provide minutes of its meetings to the Commission. A majority of the total number of Council members appointed shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of these present shall be sufficient for any action taken by the Council, unless where this article provides otherwise, or the rules of the Commission provide otherwise.
H. 
The Family Council shall elect from its membership a Chairperson and all other officers it deems necessary as provided for in the Council bylaws.
The Commission on the Family shall provide the Mayor and City Council with an annual report of its activities as well as an audited financial report of all money received and expended.