OLYMPIA -- Three Yakima community leaders will be honored Monday, October 15, for their daily commitment to keep children safe and connected to their families through the national Family-to-Family program.

Mayor Dave Elder, Police Chief Sam Granato and community center director, Ester Huey, will receive certificates of commendation from Robin Arnold-Williams, secretary for the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the DSHS office at 1002 North 16th Avenue in Yakima.

"It's an honor for me to commend these three leaders and DSHS partners," said Arnold-Williams. "They bring a collective and keen understanding of the vital role the community plays in keeping kids safe and healthy while helping struggling families put their lives together. They have embraced the Family-to-Family program by bringing the community together to mentor, tutor and provide positive support for kids who have been removed from their biological families."

Family to Family is sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It advocates for more children to remain safely with their own families or, when that’s not possible, to keep family connections.

The four basic principles of Family to Family are:

• A child's safety is paramount.
• Children belong in families.
• Families need strong communities.
• Public child welfare systems need partnerships with the community and with other systems to achieve strong outcomes for children.

Mayor Elder will be recognized for helping obtain donations for foster and kinship children and their families, assisting DSHS is recruiting foster and respite providers, coaches and mentors. Elder also has provided meeting space for family conferences and community meetings.

Esther Huey is director of the Yakima Southeast Community Center. She is honored for providing services that support children and families through the center. Huey works to find, recruit and support foster and relative care givers in neighborhoods where children lived with their parents. She trains and mentors parents so they can safely raise their own children.

Chief Granato is a strong supporter of having Child Protective Service workers out stationed at the police department. The social workers partner with Granato's officers when responding to allegations of child abuse and neglect. The police chief leads a task force on gang suppression, recognizing that strong, supportive families will reduce gang violence.

"All three outstanding individuals recognize that a strong community is built on strong families who can provide a safe home life for their children," said Arnold-Williams. "We can't do this alone. It takes the entire community to keep children safe."