Girls and young women are at an age where prevention and early intervention activities could make a lasting impact, because these girls could become the leaders of their families, change their communities and impact the world in strong decision-making roles.

The Girls at Risk Project seeks equity in social services for adolescent girls in Lane County. After the Lane County public safety measure failed in November 2006, a group of local organizations got together to find another way to achieve the goal of improving services for girls. They have declared 2007 the Year of the Girl in Lane County -- the year to see that girls at risk in our community get the services they need and deserve.

Investing in girls makes common sense: girls are our future citizens, future voters, future taxpayers, future mothers. While funding and services specifically directed toward girls will help to achieve this goal, the project's top priority is to make sure that girls' needs are met.

Panelists are Liz Humphrey, President, Zonta Club of Eugene, the organization leading the Year of the Girl; Craig Opperman, Executive Director, Looking Glass Youth and Family Services; and Rosaria Haugland, who has actively supported the Ophelia Project.

They will be introduced by Diana Avery, from Lane County Commission on Children and Families.

The first questioner will be Linda Wagner, a researcher for the Lane County Department of Youth Services.