LAWTON — The Comanche County Health Department has hired a family resource coordinator/community health worker to help develop strategies for helping families who are struggling with food insecurity and other problems.
The Board of Comanche County Commissioners voted 3-0 Sept. 22 to approve a professional services agreement with contractor Maggie Sprague for the health department’s project. The agreement was included in the commission’s consent agenda, which normally consists of routine items that do not require discussion and can be voted on as a group.
The agreement with Sprague began Sept. 22 and will end June 30, 2026, according to the agreement. The county will pay Sprague $20 an hour for her work on the project, for a total fee of $36,000.
As a family resource coordinator and community health worker, Sprague will help establish relationships with Comanche County families who need assistance, CCHD communication coordinator Amanda Walsh said in an email to a Southwest Ledger reporter.
“She serves as a link to essen tial resources, providing direct support through relationship-based outreach to help families achieve greater stability and self-sufficiency,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the health department’s strategies for helping vulnerable families focus on people who are struggling with housing instability, food insecurity, transportation gaps and limited access to health care and social services. Sprague will work directly with families coping with poverty, trauma or systemic barriers to those services.
Walsh said Sprague has already started planning meetings with families and reaching out to the health department’s local partners. The health department will check in with Sprague regularly throughout the fiscal year to measure her progress and impact.
The project’s goals include:
• Making families stronger and more self-sufficient.
• Improving coordination among health, education and social services.
• Educating people about available resources.
• Reducing barriers to care and improving results for people who need help.