The sole purpose of a Children’s Services Council (CSC) is to invest in the
well-being of children by maximizing resources and ensuring accountability.
CSCs do not deliver services; instead they invest in community provider
programs which can demonstrate measurable desired outcomes through a
competitive review and accountability process. Florida Statute Section
125.901 gives counties the authority to place a referendum before the voters
to approve the creation of the CSC.
The Escambia Children’s Trust (ECT) is the proposed name for the CSC in Escambia County. Every
CSC in Florida has its own name. They include the Children’s Trust of Alachua; Children’s Services
Council of Broward County; Kids Hope Alliance of Jacksonville; Children’s Board of Hillsborough
County; Manatee County Children’s Services; Children’s Services Council of Martin County; The
Children’s Trust of Miami; Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County; and Children’s Services
Council of St. Lucie County.
The Trust will have a significant advantage in that it will have a sustainable revenue stream with a ten (10) year life that is controlled by an Escambia County organization. Its funding comes directlyto the Trust and is not dependent upon fluctuating annual governmental appropriations or thestrength of the economy, which is particularly important in unstable times like these when contributions to service providers can drop while demand for services increase.
1. Low-income children who attend quality preschool are more likely to graduate from high
school and attend college.
2. Adults who complete early childhood education programs earn 7%-25% higher incomes
than those who do not.
3. Children with pre-K education are 2.14 times less likely to be arrested and are 50% less
likely to ever receive welfare as an adult.
4. A 50% reduction in high school dropouts translates to a net benefit of more than $125,000
over each graduate’s lifetime or $90 billion each year.
5. A reduction in the number of juveniles housed at the State of Florida’s local juvenile
detention facility would reduce the $3.3 million the county spent in FY 2020 reimbursing
the State its mandated 6.8% cost-sharing, which increased by $500,000 from 2019.
6. A reduction in Medicaid charges would reduce the $5.3 million the county spent in FY
2020 reimbursing the mandated cost sharing to the State.
7. Escambia County School District could repurpose the millions of dollars it spends
annually on remedial services if student needs were identified earlier.
The Florida Children’s Council tracks local CSC outcome data on a broad range of measures.
Councils have achieved the following overall results:
Specific improvements at the county level include:
93% more likely to enter the child welfare system by age 9.
25% more likely to drop out of school.
40% more likely to become teenage parents.
70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
It costs $33,000 per year to keep a person in the Escambia County jail.
Per capita Escambia County is among the highest in Florida in:
teenage pregnancies
reported cases of child abuse
juvenile arrests
number of people in jail
number of violent crimes
length of incarceration
black infant deaths
drug and alcohol abuse
There are nine independent special taxing districts for children’s services currently operating: Alachua, Broward, Hillsborough, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Lucie counties. The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County is the oldest, established in 1945, and the Children’s Trust of Alachua is the youngest, approved by voters in November 2018.
ECT funded by an additional one-half mill (0.5 mill) of taxable ad valorem tax on the property’s taxable value after all exemptions. The average cost for an Escambia County homeowner is $40 per year. The average cost for the owner of any other type of property is $67 per year. The additional 0.5 mill combined with the 6.6165 mills the county has collected since 2014 would be a combined 7.1165 mills. This is less than the 8.017 mills the county collected in 2008 and slightly more than the 6.9755 millage rate the county collected until 2014. Further, by state law the annual taxable value on an owner-occupied residence can only increase by the amount of the CPI up to a maximum of 3%. It has recently been less than 3%.
No, reauthorization of the 0.5 mill ad valorem tax must be placed on the ballot for voter approval every 10 years. This provides continuing accountability. To date, no CSC has failed to win reauthorization at the end of its initial term. This is likely due to (1) the evidence-based reporting, accountability and collaboration requirements embedded in state statute; (2) prohibitions against duplicating services and being used in place of existing funding; and (3) tangible, lasting, measurable improvements on targeted child well-being outcomes.
The Trust will fund early childhood education, development, detection, prevention, and wellness programs to expand and enhance current services and include more children. Funding is contingent on the provider’s ability to implement the proposed program, the soundness of the proposed methodology and reporting, how it will measure and be accountable for success, and its administrative and fiscal capability. To be eligible to receive funds, programs must incorporate at least one of the following:
Demonstrate new measurable approaches and techniques based on research and/or promising practices.
Use existing approaches and techniques that are best practices validated by measurable, proven results.
Demonstrate cost-effectiveness and provide tangible benefits to children.
Yes, Florida statute prohibits the Trust from funding:
Programs under the exclusive jurisdiction of the public-school system.
Programs requiring worship or religious instructional activities as a condition of participation.
Acquisition of property.
Supplementing operating reserves for an ongoing corporation.
Supplanting an agency’s existing funding.
Payment of fines or penalties.
Expenses not otherwise approved through the budget or budget amendment process.
The final priorities would be established by the Trust’s governing board with recommendations from the public and following a comprehensive assessment of countywide needs by an independent evaluator. Generally, funding would be targeted to improving outcomes in areas in which Escambia County ranks lower than the state and/or nation overall. Of specific concern in Escambia County, compared to Florida, are these statistics:
Higher rate of infant deaths and deaths of children ages 5-9.
Higher percentage of low-birthweight babies.
Lower rate of Gold Seal (accredited) childcare programs.
Lower rate of kindergarten readiness.
Higher overall juvenile arrest rate of children under 18.
Lowest ranking on the state child well-being index since the index debuted in 2016; in 2019, Escambia ranked #47 out of 67 Florida counties.
Three general areas have emerged based on critical needs and service gaps in Escambia County. These areas are not listed in order of importance. Final funding decisions would be made by the Trust governing board with public input.
They were determined based on a review of existing assessments of community needs not currently being addressed with evidenced based best practices. Data collected by coordinating partners including Achieve Escambia, the Department of Health in Escambia County, the Escambia County Healthy Start Coalition, the Studer Community Institute and the UWF Haas Center. Data and information from community organizations about unmet needs and gaps in services also has been critical to helping the organizing committee to narrow down the Escambia Children’s Trust focus areas.
State statute emphasizes the need for data and evidence of effectiveness to play a significant role in the allocation of CSC funding. While there is no single definition of what it means for a program, policy or practice to be evidence-based, one framework widely used by CSCs is based on criteria used in the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the What Works Clearinghouse, which evaluates the effectiveness of educational programs for the U.S. Department of Education. These standards were designed to help organizations and school districts identify evidence-based programs that could be supported with federal funds, reflecting a goal similar to the evidence-based expectations for CSCs in the Florida statute.
All programs funded by the Trust will be expected to collect outcome data and share results with the public. The RFP process and scoring categories will include a strong accountability system that includes program evaluation. Programs will be required to collect outcome data beyond simple counts of people served. For example, an after-school program that seeks to reduce crime rates and increase school performance will be expected to collect data from participants on police interactions, arrests and school activities such as absences, being tardy, discipline infractions, class participation, and academic performance. These findings could then be compared to similar students not in the program for evidence of effectiveness.
A board of 10 members will govern the Escambia Children’s Trust. The composition is mandated by state statute; five members are appointed by the governor and five are positional county leaders including (1) the superintendent of schools; (2) a school board member; (3) the district administrator for the Department of Children and Families; (4) one member of the county governing board; and (5) a judge assigned to juvenile cases. The governor’s five appointees must represent the demographic diversity of the county population. By statute, the county governing body, after seeking public input, must submit to the governor at least three names per vacancy.
There are statute mandated reporting and transparency requirements. Each CSC:
A record-breaking 26 million people will call Florida home by 2030, and 1.5 million more new jobs will need to be filled. To prepare for this continued growth and ensure Florida remains competitive, the Florida Chamber Foundation recently released a blueprint for Florida’s future called Florida 2030. “Improving Florida’s Talent Pipeline for a Better Workforce,” one of the six priorities outlined in the report, is directly related to the Escambia Children’s Trust, which would specifically address the following Florida 2030 goals:
100% of children are ready for kindergarten
100% of Florida 3rd-graders read at or above grade level
100% of Florida 8th-graders read and perform math at or above grade level
95% of entering high school students graduate within 4 years
60% of Floridians 25-64 have a high-value postsecondary certificate, degree, or training experience
>80% of Florida’s workforce has essential employability skills
We welcome your questions and feedback! Please call (850) 462-4790 to reach the Escambia Children’s Trust with any questions or to volunteer to help. Please leave a message if there is no answer, and your call will be returned as quickly as possible.
For more information or to get involved, please reach out to us at:
Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of children in Escambia County.
