Council Update: CSC staff, community members present at local, national conferences

Three members of the Early Care and Education Re-Imagining Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) joined CSC staff in Washington, D.C., to present at a national child care conference, Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County staff told the board at its meeting in July.

At the Child Care Aware Symposium 2025: Child Care Strong: From Problems to Progress conference, the group talked with legislative staff and learned about child care-related issues in other states. The team’s workshop focused on CSC’s experience in implementing a broad community engagement effort to support early care and education strategic planning, from identifying community needs and prioritizing solutions to co-creating program design and implementation. Key takeaways included: a better understanding of current issues in child care and proposed solutions from the perspectives of parents, teachers, and child care leadership; and considerations for those building a community-driven approach to funding and service delivery. 

RAC members who presented at the workshop were: Zandra Pompeo (VPK Teacher), Shannon Vasquez (Child Care Center Executive Director) and Zipporah Morris- Scott (Family Child Care Home Teacher).

At another child-care focused event, The Early Learning Coalition’s EMPOWER ’25 Conference held locally, six ECE Re-Imagining RAC members presented a workshop entitled, “Building an Early Childhood Community Where All Voices Matter.” This panel discussion featured Lisandria Slavin (Preschool Director), Anastasia Chandler (Preschool Director), Arebia Morris-Ramsey (General Manager), Tiffany Hodges (Family Child Care Owner-Educator), Flavia Guelli (Parent), Nancy Eliassaint (Parent), and was facilitated by Dr. Sandra Williams (Q-Q Research Consultants). 

In other business

T.E.A.M. Dads: The Council approved a contract with Community EFX to assume responsibility for both group-based engagement, which the organization has been providing since March, and the in-home visitation component of the state’s Fatherhood Initiative through Healthy Start. The contract is not to exceed $220,000 for the rest of the current fiscal year through the end of fiscal year 2025-26. CSC expects to be reimbursed for the majority of that funding from the state’s Healthy Start Coalition.

Belle Glade Book Giveaway: Children and their families had a blast at the CSC-sponsored Kick-Off to Summer Book Giveaway event at the Belle Glade Library. CSC CEO Lisa Williams-Taylor and Senior Executive Assistant Elsa Sanchez-Vahamonde were featured as two of five celebrity readers, while Chief Communications & Engagement Officer Lauren Zuchman and Mercedes Ingram, Director of Accounting, tended CSC's resource table. Children enjoyed games, selecting their own books to read this summer, shaved ice, music by Digital Vibez, therapy dogs, and more! Many of CSC’s funded providers also were present, sharing resources and goodies. 

Autism & Drowning News: CSC received national news attention in late May for its work related to autism and drowning. The Associated Press, one of the country’s largest news wire services, produced a lengthy article and a video highlighting CSC’s work with the Autism Society of America, Small Fish Big Fish Swim School and The Learning Center – a charter school for children with autism. The news coverage came out a few days before Memorial Day weekend, which is often considered the unofficial start of summer. 

The Associated Press coverage was picked up by more than 150 newspapers, TV stations and radio stations across the country, including The Washington Post and ABC National News. CSC determined the article and/or video were carried by local TV news stations and/or newspapers in 44 states. The Associated Press featured the story on its Instagram account with 2 million followers worldwide, as well as placed it in the “Weekend Reads” section of the AP’s website. The article appears to be one of the most widely circulated media reports to date about autism and drowning. Click here to access the article.