By the Community. For the Community.
A Children's Services Council (CSC) is a countywide special taxing district created by ordinance, and approved by voters, to fund programs and services that improve the lives of children and their families.
To date, 13 Florida counties have created CSCs that invest taxpayer dollars in the well-being of their community’s children and families. While the services offered and age groups served vary depending on the needs of the community, the primary focus of all CSCs is to invest in prevention and early intervention programs that produce measurable results.
In 11 counties, voters have approved “independent” taxing authority for their CSC to ensure that a dedicated funding source is available for children’s programs and services. In addition to Palm Beach, the other counties with independent districts are Alachua, Broward, Escambia, Leon, Hillsborough, Martin, Miami-Dade, Okeechobee, Pinellas and St. Lucie. Duval County (Jacksonville) operates as a "dependent" district, relying on funding from different sources, including county government, to pay for children's programs and services. Manatee County is a hybrid.
In the late 1980s, services for Palm Beach County children in need were haphazard. If a child needed a range of services, families had to travel all over the county, fill out reams of paper and tell their story countless times.
Children were viewed in isolation, with little recognition of the hardships facing their family, their neighborhood and their community. The system was inefficient and redundant.
Palm Beach County advocates for children knew there had to be a better way.
Following in Pinellas County’s footsteps – albeit nearly 40 years later, the citizens in Palm Beach County sought to establish a special taxing district for children in their county.
Advocates for change
With the combined efforts of citizen advocates, and support from state legislators Sen. Harry Johnston and Rep. Mike Friedman, Palm Beach County succeeded in getting the Florida Legislature to pass the Juvenile Welfare Services Act. Effective Oct. 1, 1986, this enabling legislation provided that any county in Florida, whose voters agreed through referendum, could create a special district for children’s services with a governing board and the authority to levy taxes.
Today, Chapter 125 of the Florida Statutes allows a Children’s Services Council to be created by ordinance of the county government (board of county commissioners). County voters may, by countywide referendum, approve taxing authority for its CSC. If approved, Florida law specifies that the CSC can use local tax money only to serve the children and families within the boundaries of that county.
Unwavering support
On Nov. 4, 1986, the voters of Palm Beach County approved creation of the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County by a 70-30 margin. Exactly 28 years later, Palm Beach County voters reauthorized its Children’s Services Council with nearly 85% approval.
Throughout the years, much has changed in Palm Beach County. But the one thing that hasn’t is Children’s Services Council’s mission – to provide all Palm Beach County children with the chance to grow up healthy, safe and strong.
CSCs benefit communities in a number of ways. CSCs focus on serving all children, not just a particular demographic or economic segment of the population. CSCs also can serve as an effective way to use local resources more efficiently. They bring key players to the same table, theoretically looking at the whole child (in family and community context). Other CSC benefits include:
- The mandate to do community planning (community needs assessments updated annually) is an important feature. It promotes long-term thinking that goes beyond one fiscal year.
- CSCs generate a new source of local funds, which can be allocated according to community needs, thus making them responsive to changing priorities and issues among children and families.
- The funds that CSCs invest in primary prevention and early intervention help diminish or eliminate the need for more costly punitive and remedial services that may be needed later in a child’s life.
- Increasingly, CSCs are focusing their efforts on outcomes and accountability – return on investment.
- In line with their commitment to use funds most efficiently, CSCs often partner with other community funders (e.g., United Way, school districts, community foundations) in planning and funding, which focuses all funders toward shared goals and outcomes.
As trusted sources of information about a community’s children, CSCs educate citizens about children’s issues and create stronger constituencies for children. In this role, CSCs become the hub of child advocacy in a county.