The Escambia Children’s Trust staff wants to create a new hotline to connect parents with services – with a price tag of $1.6 million for the first year.
It appears to be another way to avoid providing services directly to those children trapped in the pockets of poverty. Apparently, the printed brochures that staff convinced the board to approve last October aren’t sufficient – budget $51,580. Note: There are fewer performance metrics with awareness campaigns.
On the agenda for Tuesday, March 14, staff has asked the board for approval to put out an Invitation to Bid for the establishment of the Escambia County Help Me Grow Collaborative, which will have an annual budget $1.6 million. No background material is provided in the agenda packet to explain the program to the public, except the collaborative will “build efficient and effective early childhood systems that mitigate adversity and support protective factors among families.”
We do know that staff has been working behind the scenes to get local agencies excited about the initiative telling them that would could $3-$5 million over the next three years to launch it.
Last month, Executive Director Tammy Greer told Inweekly that her staff was meeting with Ascension Sacred Heart, Community Health and other healthcare providers to develop a scope of services based on Help Me Grow.
Founded in 1997, Help Me Grow is a coordinated system of supports for children and families. Residents use their local 2-1-1 for resources that address concerns about health, development, behavior and learning. A care coordinator listens, provides support and assesses the needs of the child and family. Help Me Grow then offers free screenings to help provide insight on the child’s developmental and behavioral skills. Referrals to local services and supports will be provided after the screenings.
“We have so many children who have developmental delays, vision issues, hearing problems, behavioral health issues,” Greer told Inweekly. “It kind of touches on mental health in some respects. There are children being born already exposed to substance abuse in utero. It starts before they’re even born. We’ve got to do something to identify these children earlier and get interventions in place. How do we give the parents the tools they need and teach them how to use those tools properly?”
The staff is putting this item on the agenda before Gov. DeSantis approves the new board members.