Council Update: Annual assessment of CSC-funded programs shows improvement

The vast majority of programs funded and monitored by Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County in 2023-24 successfully implemented contracted services according to an annual assessment, CSCPBC staff reported to the Council this month. The process, known as the Comprehensive Program Performance Assessment (CPPA), is one of several tools used to:

• Assess the performance of individual programs based on established measures and targets.
• Evaluate the extent to which programs are effectively serving families.
• Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement to meet the needs of families in our community. 

Programs are divided into three categories based on how directly they impact child outcomes. In Category 1, all 35 programs evaluated were considered high fidelity, which means they implemented the programs as intended. Of those 35, 28 achieved a high-performance score and 7 achieved a moderate-performance score, which measures the extent to which they achieved the program’s outcomes. In Category 2, all 10 programs achieved high fidelity. And in Category 3, 18 programs achieved a high-performance score and 2 achieved a low-performance score. In the case of programs that scored low, environmental and implementation factors contributed to the results over the course of the year. CSCPBC staff have worked with the organizations to develop action plans to mitigate these factors. After consideration of what already has been put into place, staff determined no further corrective action is warranted.

The 2023-24 CPPA results reflect an improvement over the previous year, as organizations continue to recover from the global pandemic.

In other business

Fatherhood Engagement: The Council approved contracts with two nonprofits to implement state-supported fatherhood engagement services in Palm Beach County. The two organizations are: Cayuga Centers, which will engage with local fathers by providing in-person home visits during non-traditional work hours; and Community EFX, which will focus on innovative engagement strategies to fathers in group settings, addressing such topics as fatherhood, family dynamics, mental health, work and other relevant themes. For the remainder of fiscal year 2024-25, the total cost of implementation will not exceed $216,151, with $75,340 coming from Healthy Start Coalition funds through the state Department of Health. The total cost for FY 25-26 for both agreements will not exceed $350,000, nearly half of which is expected to be covered by Health Start Coalition funds.

Car Seat Funding: The Council approved doubling the funding to $60,000 to Safe Kids Coalition of Palm Beach County for car seats. Birthing hospitals will not discharge a family with a newborn unless they have a car seat installed in their vehicle. The cost of car seats has increased in recent years, placing a financial strain on families at a critical moment. CSCPBC began providing free car seats to families in need seven years ago. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, 585 were distributed. Since then, demand has skyrocketed as more families, facing increased financial pressures, become aware of the program.

Books to Barton Students: Children's Services Council and the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County teamed up on February 12 to provide more than 2,000 books to Barton Elementary School students in Lake Worth Beach. The book distribution was part of Education Day of Leadership Palm Beach County, an event which was co-chaired by CSC CEO Dr. Lisa Williams-Taylor and School Board member Erica Whitfield. Leadership Palm Beach County (LPBC) is a nonprofit that brings together leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to build and steward a vibrant, interconnected community.
Each year, a class of about 50 participants spends nine months learning about Palm Beach County. This year's class includes CSC staffers Elizabeth Clark and Allison Conyers. During the event, members of this year's Leadership PBC class read to PreK-5th grade classrooms at Barton Elementary and then each student received a free book. The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders received books they personally selected in advance. Each of their books came in one of CSC’s famous drawstring bags.