Council Update: Special Needs Equipment Fund benefits hundreds of Palm Beach County children, families

During the past decade, hundreds of Palm Beach County children with disabilities have received medically necessary durable equipment, thanks to more than $1.2 million from Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County.
The Special Needs Equipment Fund is a unique resource that fills a vital gap for Palm Beach County children, birth to age 17, who need durable medical equipment for safety, mobility, vision or communication (speech or hearing). As a fund of last resort, CSC’s goal is to provide services for children who are unable to obtain customized medical equipment because their health insurance provider denied coverage, or because purchasing the equipment would create a significant financial burden on their families. 
CSC contracts with United Way of Palm Beach County to administer the program. In the past 12 years, the fund has allowed United Way to purchase 537 pieces of equipment such as wheelchairs, gait trainers, adaptive tricycles, customized car seats, lifts for transferring and other vital items. In doing so, the fund has changed the lives of 494 local children with special needs.

In other business

Under Expenditures Update: CSC used $2,358,471 in under expenditures, of the $3 million approved by the Council in March, to fund the following activities:
   • $1.2 million for summer camp scholarships, coupled with a base allocation of $2.2 million, so a total of 3,612 children were able to attend summer camp.
   • $974,971 for 30 grassroots organizations funded through CSC’s Great Ideas Initiative (GII).
   • $281,500 for 6 organizations in their second year of the GII Capacity Building Pipeline.

New Council Members: Children’s Services Council welcomes two new board members, Alexandria Ayala and Sara Baxter. Both have been appointed by virtue of their positions in other governmental bodies. Ms. Ayala represents District 2 on the Palm Beach County School Board. Ms. Baxter represents District 6 on the Palm Beach County Commission.