CSC, County scholarships allowed more than 4,800 children to enjoy camp in 2024

More than 4,330 children spent this past summer learning and growing thanks to camp scholarships funded by Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, CSC staff shared at the December board meeting. The scholarships were funded with a base allocation of $2.6 million and an additional $1.73 million from under-expenditures. An additional 494 children benefited from summer camp scholarships funded by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners.
Of the children attending camp, 1,000 were unsheltered or served by the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Staff at the county’s Youth Services Department, which administers the scholarship program, made a special effort to reach families with children in the school district who do not have permanent homes. 

In other business

• Great Ideas Initiative: More than $1.44 million in under-expenditures also funded CSC’s Great Ideas Initiative in 2024, with 27 grassroots nonprofits receiving grants and another six past GII recipients receiving additional capacity building funding.
• Early Care & Education: CSC’s plans to re-imagine early care & education are underway. This includes the Spring 2025 launch of the CSC STAR (Supporting Teacher Achievement and Retention) Award, which will provide financial incentives to encourage early learning educators to stay in the field. This work also includes creation of child development and classroom supports to promote pro-social behavior in children and a resource guide/navigation tool for teachers and parents, as well as onsite assistance in the classroom. Lastly, CSC will offer one-time Early Learning Mini Grants to child care programs serving children birth to 5 who receive public funds for care. The grants will fill a financial gap between the American Rescue Plan Act funds (which have expired) and the STAR awards (which have yet to start).
• Excellence in Financial Reporting: Children’s Services Council received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023. The certification is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.