Council Update: Children with disabilities benefit from unique fund

Last year, quality of life improved for 44 Palm Beach County children with disabilities thanks to specialty equipment they received through a specific CSC fund. The Special Needs Equipment Fund, supported by CSC and administered by The United Way of Palm Beach County, provides medically necessary equipment for safety, mobility, communication or vision to local children. This fund acts as a payor of last resort. 

More than $132,000 invested by CSC provided children who have cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, developmental delays and rare genetic disorders with such durable equipment as wheelchairs, strollers, orthotics, communication devices and adaptive tricycles. The equipment was customized to meet each child’s individual needs. 

In other business

Early Childhood Supports: Staff informed the Council they plan to contract with a community-based organization to implement child development and classroom supports to publicly funded child care programs in Palm Beach County. The scope of the services outlined in the request for proposals, to be released May 1, was co-developed with residents who are members of an advisory committee supporting CSC’s Early Care and Education Re-imagining work. As part of this work, the community had identified the need for additional help in classrooms to address child development and behavior.

Great Ideas Initiative: Staff informed the Council that they will be releasing the Great Ideas Initiative request for proposals May 5. GII uses under expenditures to fund grassroots nonprofits that creatively address community needs. Since 2016, CSC has invested nearly $5.1 million to fund 156 such initiatives. GII was not offered in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID, so this is the eighth year CSC has made this unique funding opportunity available to our community.

Creole-Language Community Outreach: The Council approved an agreement with CRL Media to develop, implement and manage an outreach communications plan for CSC to more deeply engage with Haitian and Creole-speaking residents. The plan follows a survey that found the need for new and innovative approaches for engaging with Palm Beach County’s Creole-speaking community. The agreement, not to exceed $170,650, covers the period from May 1, 2025-May 31, 2026.