By Erik Bakken, BA
Progress in population health requires dedicated funding streams to guarantee the long-term viability of programs. However, in these cash-strapped times, securing grants can be like walking up a flight stairs doing a headstand. Seven counties in Florida are using an ingenious and unique method of continued funding through special districts to promote childhood and related family health programs. Known as children’s services councils (CSCs), these organizations gain the majority of their budget from levying small, additional property taxes. As health trajectories begin at day one, these councils work to ensure that all children meet key health indicators, such as prenatal care, parenting techniques, and school preparation. One such county is Palm Beach County, Florida; I spoke with members of the Palm Beach County Children’s Services Council (www.cscpbc.org) to better understand their mission and this exceptionally creative funding method for promoting childhood health.
“Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County is unique not only because of its funding source, but because of its dedication to achieving child outcomes through proven programs and its focus on a streamlined system of care for families,” said Tana Ebbole, CEO of the Council.
Children’s services councils began in the 1940s in Pinellas County, Florida, with the idea of providing juvenile delinquents in the county better alternatives than the criminal justice system. The original creators recognized that funding was a critical issue for the longevity of the program, and set up the nation’s first special property taxing district of its kind. However, before the measure was put in place, the state determined the idea had to be voted on in county referendum, passing with an 80 to 20 margin in 1946.
Based on the success in Pinellas County, a team of Palm Beach County residents began a successful campaign for their own children’s taxing district. The group advocated in Tallahassee and saw passage of statewide legislation that allowed all counties to pursue a CSC. In Palm Beach County, CSC gained county voter approval in 1986. The levied tax cap today stands at $1 per $1,000 of taxable property in Palm Beach County. This means that a $200,000 home, omitting some tax exemptions, would pay $112.50 a year to the fund. Across all taxable properties in the county, this adds up to a serious chunk of change. The exemplary work by the Palm Beach County CSC in early child development could not be nearly as comprehensive without this funding, as more than 85 percent of its multi-million dollar budget comes from these tax resources.
The Palm Beach County Children’s Services Council has been putting this money to good use, with programs centered on four outcomes of childhood development -- babies are born healthy, children are safe from abuse and neglect, children are ready for kindergarten, and children have access to quality afterschool and summer programming. Programs include promoting more accessible and affordable healthcare and nutrition for pregnant women and young children, improving the quality of child care and afterschool programming, developing parent confidence and family self-sufficiency and a host of other programs. In 2011, over 200,000 residents of Palm Beach County participated in an initiative or program run by the Palm Beach Children’s Council with profound success rates. In 2009-2010, only 13.5% of high-risk pregnant woman participating in a CSC program had babies born with low birthrates, versus 22.5% for high-risk pregnant women not participating in a CSC program. Not only do these programs greatly increase child health and welfare in the county, but they are also cost-effective through preventive services in public health care or family services. CSC estimates that very low-birth weight babies can cost the public $100,000 in the first year of life, while preventing a child from entering the foster care system saves $23,000.
“In the end, the taxpayer’s investment in CSC is worth it,” Ebbole said. “Children who are given the fundamental tools for success early in life are much more likely to reach developmental milestones, graduate high school and go on to become productive members of our community.”
The long-term success of CSC of Palm Beach County rests on its exemplary work enabled through its special district funding. If larger public health programs or agencies are to conduct similar work, more funding must be found outside of the traditional grant funding system. However, this example shows that such funding alternatives are viable, realistic, and can lead to highly fruitful public health outcomes.
Erik Bakken, BA is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin's La Follette School of Public Affairs.
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