CHILDREN'S TRUST AWARDS $5.1 MILLION

model will then be presented to the community with an invitation to bid instead of a request for proposal.

who have developmental delays, behavioral health issues," Greer said. "It kind of touches on mental

There are children being born missteps finally resulted in the Escambia Children's Trust awarding millions of taxpayer dollars to agencies establishing new out-of-school programs for children.

The Trust board awarded over $5.1 million in funding to 19 local children's services agencies earlier this month. Each of the six board members in attendance approved the recommendation to award the grants. The Board planned to award the grants in December but decided to send the top 29 proposals back to the selection committee for reconsideration after the public voiced its displeasure with the flawed process.

"I'm super excited we finally got out our first big grant," said Stephanie White, who chaired the board for the past two years before passing on the seat to Tori Woods. "Special thanks to the grant committee. They spent a lot of time on this. They came up one time, and we sent them back for four meetings to get everything correct, and they did this time, so we appreciate all their hard work."

Each awarded program will be funded on a one-year contract that will expand to three years assuming their annual audit meets the threshold. Executive Director Tammy Greer said the Trust will monitor providers fiscally and programmatically to track their spending and outcomes.

"Every expense must be allocable, allowable and reasonable, as with any publicly funded program," Greer said. "We will require backup for every reimbursement request to verify that the expense meets all these criteria prior to issuing any checks."

W Ho Got What

Boys & Girls Club of Emerald Coast topped all applicants in score and funding amount. The demic program for ages 5-18. The Club estimates 240 children will be served over a threeyear period. plus million from last year. they're even born. We've got to children earlier and get interventhe parents the tools they need and teach them how to use those ing the number of qualified early childhood educators to cut down on the waitlist of students. Early Learning Coalition operates with a budget of over $30 million. School readinesslion, but the money is primarily devoted to operating expenses for childcare facilities, not educator salaries. Executive Director Bruce Watson said the nonprofit is operating at only 76% capacity due to teacher shortages.

Two other applicants received over $500,000. The Trust awarded $581,728 to the YMCA of Northwest Florida for its Together Achieving Change program and $540,041 to City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation for its free after-school program. Together Achieving Change is a year-round social and academic program for ages 5-10. The YMCA estimates 720 children will be served over three years. The after-school program is for ages 5-12 and will serve an estimated 705 children at E.S. Cobb Resource Center, Fricker Resource Center, Gulf Point Resource Center and Woodland Heights Resource Center. Maching grants are not required, but the applicant is expected to fund start-up costs and not rely solely on money awarded by the Trust. That caused some angst for the fourth-largest grant recipient. The Trust awarded the Urban Development Center $397,556 for the first year of its YouthFirst Century program. The program expects to establish a community center in Century and serve 750 children ages 11-18 over the three-year period. In its application, the nonprofit acknowledged a lack of funds to start up the program. The Trust voted in December to not advance funding for any providers. The Town of Century came to the rescue by distributing $61,925 for the nonprofit to purchase start-up items. The Urban Development Center will reimburse the town the nearly $62,000 at a yet-to-be-determined date.

"If a provider does not have the funding on hand to lay out to get started, the Trust will have nothing to reimburse," Greer said. "If services are not being provided and outcomes are not being met, we will notify our Board and they may exercise the option to rescind the grant."

The number of entry-level teachers is steadily declining and for obvious reasons. Their $11-$15 an hour pay is not enough for housing and pales in comparison to what some fast-food restaurants pay their employees.

"I'm just happy we're able to do this," Greer said. "This is what will start to make the difference, to let the direct service providers do what they do."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Trust finally ironed out the kinks and awarded millions of dollars for out-of-school programs. Next up is tackling mental health. The Trust staff are meeting with providers and parents to develop a scope of services based on Help Me Grow. Greer said phase one of Help Me Grow will entail hiring staff and will cost an estimated $250,000. She told the board that the national model returns $7.62 for every dollar invested.

Founded in 1997, Help Me Grow is a coordinated system of supports for children and families. Residents use their local 2-1-1 for resources that address concerns about health, development, behavior and learning. A care coordinator listens, provides support and assesses the needs of the child and family. Help Me Grow then offers free screenings to help provide insight on the child's developmental and behavioral skills. Referrals to local services and supports will be provided after the screenings.

Greer is meeting with Ascension Sacred Heart, Community Health and other health care providers to put a plan in place. She said the

To complicate matters further, their education requires some face-to-face classes. Board member Dave Peaden recommended the Trust ask Pensacola State College to move the entire curriculum into an online format. He said that as a state institution, PSC should pay the expenses to put the curriculum online, not the Trust. Greer agreed with Peaden that the faceto-face class requirement is a money-losing venture for the students and reduces the number of potential early childhood educators.

"Many of the people who work in this field are young mothers themselves," Greer said. "Not only are they having to pay for the course, but then they're having to lose money on top of that because they can't go to work because of when the classes are, or they take it at night after they've worked a full day and they've got small children at home so they're just not doing it. I'm afraid if we don't do something soon and get some folks in the pipeline that have the credentials they need to enter the classrooms, next fall we may not have as many (VPK) slots as we have now." {in}