Counting Lives: The Children’s Trust Miscalculates. Guest Blog by ChildAdvocate

Will someone please tell me: When did we vote to have the Children's Trust subsidize the public school system: Offering "HealthConnect" Health care services in schools at the expense of summer and after-school programs?

In 2008 the citizens of Miami-Dade County voted on a public tax referendum that saved the Children’s Trust from oblivion. The Trust is funded by a percentage of the property tax collected. During the height of the housing bubble years the Children’s Trust had some serious money to throw into community programs for children, in fact, nearly 150 million dollars. The Trust vote giving them permanent existence was good news or should have been, then the housing bubble burst.

Just prior to the 2008 election, the inner bowels of the Trust were rumbling. Staff members were afraid of losing the election and their jobs; they were defensive and at times, nasty with the service providers that they over saw. Board Members were out pounding the pavement doing “public education” to make sure the tax proposal passed, careful not to “lobby” the cause. Much to their relief, the referendum passed overwhelmingly: the politics were over but something else was brewing...

The undercurrent of agitated nervousness still pervades the 8th floor of the Trust. Contract managers are arrogant, frazzled and reconsidering careers. The funded providers are laying off employees, many agencies are facing funding cuts of 50% or more. The funding of the Trust slid right into the toilet along with the building industry. Foreclosures are creating disaster in the Children’s Trust bank accounts. The Board is in the middle of a transition and powerful David Lawrence, Jr. is no longer in control. Priorities are changing and the funding from property taxes has plummeted from nearly 150 million dollars to an expected low in the range of 90 million this coming year.

The Trust is hunkering down and heading into the storm in a big way. The Trust management bravely told staff to cut a million dollars of their own budget. To be honest, if the Trust cut their advertising and public relations costs, they would be beyond that figure. (They are budgeted $ 4,411,382 for 2008-2009) Take a look at “Contact Us” on their website to get an idea of the number employees in their fiefdom.

Dread is escalating among the service providers. Whose boat gets sunk in the coming storm? Which children’s programs will be cut? Some of the programs are favored and protected. Like the Children’s Trust public school health care (HealthConnect in Our Schools). This is part of the Trust’s agenda to put health care back in schools.

As background, consider that their school health care program requires a staff that includes a nurse, social worker and aide for every team. Each team has 2 schools assigned to them. A team costs about $187, 500 per year in salaries (probably more in today’s economy). According to a previous team worker, if they see 10 children a day, it would be a good day.

Now, reflect on this fact, the Trust still has to get rid of children’s programs to hit their amended budget. According to their 2008 budget, they had about 45,000 children in afterschool programs and summer camps. That is one astounding number of children who get services every day of the school year and into summer. Their “out-of-school” programs were funded at $33,977,625 which represents a decrease of $2,497,297 (7%) in the 2008-2009 budget from the previous year, without any additional budget adjustments that may have since occurred. More funding cuts for those programs are coming within the next few months.

Is the Trust Board of Directors missing the boat?

The actual numbers do not justify dumping the services to many of the 45,000 children who receive much needed afterschool and summer camp care, while increasing or holding firm funding for a HealthConnect program serving a relatively small number of students in school health clinics (Let’s be generous, 10 children a day times 167 schools?). Forget about the “studies“ that the Trust uses to justify the HealthConnect program, over the need for preventing latch-key children.

The Trust will spend almost $17 million implementing the health initiative in the first Miami-Dade schools. How much does it cost to train clinic aides or volunteers to triage and determine whether the child needs to be referred to doctors, social services, or 911? Additionally, they have other HealthConnect programs outside the schools that are not included in that 17 million, but in all probability are duplicated services provided by other community service providers. (at 6 million in additional costs).

Will someone please tell me, when did we vote for the Trust to provide direct services and maintain a child research division? When did we vote to have the Trust subsidize the public school system?

The Trust funded agencies are not the only ones caught in the storm; here’s your personal storm warning:

Take serious note of the fact that all children’s after school and summer camps are in serious danger. You will be scrambling to find ANYONE to offer those services at a reasonable cost if the Trust Board of Directors moves forward with the health care in the schools, as well as their December 2008 determination to focus the majority of their other funding on ages 0-5.

Call the Children’s Trust and talk about funding cuts and your real needs. Do it today!