Children’s Trust Seeks Input on Strategic Funding Plan
Children’s Trust Seeks Input on Strategic Funding Plan
Advisory Committees and Needs Assessment to Inform Choices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 8, 2020
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – The Children’s Trust of Alachua County created advisory committees on two of the three key elements of the Strategic Funding Plan: the “On the Way” Advisory Committee and the Youth Development Advisory Committee.
“The blend of community and expert opinion will lead to the success of the Trust’s Strategic Funding Plan,” explained Colin Murphy, Executive Director of the Trust.
The “On the Way” Advisory Committee will build on the momentum created by the programming developed by the Children’s Services Advisory Board and the award from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative. The advisory committee will take a systems-wide approach to the PN-5 system in Alachua County, working with subject matter experts, stakeholders, and parents to coordinate policies and practice throughout the healthcare, early education, and family support systems to work together to ensure better results for children.
This advisory committee will be led by Trust members Dr. Nancy Hardt and Dr. Patricia Snyder. Hardt is a professor emerita in the University of Florida College of Medicine. Snyder is the Director of the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida.
The Youth Development Advisory Committee will build on the work of the BOOST Alliance, juvenile justice collaborations, and subject matter experts from the school district, law enforcement, department of juvenile justice, mental, health, and child welfare and parents to perform a gap analysis.
The Hon. Susanne Wilson Bullard and Ms. Tina Certain will co-chair the second advisory committee. Wilson Bullard is a judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Levy County. Certain is vice-chair of the Board of the Alachua County Public Schools.
Both committees are charged with making an initial set of recommendations by the March 8, 2020 Children’s Trust of Alachua County meeting.
The third element of the strategic funding plan is a summer needs assessment for K-8 children that is funded by the Trust and is currently being conducted by the Youth Development Research-Practice Partnership (YDRPP) in the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida. The needs assessment was authorized by the Trust in October 2020 and will include recommendations for programming for the summer of 2021.
The Children's Trust of Alachua County provides children's services throughout Alachua County.
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Contact: Daniel J. Douglas
Phone: 352-374-1825
Email: ddouglas@childrenstrustofalachuacounty.us
