Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles

MISSION STATEMENT

The Children’s Trust of Alachua County funds and supports a coordinated system of community services that allows all youth and their families to thrive.

VISION STATEMENT

Facilitate equitable access and opportunities for all children, youth and families in Alachua County to ensure every child reaches their maximum potential.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Guiding Principles are utilized within organizations as a method to align behaviors, guide decision making, and provide consistency with the Trust’s Board values. The Trust’s Board and stakeholders identified the following guiding principles:

1. Initiatives should ensure accessibility to universal supports for all children and youth ages zero to 18 and their families, targeted supports for those who need additional help, and place based supports for those with the greatest need.

2. Innovative initiatives should be funded that coordinate comprehensive systems of support and delivers those supports in collaborative ways that allows the Trust to achieve collective impact.

3. Initiatives shall be evaluated based on their ability to ultimately impact all children and youth, directly or indirectly, with a priority for long-term continual return on investment.

4. Initiatives must be measurable with priority given to a comprehensive system of supports that provide for prevention, timely intervention, and services that strengthen families and produce achievable results.

5. Initiatives must be aligned to a documented gap or need.

6. Funds will be invested and initiatives will be prioritized based on the highest educational, social, or emotional outcome value.

7. Initiatives will be evaluated in an open, transparent, and competitive manner in order to ensure equitable results and confidence in the process.

8. The Trust values fiscal and operational accountability and will fund partners in a manner that rewards efficiencies, takes advantage of economies of scale, and maximizes services to children, youth or family members/support members in order to meet the educational, social, emotional, and/or physical health.

9. The complete portfolio of Trust investments shall be reviewed to ensure that Alachua County children and families have equitable access to services that will work to increase racial equity.

10. Prior to any funding decision, the direct impact on children and youth must be the primary consideration.