CSC Backup 02/26/1990 Children ' s Services
Council of Collier County
Backup Documents
February 26 , 1990
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COLLIER COUNTY COURTHOUSE COMPLEX
OU0 NAPLES. FLORIDA 33962-4977
ANNE GOODNIGHT RICHARD S.SHANAHAN MAX A. HASSE.JR.
COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER
BURT L.SAUNDERS MICHAEL J. VOLPE JAMES C.GILES
COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER CLERK
February 26, 1990
Mrs. Christian Harper, President
Naples Alliance for Children
P.O. Box 708
Naples, Florida 33939
Dear Bea:
Thank you very much for your letter of February 15, 1990, with the
"Save Our Children" Working Document. I certainly appreciate you
taking the time to forward this to me and I can assure you that this
booklet will not be placed in my "unimportant" file. As always, I
applaud your efforts on behalf of the children of Collier County.
If I can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to ask.
Very t3ruly yours,
'' i"1i12i4
urt L. Saunders
Commissioner, District 4
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHILDREN'S SERVICES COUNCIL
The Board of County Commissioners of Collier County, in recog-
nizing the growing concerns of the community for its children and
young people, have an extraordinary opportunity to provide an
enlightened response to our children's needs.
An ordinance providing for the creation of The Children's Services
Council of Collier County and adoption of a resolution directing the
supervisor of elections to place the following question upon the ballot
for September, 1990.
"Shall the Children's Services Council of Collier County be
granted the authority to fund the improvement of children's
developmental, health and other juvenile welfare services
by the levying each year of an ad valorem tax not to exceed
one-half (1/2) mill for services for children?"
will be an extremely powerful and enlightened response.
In 1986, the Florida Legislature made it possible for every county
in Florida to create a mechanism to address the need for providing
juvenile welfare services for their children, as Pinellas County has done
for 40 years, by enacting Section 125.901 of the Florida Statutes.
The Children's Services Council is a group of ten individuals, five
of whom are appointed by the Governor, and five who are selected be-
cause of their official position. By law, a county commissioner, the
Superintendent of Schools, a School Board Member, the District Admin-
istrator of H. R. S. and a Juvenile Judge compose the group designated
by position.
Some of the potential functions of the Children's Services Council
will be to:
I. Research what the problems are. Who, how many and where
are the children needing help.
II. To plan how best problems can be solved.
III. To coordinate existing programs to ensure that fragmentation
of services and unnecessary duplication is prevented.
IV. To evaluate if a program is helping children as intended.
V. To train and support professionals who help children.
VI. To address public policy issues pertaining to children and
families.
VII. To create a central focus for children and families.
VIII. To collaborate with funding sources in developing a comprehensive,
community wide response to the needs of children.
IX. To provide funding for juvenile welfare services through an
independent special taxing district for children.
Special districts possess a number of advantages:
*They are insulated from the vagaries of federal, state and
local politics and funding fluctuations.
*They are permanent.
*They enable the assembly of a critical mass of talent experts
in the needs of children.
*They are autonomous, functioning in many ways like foundations.
*They are publicly accountable.
*Best of all, they enable local communities to solve local prob-
lems with local dollars.
It has been said that funding for preventive programs for children
is the only conservative financial approach. Those who ignore the
problems of infants, children and teenagers are actually the big spenders.
Their inactivity will require much larger investments in state social and
medical programs and the prison system.
In Collier County, a county with 30,118 children under age 18,
there are 6,957 children living below the poverty level; there were 326
births to teenagers in 1989, 140 of which were low birth weight; there
were 1,104 children on child care waiting lists; 1,361 children were re-
ported abused or neglected; 203 children placed in emergency shelters;
78 in foster care. Of the 18,321 public school student population, 1,264
students dropped out; 4,454 students were suspended either in school or
out of school. Juveniles committed approximately 35% of all crimes in
Collier County; approximately 11,230 crimes. Of this total, 159 of the most
active juvenile offenders committed 8,560 crimes in Collier County. There
were 1,123 juvenile arrests.
The total cost in 1988 of repeated grades of 1,143 students was
$3,701,034; a 4 month average stay at Naples Community Hospital for
a single cocaine baby costs $325,000; costs are currently $50,000 to
$60,000 per year for a child to be cared for by the state. The final
cost of neglecting Collier's children is staggering. In dollars, in wasted
opportunities, in damage to the human spirit.
Prevention, education, and early intervention are the keys to pre-
venting more serious difficulties for children who will need expensive
mental health, alcohol, and drug abuse services or extensive criminal
justice services should those interventions not be available. There is
currently almost no funding for prevention, education and early inter-
vention for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health in Collier County.
The argument for creation of the Children's Services Council of
Collier County is both moral and practical. Moral, because government
has no duty more basic than to protect and provide for children. Practical
because failure to create preventive strategies that direct children toward
healthy and productive lives costs society dearly in the long run.
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, child abuse is a complex and ongoing problem in our
society, affecting great numbers of children; and
WHEREAS, every child is entitled to be loved, cared for, nurtured,
and secure; and
WHEREAS, community action is needed to help families break the cycle
of abuse and improve family life; and
WHEREAS, the welfare and development of every child is the
responsibility of every adult human being with whom he or
she comes in contact; and
WHEREAS, the Naples Alliance for Children and the Child Abuse
Prevention Committee hope to involve the total community in
support of programs that foster prevention of child abuse
and neglect.
NOW THEREFORE, be it proclaimed by the Board of County Commissioners
of Collier County, Florida that the month of April, 1990,
be designated as
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
and strongly support all community efforts to enhance the
positive growth and development of one of Collier County's
most valuable assets. . .our children.
DONE AND ORDERED THIS 20th Day of March, 1990.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
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MAX A. HASSE, JR. , CHAIRMAN
ATTEST:
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JAMES C. GILES, CLERK
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