Budget conference: Community-based care change brings resources for underserved communities

Many of Florida’s community-based care agencies scored big in budget negotiations. Multimillion dollar jumps in funding for agencies came as lawmakers sought changes in equity in Florida’s funding formula.

As early as Wednesday morning, the House and Senate were still $130 million apart in how much they would put toward community-based care. In the end, a number of specific allocations were made to agencies around the state.

In the end, about $41.1 million was budgeted from the Social Services Block Grant Trust Fund for Community-Based Care lead agencies, or CBCs, for use providing child welfare services, prevention services, and adoptions. There was also $37.6 million from the Federal Grants Trust Fund for appropriate case work. Additionally, $5.7 million came from the General Revenue Fund for foster youth programs.

The 19 CBCs in the state were funded as follows in order of allocations: Family Support Services of the Suncoast, $8.9 million; Lead agency serving the 13th Judicial Circuit, $77.1 million; Embrace Families Community Based Care, $64.5 million; Citrus Health Network, $60.5 million; Childnet – Broward, $55.6 million; Kids Central, $55.1 million; Lakeview Center, $55 million; Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, $54 million; Family Support Services of North Florida, $49 million; Heartland for Children, $47.3 million; Community Partnership for Children, $43.8 million; Childnet – Palm Beach, $38.3 million; Southwest Florida Health Network, $35.7 million; Safe Children Coalition, $35 million; Partnership for Strong Families, $31.6 million; CBC of Brevard, $29.1 million; Communities Connected for Kids, $24.1 million; Kids First of Florida, $12 million; and St. John County Family Integration Program, $7 million.

That was the result of a different formula being employed this year that aimed to fund at least 100% of every agency’s need.

Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, pushed ahead of Session for changes, in part because agencies serving multiple parts of his district face significant underfunding compared to other parts of the state. He pushed both the Sarasota County and Charlotte County legislative delegations to look at the methodology.

“As a delegation we prioritized the CBC funding prior to Session and as a result, we were able to secure recurring funds to help Safe Children Coalition and our community’s children this year and into the future,” Gruters said.

Safe Children Coalition in Sarasota received an addition $8.6 million in funding, about a 30% increase from what would normally have gone to the agency.

“For us, it means we will be able to provide more diversion services for families, prevention services for families,” said Brena Slater, CEO of the Safe Children Coalition. “We’ll be able to increase case managers’ salaries and the number of case managers so their case loads are less. Our children and families will finally be equal to other children and families in the state of Florida.”

Gruters said Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls recognized a problem in unequal funding. Looking through the Health Care Appropriations budget, there was also about $4.4 million in general fund revenue for the lead CBC in the 6th Judicial Circuit in Pasco and Pinellas Counties, the home counties of Simpson and Sprowls respectively.

Another nearly $3.9 million went to the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County.

There was $2 million in recurring funding budgeted for case management and early childhood court through CBCs.

For core services, the budget gives upward of $6.2 million to Children’s Network of South Florida, about $5.6 million to Family Support Services of North Florida, over $4.1 million to Family Support Services of the Suncoast and more than $4 million to Safe Children Coalition.

But additional funds were also budgeted.