Leon County and the city of Tallahassee are asking the local Children’s Services Council to help fund some nonprofits that currently receive city and county funding. But members of the CSC's governing board fear that would violate state statute -- and the will of the voters.
Tallahassee City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox tried to assure the CSC board that the city and county aren’t asking for money.
“I’ve heard the question a couple of times: Are we coming to ask for money? No. We’re coming to ask for partnership," she said.
The visit to the CSC is the latest iteration of a plan the county offered last year: a “realignment” of the nonprofits it funds. The idea is to direct those nonprofits that serve children and families to apply to the Children’s Services Council for funding, and to apply the savings to homeless services. But some nonprofits objected, and made their case to the county commission, which agreed to delay the change for another two years. That was in January.
Assistant County Administrator Shington Lamy says the proposal is aimed at maximizing existing resources.
“The why, of course, is to enhance the overall system of care in the community," he said. "By strengthening our coordination and collaboration, we’re able to maximize our limited human services resources, reduce duplication, as well as improving the delivery of essential services to children and families in Tallahassee and Leon County.”
The city and county together spend nearly 5 million dollars a year on human services via nonprofits. When voters approved the CSC in 2020, it was under strict state guidelines that say the services that the CSC provides can’t duplicate or replace existing programs or funding. And CSC Treasurer Paul Mitchell says shifting city and county funding or responsibilities to the CSC might well be against state law.
“We’re going to end up making it look as if it is a bit of a bait and switch that the taxpayers have allocated through their millage up to .5 mills," said Mitchell. "We take that money in -- again, based on Florida statute, ONLY able to fund that which is currently not being funded.”
In fact, the state law governing Children’s Services Councils reads, in part, that: “...such funds shall not be used as a substitute for existing resources or for resources that would otherwise be available for children’s services.”
The creation of the Children’s Services Council was controversial, and one of its critics has been Steve Stewart, the editor of Tallahassee Reports.
“A CSC partnership with the city and the county at this point I don’t think would be consistent with the ballot initiative, which called for a special district with independent oversight," he said. "I mean, that was the language in the ballot language. And so I think when you start… when the city and county start getting involved, I think it’s going to push up against those descriptions that the citizens voted for.”
Stewart says the entities should indeed work to eliminate duplication. And County Commission Chair Carolyn Cummings, who represents the county on the CSC board, likes the idea of better collaboration among the entities.
“I promote that. But I just want to make sure that in doing so, that we don’t short-change the nonprofits, that we don’t short-change CHSP or the county or the Children’s Services Council. Based on what I’ve heard tonight, I think it can be a workable initiative, but I think the devil is in the details, so we just have to wait and see.”
The CSC is looking into the specifics of the state law governing how it spends its money and will then determine whether to bring a proposal forward in the spring.
