Early Services Program is Supported and Funded by the Governor

June 20, 2024

Port St. Lucie – A proposed program to keep more families together as they navigate the dependency system that received widespread support from local legislators has made it safely through the budget and veto process.

The program - called the Early Services Engagement Program - is now officially green-lit for funding.

"The Early Services Engagement Program is designed to prevent children from being removed from their home," said CCKids Chief Operating Officer Cheri Sheffer.

It does that by reaching out to families earlier in the investigative process.

There are two major parts to the state's dependency system. There's child protective investigations, which is handled by the state Department of Children and Families. And there are dependency case management services, which is provided by Communities Connected for Kids.

CPI’s have a complex job identifying risk and providing immediate safety actions to prevent removals, Sheffer said. Sometimes, the number of diverse and complex investigations makes it challenging.

"The early engagement program will allow us to engage more immediately in this extremely high risk scenario, and provide more comprehensive oversight of the families that are most at risk of removal while the CPI finalizes the required elements of their investigation."

CCKids' program is based on a successful model in Jacksonville that has already received considerable support among legislators. The program will focus on St. Lucie County and if successful, can be replicated in Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties.

"Keeping children in home by helping their families with early access to intensive services reduces trauma and improves outcomes for children and families and for the community of care," Sheffer said.

Special funding requests for the program were sponsored in the senate by Sen. Gayle Harrell and in the house by Rep. Dana Trabulsy.

The contract for the program is being finalized now.