Senate Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1782 Children's Village / Hope House Cottages
Requester:	David Walker		Organization:		Hope House of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
Project Title:	Children's Village / Hope House Cottages		Date Submitted:		01/31/2000 7:46:11 PM
District Member:	Mandy Dawson		Service Area:		County
Counties Affected:	Palm Beach
Recipient:	Hope House of the Palm Beaches, Inc.		Contact:		David Walker
	2001 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Suite 500		Contact Phone:		(561) 697-2600
	West Palm Beach 33409
Project Description:
The Children's Village is a program designed for children who require emergency care resulting from a family health crisis caused by HIV/AIDS or other complex medical conditions. The Children's Village program is comprised of three components: outreach, residential and aftercare. The Outreach and Aftercare components are currently operating. The Outreach component consists of identifying those children and families who will need the services of the Village. These services include individual, family and group counseling, as well as recreational activities, field trips, homework assistance and tutoring. The Aftercare component focuses on the needs of the surviving children/family after the parent passes away. The Children's Village will be a 24-hour emergency community residence for children who require emergency care resulting from a family health crisis caused by HIV/AIDS or other complex medical conditions. In Palm Beach County, there were 7,196 cumulative reported cased of AIDS as of January 4, 2000 ((3,965 individuals have died from AIDS). Nationally, Blacks represent 36% of all reported AIDS cases, while in Palm Beach County, 62% of all AIDS cases are Black. The impact of HIV / AIDS is also significantly higher among women in Palm Beach County. Cumulatively, 30% of all reported AIDS cases in the county are among women, while nationally, women represent 16% of all the overall AIDS population. Nationally, 1% of all AIDS cases are among those 13 years of age and younger, while in Palm Beach County Pediatric AIDS cases represent 2.9% of the overall AIDS cases. The alarming increase in infected women has resulted in an increase in the number of children who are affected by HIV / AIDS. According to the 1997-98 HIV Care Needs Assessment information, an analysis of segmented need in terms of responsibility of children indicated that (1) Almost half of the respondents were responsible for children under the age of 17. Among those responsible for children, 45% were responsible for children under six; and 54% for children from six to twelve years. Hope House provides culturally relevant human services that are well-grounded in sound professional practices. Empowering clients to maximize their ability to live independently is an underpinning principle for Hope House.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
The Children's Village will provide shelter, counseling and other services to children who may be orphaned due to AIDS or other chronic illnesses. It will be a 24-hour emergency community residence for children who require emergency care resulting from a family health crisis caused by HIV/AIDS or other complex medical conditions. The Children's Village will open in two phases. Initially, two cottages will open to accommodate 12 children. The opening of a third cottage is currently in the planning stages. The third cottage will provide care for children between the ages of 13 and 18. Hope House will also construct an arts and recreation center as a part of this project. This will provide a place for counseling, educational, and art/recreational services. The center will engage children in regularly scheduled, age-appropriate activities that will help ensure proper physical as well as intellectual development. Children will be housed if their parent or guardian is not able to provide care due to their own health status or the child's health care needs. Hope House anticipates the average length of stay will be six weeks. Through community outreach, Hope House will link children to in-home services that may limit the need for out-of home services to extreme or last resort situations. Children will receive a comprehensive assessment of their needs. The Village's staff will insure that each child's needs are addressed. The aftercare component will help insure that the continuity of services remain intact after the child has been discharged from the Village's housing program. Aftercare services are especially important for children who, due to their parent's death, transition from their biological parent's home to the Village and then move on to a pre-adoptive placement.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Hope House is committed to improving the quality of life for the children that we serve. Program outcomes will be measured on four levels, which include status, knowledge, behavior and satisfaction. These measurable outcomes will include: (1) Improved emotional/mental health and attitude towards life; (2) Increase knowledge about health related issues surrounding chronic illnesses; (3) Improved behaviors that lead to better physical health; (4) Increase the child's understanding of parent's disease and what the course of the disease will be; (5) Decrease feelings of isolation in the family members though involvement in the program; (6) Improved mutual support among the children; (7) Transition to permanency goal without entering traditional foster care; (8) Improved coping skills with life and family issues after loss of only parent; (9) Increase client satisfaction with services and/or care received while in the program. Process objectives include: (1) 100% of children/families referred to the Children's Village will receive compete intake assessments; (2) 100% of eligible children/families, and 70% of ineligible children/families will be referred to appropriate services; (3) 60% of family members will participate in family counseling services; (4) 80% of children/families will be offered aftercare service/referral. Children's progress is assessed from initial entry into the program through permanent placement, and follow-up. Hope House's will continue contact after the child has been placed with their new family. These children will continue to participate in Hope House activities when possible. Assessment and data collection begins during the intake process. A Child Stress instrument is being piloted to help facilitate the assessment and data collection process. This tool provides a profile of the factors and level of stress in the child's life at initial intake and at strategic intervals during the child's participation in the program.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$400,000
Total cost of the project:		$1,400,000

Request has been made to fund:			Construction
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?					Yes
	Cash Amount:	$860,000		In-Kind Amount:	$140,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?					No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?					Unknown
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?					No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?					No
Is there a documented need for this project?					Yes
	Documentation:	Center for Disease Control; Palm Beach County Health Department
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?					Yes
	Hearing Body:	Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:	02/01/2000