Senate Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #2025 The Family Source of Florida Parent Support Services
Requester:	Stephanie Meineke		Organization:		The Family Source of Florida
Project Title:	The Family Source of Florida Parent Support Services		Date Submitted:		01/31/2000 10:38:07 AM
District Member:	Patsy Kurth		Service Area:		Statewide
Counties Affected:	{Statewide}
Recipient:	Stephanie Meineke		Contact:		Ashley Bodmer
	345 Office Plaza Drive		Contact Phone:		(850) 488-5437
	Tallahassee 32301
Project Description:
The Family Source of Florida has served as the statewide network of child abuse prevention and family support since 1978. The Family source operates The Parent HelpLine and Parent Support Groups, which are free and available in all areas of the state. Regional Coordinators are assigned to 50 of Florida's 67 counties. State funding for these parent services has been recommended for elimination by the Department of Children and Families. This funding supports our personnel and operations costs, specifically our regional offices and staff. These coordinators provide community outreach and education, develop partnerships with local organizations and participate in child abuse prevention public awareness activities including training and technical assistance. Our support groups have more than doubled in the last six months, primarily due to these regional coordinators. The Family Source of Florida Parent Services are largely dependent on volunteers as well as our partnerships with community organizations that provide meeting space and staff time for weekly support groups.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
The Parent HelpLine (1-800-FLA-LOVE) and Family Source Parent Support Groups are free and available in all areas of the state. The Parent HelpLine is the only statewide hotline providing immediate support to stressed parents in the form of crisis intervention as well as referrals to local services and support groups. Referrals to Family Source Support Groups are received from DCF, courts, and other agencies. Support Groups are open to any interested parent, reaching urban and rural parents, of which 51% are white, 28% are black, and 14% are Hispanic. Most importantly, parents report they learned new parenting skills, supported each other, received ongoing support that promoted positive changes in their lives, and developed leadership skills. The impact of group involvement is demonstrated by a survey of 1998-99 support group participants which showed that 23% of the parents reported they discontinued yelling or shouting at their children as a result of their involvement with support groups. Nearly 90% reported they never or almost never hit or spanked their child after attending the support group. Ninety-four percent felt that they had made positive changes in the lives as a result of attending the group.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Increase in calls to the Parent HelpLine and number Parent Support Groups offered across the state.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$107,246
Total cost of the project:		$426,124

Request has been made to fund:			Operations
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?					Yes
	Cash Amount:	$318,878
Was this project previously funded by the State?					Yes
	Fiscal Year:	1998-1999		Amount:	$107,246
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:	6,352 people were served by the Parent HelpLine and Family Source Parent Support Groups in 1998-99
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?					Yes
	Hearing Body:	Orange County Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:	10/13/1999