County schools expands family resource centers
Published 2:27 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019
A boost in state funding means Warren County Public Schools will be able to open family resource and youth services centers at schools with significant populations of immigrant and low-income students.
“This is the first time new funding has been available for centers in 10 years,” said Todd Hazel, the director of student services for Warren County Public Schools.
Hazel referred to an announcement Monday from the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services about the opening of 28 family resource and youth services centers across the state.
The centers, which can help students with anything from food and clothing donations to health services referrals, are being financed by an additional $8 million awarded to the cabinet’s Division of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers by the General Assembly last year.
Kentucky now has 854 centers, according to a news release from the cabinet.
Due to the increase in state funding, Warren County Public Schools will be able to open centers at Greenwood High School, Jennings Creek Elementary School, Rockfield Elementary School and a joint center at South Warren Middle School and South Warren High School.
On Monday, the cabinet announced the expansion during a news conference at Henry F. Moss Middle School.
In a news release, the state’s family resource and youth services director Melissa Goins said the school-based centers go beyond simple food or clothing donations.
“Our program coordinators have long been the first line of service for children and parents – recognizing signs of suspected child abuse, providing a link to job training and career services and offering referrals to substance abuse, mental health and other medical services,” Goins said. “Every center is unique to meet local challenges and best utilize local resources.”
According to the cabinet’s news release, the state’s schools competed for funding to create the centers.
Hazel said his school district has been trying to get funding for a Greenwood High School center for years. The school has had a room staffed with volunteers and funded by donations, but it lacked a coordinator, Hazel said. It will now be a state-funded center.
“Thank goodness funding became available and we applied for it,” he said.
Hazel said he applied for funding for all schools that did not have a center.
“Ultimately the centers (that) got funded had higher free and reduced lunch numbers,” he said, adding that Jody Richards Elementary School is the only school that didn’t receive funding under the expansion.
Hazel said both Jennings Creek Elementary and Greenwood High schools have significant immigrant populations. Rockfield Elementary, South Warren Middle School and South Warren High School serve more rural student populations, Hazel said.
In addition to opening centers, the extra funding has been used to expand existing centers and maximize their services, the cabinet said in a news release.
“Children’s well-being and healthy development is one of this cabinet’s top priorities,” Deputy Secretary Kristi Putnam said in the news release. “These new centers expand our opportunity to support that outcome.”