Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County recently awarded funding of over $400,000 focused on reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – SEPTEMBER, 2011 – Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County (CSCSLC) is pleased to announce the decision to fund two new Teen Wellness and Healthy Lifestyles programs.  The funding is being given to Kids Connected by Design and Boys and Girls Club. Sean Boyle, Executive Director of Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County stated the decision was made at the September 8^th Council meeting after a community review and staff recommendation. “We are confident these two organizations will be able to provide the necessary components to address teen health in St. Lucie County,” he said.  “This continues our commitment to fund quality programs that address and reduce incidences of teen pregnancy by making parents the primary educator of their youth and providing teens with quality after-school programs.”

Kids Connected by Design’s new program, Parent Teen Community Connections, will target youth ages 10 to 18 years of age and their caregivers.  Their program will receive almost $220,000 and will focus on increasing parent/child communication and access to existing community resources.  The program will work with families to ensure parents are the primary educators of their teens.  Parent Teen Community Connections will serve 200 individual teens and 2,100 teens in group settings throughout the community.  Lisa Von Seelan is the CEO of Kids Connected by Design and is excited about the new program her agency will be offering with the funding from Children’s Services Council.  “It’s critical that children receive the support and education from their parents when it comes to their overall health and well being.  The kids tell us, the parents tell us and the research proves it: kids want to learn from their parents. We will work with the parents to give them the necessary tools and resources to do this,” she said.

Boys and Girls Club plans to operate the Teen Outreach program at its four current facilities and will receive $188,550 in funding from Children’s Services Council.  Teen Outreach will provide a full range of afterschool program components including pregnancy prevention, substance abuse prevention, academic success, community service and recreational activities.  The program will serve 200 teens.

The decisions were based on recommendations by a seven member community review panel.  The panel reviewed thirteen proposals to create educational programs in St. Lucie County to reduce teen pregnancy.  The funding will start in the upcoming fiscal year beginning October 1^, 2011.

For more information about the organizations and programs that Children’s Services Council supports, contact Ashley Mock at (772) 408-1100 or email her at amock@cscslc.org. 

About Children’s Services Council

Children’s Services Council is a taxing body created to generate revenue and distribute funds primarily to support prevention based programs for children and families. Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County has provided more than $6.5 million annually in funding to a core group of 56 St. Lucie County community programs and organizations for more than 20 years.  This funding reaches nearly 25,000 children and families annually.  The total cost for the average homeowner to support Children’s Services Council is only $25 a year.

Some of the programs and organizations that Children’s Services Council provides funding and support for include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Club, CASTLE, Children’s Home Society, Easter Seals, Healthy Start, Helping People Succeed, Hibiscus Children’s Center, YMCA, Avenue D Boys Choir, Frontline for Kids, PACE Center for Girls, Kids at Hope, Heart Gallery and many more. For a complete list of programs and organizations that Children’s Services Council funds, visit their website at www.cscslc.org, or call them at (772) 408-1100.  # # #