{"id":398701,"date":"2026-09-13T14:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398701\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T14:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:52:11","slug":"childrens-services-councils-and-trusts-would-lose-278-million-over-next-two-fiscal-years-under-amendment-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398701\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Services Councils and Trusts Would Lose $278 Million\u00a0Over Next Two Fiscal Years Under Amendment 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Think Tank Estimates Potential Fiscal Impact on Children\u2019s Services Councils and Trusts in Alachua, Broward, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Manatee, Martin, Miami Dade, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Lucie Counties<\/p>\n

Boca Raton, FL \u2014 September 13, 2026 \u2014 Passage of Amendment 3, the proposed amendment to Florida\u2019s constitution, would mean a loss of roughly $278 million over the next two fiscal years for Children\u2019s Services Councils and Trusts (CSCs), according to the latest report from Florida Policy Institute (FPI). The loss \u2014 15 percent total revenue for CSCs \u2014 could result in cuts to out-of-school programs, child care, early learning, and neighborhood resources centers that provide parenting supports, professional development, and wellness screenings.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies and children are the most at risk from staggering revenue losses from Amendment 3,\u201d said Sadaf Knight, CEO of FPI. \u201cEverything from after-school programs, tutoring, mental health services, summer camps, and child care supports are on the line because of the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be cut from children\u2019s services councils and trusts across Florida if Amendment 3 passes. Florida communities continue to vote in large margins to fund their local children\u2019s services, and they deserve to know the true stakes for Florida\u2019s children when voting on Amendment 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe services offered by the state\u2019s children\u2019s services councils and trusts are part of a larger ecosystem that supports children, families, residents, and child-serving professionals,\u201d said Nor\u00edn Dollard, senior policy analyst and KIDS COUNT director at FPI, and author of the report. \u201cEvery element of that ecosystem \u2014 human and children\u2019s services funded by municipal and county governments as well as schools, are threatened either by the increase in the homestead exemption or by inadequate funding at the state and federal levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Specifically, FPI found that under Amendment 3, over the next two fiscal years:<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Trust of Alachua County would lose $6.2 million<\/p>\n

Broward County Children\u2019s Services Council would lose $47.8 million<\/p>\n

Escambia Children\u2019s Trust would lose $5 million<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Board of Hillsborough County would lose $33.9 million<\/p>\n

Indian River County Children\u2019s Services Advisory Committee would lose $3 million<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Services Council of Leon County would lose $4.2 million<\/p>\n

Manatee County Children\u2019s Services Advisory Board would lose $9.4 million<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Services Council of Martin County would lose $4.5 million<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Trust of Miami would lose $60.4 million<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Services Council of Okeechobee County would lose $455,000<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Services Council of Palm Beach County would lose $49.7 million<\/p>\n

Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County would lose $46 million<\/p>\n

The Children\u2019s Services Council of St. Lucie County would lose $7.4 million<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very concerned about the impact these cuts will have on services for children and families, especially when I think about the growth in demand when the county and cities start cutting social services,\u201d said Cindy Arenberg Seltzer, MPA, JD, president and CEO of the Children\u2019s Services Council of Broward County.<\/p>\n

The services provided by local CSCs contribute to the healthy development of children in Florida. For families who might not be able to afford tutors, child care, or a wellness check, CSCs offer such services at low or no costs.<\/p>\n

Amendment 3, which Floridians will vote on in 2026, seeks to increase the state\u2019s homestead exemption, create a pathway for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on homesteads, and reduce the assessment growth cap on non-homestead properties. The proposed amendment contains no plans to replace the revenue that CSCs across the state would lose. As FPI points out, the CSCs are also constrained by maximum millage rates they are able to levy.<\/p>\n

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\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Think Tank Estimates Potential Fiscal Impact on Children\u2019s Services Councils and Trusts in Alachua, Broward, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-398701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}