About the Children’s Services Fund

WHO ARE WE?

In 2020, Jackson County was home to more than 165,000 children and youth under 18 years of age, and ranked 75th out of 114 Missouri counties for child welfare. Thirty-two percent of our county’s children under 6 years of age live in poverty. Twenty-five percent of our older kids do, too. Hundreds are victims of abuse or neglect. Thousands require clinical psychiatric care. A prior needs assessment of funding for children’s services in Jackson County revealed an annual funding gap of over $21M. CSF exists to change this story. Uniting care, connection, and creativity, we are providing opportunities to give hope to Jackson County kids.

CSF is an innovative way to support child well-being projects. While we are funded by a Jackson County sales tax, we are a stand-alone organization led by an independent board. We are committed to community equity. Our board is balanced to reflect our county, and we work to educate and support all applicants, so everyone—including small organizations and first-timers—has a fair shot at funding. We believe in fresh solutions, constant progress and collaboration. Our work allows us to see the whole-county picture, so we can connect like-minded partners and promote new collaborations.

CSF strives to be ethical, accountable, innovative, collaborative and inclusive. Our vision is to create community, fairly distribute funds and openly advocate for the emotional and social well-being of Jackson County children.

Our Stats

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES

INVEST IN CHILDREN

Invest in the mental health and social-emotional well-being of children in Jackson County and serve as a champion for children and their families.

STRENGTHEN PARTNERS

Invest in, collaborate with and convene partners and other organizations to align community resources with the needs of Jackson County children.

HONOR COMMUNITY

Demonstrate the collective impact of CSF investments by defining and measuring tangible results. Earn the community’s ongoing confidence in the work of CSF.

OPTIMIZE ORGANIZATION

Ensure a diverse and open culture through operations and governance focused on continuously improving outcomes for children.

What We Fund

We fund 10 service areas that promote mental health and social-emotional well-being of Jackson County kids.

Counseling and Assessment

Supportive services promote the wellbeing of children and families with psychological evaluations, mental health screenings, therapy, and therapeutic case management.

Crisis intervention

Short-term acute mental health services that stabilize the child, reduce crisis intensity, connect the family with resources, and help return the child to a pre-crisis state.

Family Support Interventions

Home and community-based services that provide integrated support for children and their caregivers, both together and through child-focused approaches that build protective factors, enhance stability, and support the well-being of the whole family.

Outpatient psychiatric treatment

Children receive comprehensive psychiatric services from evaluation and diagnosis to treatment and medication management.

Outpatient substance use treatment

Children and families receive outpatient substance use services, including education, early interventions, counseling, treatment, recovery plans, and aftercare support.

Prevention

Services to help children learn coping strategies, strengthen relationships with positive adults and their wider communities, and build life-long social-emotional and personal safety skills.

Respite care

Provides temporary care for children to offer relief to caregivers, proactively or during periods of crisis or stress, thereby preserving the family unit.

Supports for teen parents

Young parents develop positive parenting skills, receive counseling and behavioral health supports, and receive resources and referrals.

Temporary shelter

Children experiencing abuse, neglect, houselessness, or other housing barriers can live in a safe, stable environment for up to 30 days with supportive services.

Transitional living

Provides safe living arrangements, counseling, and essential support to help older youth and families with children transition to stable housing.

Our Community Impact Framework

We make funding decisions based on key areas of impact and specific activities and outcomes. This framework is designed to support programs focused on prevention, resilience, and community, as well as supporting new opportunities that strengthen organizations and help them grow, expanding their reach and helping more of our kids thrive.

Take a closer look at what guides our funding decisions.

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Kite Graphic

From early childhood to late adolescence. In homes, in schools, and in the community. Our funded partners are doing important, innovative work for kids.

Meet Our Partners

How Do We Work?

The backstory: In November 2016, Jackson County voters approved a 1/8 cent sales tax to fund CSF. Jackson County Ordinance 4951 established the fund in January 2017, and the tax went into effect in April 2017. In November 2022, Jackson County voters re-authorized the sales tax that funds the CSF and increased the amount to 1/4 cent. Since our inception, we have awarded over $185 million to nonprofits and schools in support of childhood mental health and to protect the well-being and safety of Jackson County’s young people and their families.

Want to stay up-to-date on our funding and partners’ work?

Every month, we keep our partners, schools, parents, and community members and leaders informed about the important, innovative ways we’re working for Jackson County kids. Sign up to receive updates directly to your inbox.

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Statutes & Ordinances

All our primary documents, all in one place. See how CSF got its official start.

Learn More

Bylaws

Curious about how CSF functions? Here’s the small (but important) print.