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Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Cover Sheet for Agenda #22 November 9, 2021 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
| Title: | Addressing Poverty and Inequities in 32304 |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
|
Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Alan Rosenzweig, Deputy County Administrator |
|
Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Shington Lamy, Director, Human Services and Community Partnerships Abigail Sanders, Human Services Analyst |
Statement of Issue:
This item provides a comprehensive report on programs, services, initiatives, and events adopted and implemented by the County and other community partners to address poverty and inequities in communities and neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code. Additionally, as requested by the Board at its January 25, 2021 annual retreat, the item presents plans that have been developed by residents of the neighborhoods in 32304 and provides recommendations to better coordinate, align, and enhance existing County programs and services with these plans to continue to improve the neighborhoods in collaboration with community partners.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has a fiscal impact. As detailed in the item, the County commits more than $6 million in recurring funding for programs and services dedicated to addressing poverty and inequity in the community including neighborhoods in 32304 through human services, health care, housing, library services, and economic development. In addition, the County has provided over $62 million in one-time funding to provide food, rent, utility, health, micro-loans, business and non-profit assistance for those most in need during the pandemic. To build on the County’s investment, the item recommends additional annual investments in mental health outreach events in collaboration with the City of Tallahassee and Mental Health Council of the Big Bend within high poverty neighborhoods. Funding is available in the general fund contingency account for FY 2022 events. Future funding will be included as part of the budget process.
Staff Recommendations:
Option #1: Direct staff to work with the City of Tallahassee on the development and implementation of the Neighborhood First Program in order to engage residents and develop plans to address poverty and inequity in targeted neighborhoods.
Option #2: Direct the prioritization of Promise Zone funding through Community Human Services Partnership to programs that align with the Neighborhood First Plans.
Option #3: Approve the collaboration with the City of Tallahassee and the Mental Health Council of the Big Bend to host a series of mental health outreach and training events within Neighborhood First Program neighborhoods in the amount of $10,000, and approve the Resolution and associated Budget Amendment Request (Attachment #1).
Option #4: Direct staff to coordinate with the City of Tallahassee on Library Programs that align with the Neighborhood First Plans when possible.
Report and Discussion
Background:
This item provides a comprehensive report on programs, services, initiatives, and events adopted and implemented by the County and other community partners to address poverty and inequities in communities and neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code. Additionally, as requested by the Board at its January 25, 2021 annual retreat, the item presents plans that have been developed by residents of the neighborhoods in 32304 and provides recommendations to better coordinate, align, and enhance existing County programs and services with these plans to improve the neighborhoods in collaboration with community partners.
This comprehensive report advances the following FY2017-2021 Strategic Initiative:
This particular Strategic Initiative aligns with the Board’s Strategic Priority:
At its January 25, 2021 annual retreat, the Board approved a series of new strategic initiatives, including to develop a plan to address poverty and inequities in 32304 in collaboration with the City of Tallahassee (City) and other community partners. On February 16, 2021, the Board ratified the actions taken at the Board Retreat.
Poverty and inequity exist throughout the community. The County has actively worked to address issues of poverty and inequity in all parts of the community in collaboration with the City and other local partners through a variety of programs and services that seek to improve economic prosperity and the quality of life to the most vulnerable populations and neighborhoods.
Over the past few years there has been an emphasis on poverty within the 32304 zip code following a 2018 Florida Chamber of Commerce report that found that 32304 has more residents living in poverty compared to any other zip code in the State. According to the U.S. Census data, 32304 zip code has the lowest percentage of homeownership, lowest median household income, and lowest average home values compared to other Leon County zip codes which are common indicator for impoverished communities. However, the issues of generational poverty and long-term disinvestment in infrastructure and resources is not unique to one specific zip code or area. For example, the U.S. Census data also indicated that 32310 zip code which includes the Greater Bond neighborhood and Fort Braden community has the highest percentage of residents without a high school diploma and similar to 32304 are zoned for schools that have historically struggled to meet benchmarks for key educational attainment including kindergarten readiness and reading levels, which are also indicators of poverty. While the County continues to provide resources to address poverty throughout the community, this item focuses on the neighborhoods (Frenchtown and Griffin Heights) within 32304 that have the highest levels of family poverty and the collaborative efforts that have been implemented and proposed enhancements to address poverty and inequity.
As detailed in the analysis section, in collaboration with local partners, the County has invested in programs services, and initiatives focus on these key indicators with that focus on improving the socioeconomic outcomes of low-income residents and families. These investments have targeted resources in neighborhoods that historically experienced poverty including those in 32304 and have included:
The list above represents a sample of programs, services, and initiatives detailed in the item that the County has implemented to address poverty and inequities in neighborhoods within 32304. A high emphasis is placed on neighborhoods and census tracts rather than the zip code in order to provide a more accurate approach for compiling and analyzing socioeconomic data in a community. Zip codes do not appropriately take into consideration the characteristics of the historical neighborhoods that have experienced generational poverty and inequities. As the analysis will show, 71% of the 32304 population is between the ages of 18 and 34 and the zip code has the lowest percentage of family households, which reflects the high concentration of college students. However, further analysis at the census tract level better illustrates the generational poverty and inequities that exist within 32304 in the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods, which are considered high poverty areas by the U.S. Census, with family household poverty rates that exceed 40%.
Much of the population of 32304 including the entire Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods are within the City limits. As a result, they receive City programs and services that are supplemented with annual state and federal funding to address the revitalization of impoverished neighborhoods such as Community Development Block Grant for housing rehabilitation/development, neighborhood development, and social services. For FY 2022, the City budgeted $6.4 million in CDBG funding that will be invested in low-income neighborhoods including 32304.
Over the past 18-24 months, the City’s Neighborhood First Program has worked with residents and community stakeholders of the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods, to develop plans to improve the social and economic outlook of the neighborhoods. The plans were developed and adopted by the residents as well as the City. County staff met with members of the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods, who strongly encouraged the County to work with the City to implement the goals, strategies, and actions plans detailed in the Neighborhood First Plans rather than undertake the process of planning and developing a separate plan. The Neighborhood First Plans reflects the priorities of the neighborhoods that were adopted after extensive engagement with residents; community stakeholders have expressed an interest to begin implementing with key partners including the County. The following recommendations would provide greater coordination and alignment of existing and recently adopted County programs and services highlighted in this item, to address specific needs and actions that will enhance economic prosperity, improve the quality of life, revitalize the neighborhoods, and empower the residents of the neighborhoods:
Analysis:
The County has actively worked to address issues of poverty and inequity in collaboration with the City and other local partners through a variety of programs and services that seek to improve economic prosperity and the quality of life to the most vulnerable populations in the community. As a result, significant investments in neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code have been adopted and implemented over the past several years by the County and its partners.
The following sections of the analysis provide general data on census tracts and neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code including an explanation on the utilization of census tracts to define neighborhoods instead of zip codes as well as the impact of the college population on the zip code data. The analysis then provides details on the programs and services that the County has adopted and implemented in collaboration with community partners in the areas of human services, library services, health care, housing, and economic development to address poverty and inequities in neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code.
Subsequently, the item presents recent neighborhood plans developed for Frenchtown and Griffin Heights, which are within the 32304 zip code, and how those plans align with programs, services, initiatives, and events that have already been adopted by the County. The analysis culminates with recommendations to better coordinate or enhance existing County programs with the neighborhood plans that have been adopted by the City and residents in Frenchtown, Griffin Heights, and other areas that have experienced generational poverty and inequities.
Data on 32304 and Census Tracts
The 32304 zip code is approximately 16 square miles from portions of Frenchtown and Griffin Heights in the east and extending to Lake Talquin State Forest and the Ochlocknee River to the west (Attachment #2). According to the U.S. Census data, approximately 43,116 residents live within the 32304 zip code. The 32304 zip code has the lowest percentage of homeownership (11.6%), lowest median household income ($21,862), and lowest average home values ($177,459) compared to other Leon County zip codes. These are a few common indicators of poverty and inequities in a community.
However, 32304 has the largest concentration of college-aged students, which federal studies have shown significantly impact poverty data. Approximately 30,591 or 71% of the 32304 population is between the ages of 18 and 34; this is the only zip code in which the 18-34 age group is the majority of the population. The Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College border or are within the 32304 zip code. As a result, the college age population significantly impacts data within the 32304 zip code. In 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau published a report entitled Examining the Effect of Off-Campus College Students on Poverty Rates, which found that counties had “statistically significant decreases in their poverty rate when excluding off-campus college students.”
Additionally, it is important to note that zip codes are a collection of mail delivery route boundaries and are not regularly utilized for analyzing socioeconomic data. Zip codes do not take into consideration population size, county/city boundaries, school districts, or neighborhoods. For example, established neighborhoods such as Frenchtown is divided between the 32301 and 32304 zip codes.
Therefore, a more accurate approach for compiling and analyzing socioeconomic data is by census tract. Census tracts are statistical subdivisions of a county that generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people. The U.S. Census Bureau and state agencies such as the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity utilize census tract data rather than zip codes to define communities and identify populations with similar socioeconomic statuses such as education, income, and occupation.
There are 17 census tracts that are fully or partially within the 32304 zip code, which includes census tracts for FSU, TCC, and the Civic Center. In order to account for the high proportion of college students that may otherwise skew relevant findings, an analysis was conducted on poverty rates among family households rather than the overall poverty rate to gain better knowledge on where poverty exists. The U.S. Census generally defines family households as a family group of two or more people residing together, related by birth, marriage, or adoption. A nonfamily household consists of a householder living alone or sharing a home exclusively with people not related by birth, marriage, or adoption. The 32304 zip code has the lowest percentage of family households (24%) and the highest percentage of nonfamily households (76%) compared to other zip codes in Leon County.
When evaluating family households in the 32304 census tracts, those census tracts that include the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods have the highest level of family households in poverty, while the family household poverty level in other census tracts are significantly lower (Attachment #3). In six of the census tracts, 30% or more of family households are below the Federal Poverty Level, which is $26,500 for a family of four. The U.S. Census considers census tracts with an overall poverty rate of 30% or more, as high poverty areas. Three of the five census tracts with family household poverty rates of over 40% represent the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods. The other two census tracts were in the Bond neighborhood and student housing adjacent to the Civic Center, respectively. However, it is important to note that a very small portion of the census tract containing the Bond neighborhood is located in 32304; the remaining and largest portion of the neighborhood is located in 32310. The Civic Center census tract includes student apartments on Gaines Street as well as College Town.
Much of the population of 32304 including the entire Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods are within the City limits. As a result, they receive City programs and services that are supplemented with annual state and federal funding to address the revitalization of impoverished neighborhoods such as Community Development Block Grant for housing rehabilitation/development, neighborhood development, and social services. For FY 2022, the City budgeted $6.4 million in CDBG funding that will be invested in low-income neighborhoods including 32304. In addition to the City, over the past several years, the County has adopted programs and services to address the poverty and inequities primarily to family households. The programs and services focus on targeting resources that will improve the economic prosperity and quality of life of residents and families in high poverty neighborhoods.
County Programs and Services
This section details the programs and services that the County has adopted and implemented in collaboration with community partners in the areas of human services, health care, housing, library services, and economic development to address poverty and inequities in neighborhoods. Additionally, the section provides geographic data on the clients served that reside in 32304; human service agencies commonly report zip code level data to maintain client confidentiality.
Human Services
Through community partnerships and collaboration, the County provides a variety of services that enhance the quality of life of low-income residents and neighborhoods that have historically experienced poverty as well as economic inequities. Long-term investment in human services have traditionally been made through CHSP in collaboration with the City. Over the past year, additional investments have been made by the County in response to the disproportionate health and economic impact of COVID-19 on low-income neighborhoods through Leon CARES, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Community Human Services Partnership
Since 1997, the County and City have partnered to administer the Community Human Services Partnership (CHSP) as a joint planning and funding distribution process to provide human services in Tallahassee-Leon County. Currently, the County and City allocate a total of $4.046 million in ten human services categories, including but not limited to Children’s Services, Community Support, Family Support Services, Basic Needs and Emergency Services, and Promise Zone. The programs funded through CHSP primarily target low-income households with services such as meals, afterschool programs, youth mentorship, and family counseling. In the past couple of years, the Board has taken several steps to enhance the service delivery of CHSP to neighborhoods with high concentration of family poverty including increased investment in programs targeted to high poverty areas, and the incorporation of initiatives to improve and promote racial equity in human services.
The Promise Zone Category funds programs designed exclusively to serve residents in high poverty census tracts in the areas of youth services, family services, job training/placement, and health services. Initially, the Promise Zone was funded exclusively by the City for programs that served 11 census tracts including five census tracts in the 32304 zip code. On January 28, 2020, the Board directed staff to establish a new CHSP Promise Zone category, funded by the County and City and expanding the Promise Zone to include additional high poverty census tracts that are fully or partially located in the 32304 zip code (Attachment #4). The Board allocated $145,000 annually in CHSP funding to be dedicated to the expanded Promise Zone. Through the Promise Zone, programs such as the Children’s Home Society’s Early Steps Program, the American Second Harvest Feeding the Promise Zone Program, and Boys and Girls Clubs Sunrise Place and Springfield Community Center programs, the County has supported the establishment or expansion of services to residents in Frenchtown, Griffin Heights, and other neighborhoods in the community. In FY 2020, CHSP programs in the Promise Zone category reported serving nearly 8,500 clients, which include most of 32304.
In 2020, the Board directed staff to incorporate the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Racial Equity Toolkit into the CHSP process in order to improve the delivery of human services to populations and high poverty areas that have historically experienced racial inequities. GARE is a membership organization that promotes racial equity by providing resources and services to a network of state and local governments to help advance equity in its organization and community.
On June 8, 2021, the Board accepted a status report on efforts to integrate GARE strategies into the upcoming two-year CHSP funding cycle. This will include establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion training as part of the mandatory workshops that will be conducted for agencies and Citizen Review Team (CRT) members. In collaboration with the City and the United Human Services Partnership’s (UPHS) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusionary (DEI) Taskforce, the County is identifying a DEI professional to conduct the training that will be incorporated into the mandatory workshops, developing a series of questions that will be included in the CHSP application, and engaging with local DEI professionals including equity officers and workplace trainers to serve on the CRTs. Incorporating the GARE Racial Equity Toolkit into CHSP in collaboration with the City and UPHS is expected to improve service delivery to Leon County residents in high poverty areas, as agencies evaluate their programs to eliminate institutional and racial inequities.
Leon CARES
The current health crisis has brought about many changes to the lives of all Americans as well as increased the availability of programs designed to support those most in need. Leon CARES has been essential to ensure eligible Leon County residents, including households inside the City limits, do not experience evictions, foreclosures, and interruption in utility services during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the July 14, 2020 Budget Workshop, the Board approved the “Leon CARES” expenditure plan to distribute the County’s allocation of more than $62 million in federal funding. The Leon CARES Individual Assistance Program provided up to $5,000 in one-time assistance to households earning less than 120% of the AMI to support past-due rent, mortgage, and utility bills. Launched on August 17, 2020, the Program provided $11.5 million in financial assistance to over 4,900 applicants impacted by COVID-19. The average award for the Leon CARES Individual Assistance Program was $2,337 per applicant. As reflected in Table #1, the 32304 zip code had the highest number of households awarded CARES Individual Assistance Funding as well as the highest total of funding award.
Table #1. Top Five Households Awarded Leon CARES Individual Assistance Funding by Zip Codes
|
Zip Code |
Total # of Awards |
Total Funding Awarded |
|
32304 |
1,173 |
$2,611,710 |
|
32303 |
1,091 |
$2,536,137 |
|
32301 |
813 |
$1,840,604 |
|
32305 |
556 |
$1,356,530 |
|
32311 |
553 |
$1,324,187 |
Additionally, the County entered into sub-grantee agreements with several partner agencies to implement various Leon CARES community assistance programs, including funding to address communitywide food insecurity. Leon CARES funding supported Second Harvest in ordering over $4 million of food to provide 3.4 million meals across the community, which helped expand the School Backpack Program. By the end of the 2020 calendar year, Second Harvest had distributed nearly 40,000 bags of food across 18 schools. Over 20,000 bags of food went to five schools where children in 32304 are zoned to attend.
Through Leon CARES, the County also provided funding to local businesses and nonprofits. Launched on August 17, 2020, the Leon CARES Small Business Assistance program provided a total of $18.1 million in financial assistance to 932 local small businesses. More than $1.4 million in assistance (approximately 8% of program funds) was provided to 73 businesses within 32304 with an average award of over $19,000. The Leon CARES Human Services Grant program distributed over $1.8 million to more than 120 local human services agencies serving local citizens and communities impacted by COVID-19. The agencies reported assisting approximately 1,700 Leon County residents and more than 45% reside in 32304.
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The County continued to lead efforts to ensure that low-income residents impacted by COVID-19 did not experience homelessness and maintain housing stability during the pandemic. In January 2021, the County was allocated $8.9 million in direct federal funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. Subsequently, the County was allocated an additional $10.8 million with the establishment of ERA 2 under the American Rescue Plan Act. The program assists Leon County residents impacted by COVID-19 with up to 12 months of past due rent, utilities, and internet, as well as up to three months of future rent, utilities and internet. Eligible households must earn 80% or below the AMI. The program was launched on March 29, 2021 and provided assistance to more than 3,100 households for a total of more than $15 million. Similar to the Leon CARES Individual Assistance Program, the 32304 zip code had the highest number of households awarded ERA funding as reflected in Table #2.
Table #2. Top Five Households Awarded ERA Funding by Zip Codes
|
Zip Code |
Total # of Awards |
Total Funding Awarded |
|
32304 |
887 |
$3,584,161 |
|
32303 |
588 |
$2,942,564 |
|
32301 |
569 |
$2,825,835 |
|
32310 |
327 |
$1,655,490 |
|
32305 |
284 |
$1,551,089 |
Prior to the launch of the ERA program, the County conducted an extensive outreach campaign to inform the community about the Program and to gather input from stakeholders to maximize accessibility for households that have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This included contracting with several local partner organizations including the Tuggerson Group, Tallahassee Urban League, the Greater Frenchtown Revitalization Council, H.E.L.P., Inc., the Community Round Table of Tallahassee 850, and the Mount Olive Community Development Corporation to conduct targeted outreach to low-income neighborhoods such as Frenchtown, Griffin Heights, Bond, South City, and Providence. During the application window for the Leon County ERA program, these organizations held 30 events that included neighborhood canvassing, outdoor gatherings, and real-time Facebook Live events that reached more than 6,500 citizens.
Additionally, two Community Assistance Centers were established at the Leon County Amtrak Building and LeRoy Collins Main Library to provide residents in-person, one-on-one assistance with the online application process. Although the centers were open to the entire community, the specific location provided considerable access to residents within the 32301, 32304, and 32310 zip codes with evening and weekend hours. At these locations, residents were pre-screened for eligibility and assisted with setting up their Neighborly and email accounts, uploading supporting documents to their application, and completing and submitting the online applications.
American Rescue Plan Act
In order to address the ongoing need for human services throughout the community including low-income neighborhoods and vulnerable populations caused by the pandemic, on June 8, 2021, the Board approved the expenditure plan for the County’s allocation of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery (CSLFR) Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which included $6.6 million in support to local human services partners. The support for local human services partners through ARPA is in partnership with the City, which allocated a portion of its CSLFR funds in the amount of $12 million. This included $6.3 million for homelessness and housing support for programs such as street outreach, which engages unsheltered individuals and families to provide resources for housing; homeless diversion and prevention, that provides rental and utility assistance as well as hotel vouchers to prevent residents from experiencing homelessness; and continued funding to the four emergency homeless shelters in Leon County for renovations and program enhancements to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, including the homeless youth shelter operated by Capital City Youth Services within the 32304 zip code.
Additionally, approximately $1.4 million was allocated to Second Harvest to address food insecurity and purchase approximately 722,000 meals including 222,000 meals that will be distributed primarily to Leon County families with children that attend Title I schools such as John G. Riley, Pineview, Fort Braden, Nims Middle and Griffin Middle. Children that live in census tracts in 32304 are zoned for these schools. With the ARPA funds, Second Harvest will also establish temperature-controlled lockers throughout the community including neighborhoods within 32304 to increase access to meals, with flexible schedules for food pickup.
Approximately $810,000 was allocated by the County and City in ARPA funding for legal services to address the significant increase of households experiencing the risk of eviction, foreclosure, and issues with accessing unemployment compensation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The County and City are contracting with Legal Services of North Florida and Legal Aid of North Florida to expand legal assistance to low-income households impacted by COVID-19. As previously stated, 32304 households have had the highest number of awards for housing assistance through the County’s CARES and ERA programs. Throughout the administration of the programs, applicants have been referred to Legal Services and Legal Aid on legal matters regarding tenant-landlord rights. The County has worked with the local partners to coordinate payments to landlords to prevent the filing of eviction notices through the court system, which can have an adverse effect on a household’s ability to access affordable housing. Over the next two years, Legal Services and Legal Aid will provide reports on the number of Leon County residents served as well as census tract and zip code data on where they reside.
Through ARPA funding, the County and City also established the Tallahassee-Leon County Nonprofit Services Grant for a total of $3 million. The Nonprofit Services Grant provides up to $20,000 to local nonprofit organizations that provide or will provide human services to Leon County residents impacted by COVID-19. Approximately 153 nonprofit organizations have been awarded funding for programs such as youth mentorship, financial management, and housing assistance. As part of the ARPA funding granted by the County and City, the organizations will be required to provide at least three reports, which will include the number of Leon County residents served as well as census tract and zip code data on where they reside or where events were held within Leon County.
Health Care
The County provides significant investment to provide access to quality health care to low-income residents in Leon County through partnerships with the local federally-qualified health centers, primary mental health provider, the Florida Department of Health in Leon County, various human services partners, and the City.
Leon County Primary Healthcare Program
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, access to quality healthcare is a social determinant of health that affects the outcome and risks of a person’s overall quality of life. Low-income individuals are five times more likely to report poor health due to the lack of access to quality healthcare and suffer from chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and stoke. As a result, the Health Affairs Journal found that poverty and economic inequity are linked to disparities in life expectancy across income levels. For over a decade the County has been dedicated to providing low-income residents and neighborhoods access to high quality health care services. Through the Leon County Primary Healthcare Programs, the County contracts annually in the amount of $1.7 million with the following community-based health care providers: Bond Community Health Center, Inc. (Bond); Neighborhood Medical Center, Inc. (NMC); Apalachee Center, Inc. (Apalachee); Capital Medical Society Foundation/We Care Network (We Care); and the Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy (FAMU), to provide uninsured and underinsured Leon County residents access to primary health care, dental health care, mental health care and pharmaceutical services.
NMC and FAMU Pharmacy provide health care services at the Lincoln Center located in Frenchtown. According to NMC, 61% (1,833) of its patient visits for primary health care funded through the County’s Primary Healthcare Program in FY 2020, were patients that live in the 32304 zip code. A majority of the patients who visit the Lincoln Center live within a five-mile radius, which include census tracts and neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code. Additionally, more than half (2,092) of the approximately 4,080 prescriptions filled by FAMU Pharmacy through the County’s Primary Healthcare Program in FY 2020, were for NMC patients at the Lincoln Neighborhood Services Center location.
The Capital Medical Society Foundation, also known as We Care, utilizes a network of volunteer specialty care physicians to provide specialized medical and dental services that cannot be provided by a primary care physician. Specialty care services include, but are not limited to cardiology, neurology, internal medicine, orthopedic and orthodontic care. According to We Care, 834 Leon County residents were referred to specialty care in FY 2020, and nearly one-third (or 252) live in 32304.
Mental Health Care
According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, there is a causal relationship between poverty and mental health and as a result “improving a person's economic situation reduces their risks of anxiety and depression, and addressing these common mental illnesses reaps economic benefits by increasing employment and an individual's earnings.” Over the past year, the County has increased its investment in mental health care. In 2019, Neighborhood Health Profiles conducted by the Florida Department of Health in Leon County (FDOH) in the neighborhoods of Greater Bond, Greater Frenchtown, South City, Fairbanks Ferry, Highway 20, and Macon found that between 75% - 80% suffered from extreme depression. Additionally, at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, 2-1-1 Big Bend reported a 33% increase in suicide calls. In July 2020, as part of Leon CARES funding, $100,000 was budgeted to increase the capacity of 2-1-1 Big Bend to expand its mental health call staffing and contracted mental health counseling in response to an increased volume of suicide calls since the onset of the pandemic. County funding supported the hiring of two additional positions by 2-1-1 Big Bend to triage mental health calls to appropriate free or low-cost mental health services in Leon County. The City continued to mitigate the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable households by also allocating funding to 2-1-1 Big Bend to rapidly connect vulnerable individuals with specially trained Mental Health Navigators to provide referrals and resources such as scheduling counseling appointments directly with counselors and therapist via telehealth services.
In 2020, the Mental Health Council of the Big Bend which is comprised of mental health professional organizations including Apalachee, Bond and NMC, recommended the establishment of a Behavioral Health Navigator to serve as liaison between high-impact communities and community groups to facilitate information about mental health services and referrals to mental health providers. Subsequently in December 2020, the Board allocated $102,000 of funding to the FDOH for the creation of a Behavioral Health Navigator Position to provide outreach to high-risk neighborhoods identified by FDOH in partnership with the Mental Health Council, to educate and raise awareness of mental health services and treatment in the community and throughout Leon County.
In order to provide low-income residents access to mental health services and treatment, the County provides $264,000 annually through the Primary Healthcare Program for mental health services provided by Apalachee, Bond, and NMC. The funding allows for 3,300 mental health visits amongst the three providers. The County also invests $638,156 in state-mandated Baker and Marchman Act Services provided through Apalachee Center for emergency services and temporary detention for mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment. In FY 2020, a total of 2,812 County residents were screened for services and over 67% (1,933) were admitted for inpatient treatment.
COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination
As a response to the public health emergency, the County allocated $2.8 million to support the efforts of local federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and health care providers to conduct targeted COVID-19 testing in high-risk areas throughout the community, and to support other direct COVID-19 related expenses to serve the medical needs of low-income residents in Leon County. The providers conducted 95 testing events through the County and tested over 6,408 individuals. Approximately one-third of the events were held in neighborhoods within 32304.
Library Services
As shown in Table #3, census tracts and neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code are zoned for schools that have historically struggled to meet benchmarks for key educational attainment including kindergarten readiness and reading levels.
Table #3. 32304 Elementary and Middle Schools
|
Schools |
School Grade (2019) |
% of Kindergarten Ready |
% of Level 3 or Above, Florida Standards Assessment, English Language Arts |
|
Elementary |
|||
|
John G. Riley |
D |
20% |
22% |
|
Pineview |
C |
27% |
31% |
|
Sabal Palm |
B |
40% |
45% |
|
Middle |
|||
|
Griffin |
D |
N/A |
29% |
|
Nims |
C |
N/A |
24% |
|
Raa |
C |
N/A |
52% |
|
K-8 |
|||
|
Fort Braden |
C |
30% |
44% |
|
District Avg. |
B |
53% |
61% |
The Leon County Public Library System has always served as a critical component in the community to increase literacy rates through love of reading and lifelong learning. However, over the last two years, the Library has undergone an extensive re-envisioning process that includes identifying the changing roles of public libraries, refocusing priorities on the needs of the community, and engaging citizens to help develop new strategies to maintain relevance.
On June 8, 2021, the Board adopted the plan to implement the Essential Libraries Initiative to develop new programs that represent and appeal to Leon County’s diverse population and more importantly proactively address the needs of the community. Over the next three years, programs and services will be developed and organized in four focus areas: Literacy & Lifelong Learning, Business & Workforce Development, Civic & Community Engagement, and Arts & Humanities.
Recently, the Library implemented key programs and events in collaboration with community partners targeted to low-income neighborhoods including census tracts within 32304. In March 2021, the Library launched its Homework Hub program to pair volunteer tutors with K-8 students. The Library coordinates with Volunteer Services to recruit students from the College of Education at Florida A&M University, Flagler College, and FSU to offer one-on-one tutoring and homework help clinics to K-8 students.
To help address the significantly low number of children that are not ready for kindergarten in neighborhoods zoned for 32304 schools, the Library hosted outdoor school readiness this past summer. In addition, Library staff developed additional summer programs that utilized play-based learning to teach young children skills such as multi-step directions; fine motor skills (writing, cutting, pasting, etc.); pre-literacy skills (listening and chronological awareness); and hygiene and cleanliness (handwashing and cleaning up).
To support the focus area of Civic & Community Engagement the Board approved the creation of the Community Resources Specialist position at the Library for a licensed social worker that will provide one-on-one assistance and referrals for community services including housing, career skills training, health care, and government services. Additionally, the Community Resources Specialist will work with the County’s Office of Human Services and Community Partnerships to coordinate with local human services agencies to identify possible partnerships and program opportunities at the Main and branch libraries.
Housing
Historically, the County’s housing program has served the needs of low-income households in the unincorporated areas of the County, while the City’s program assists households within the City limits. However, over the past few years, the County has partnered with the City, Housing Finance Authority of Leon County, and Tallahassee Lenders Consortium Inc. (TLC) to preserve and increase the stock of affordable housing and homeownership countywide including neighborhoods in the 32304 zip code.
Community Land Trust of Tallahassee and Leon County
As mentioned previously, the 32304 zip code has the lowest percentage of homeownership, lowest median household income, and lowest average home values compared to other Leon County zip codes. In 2020, the County, City and TLC partnered to establish the Community Land Trust (CLT) of Tallahassee and Leon County provider greater access to homeownership to low-income households as well as create an inventory of homes to remain affordable in perpetuity. A CLT is a tool used to promote affordable housing. Under the CLT model a nonprofit organization acquires, manages, and retains ownership of the land on which a home is located. The land is preserved under a 99-year ground lease held by the nonprofit CLT. Because the land is leased by the CLT and held separately from the home, the price of the home is limited to the value of the structure which ensures the home remains affordable in perpetuity. In November 2020, the County donated four properties to the CLT. One of the properties located in the Griffin Heights neighborhood, is where construction of a single-family home is expected to begin in Summer 2022. Within the next 12-18 months the County is expected to donate five more properties to the CLT to construct new single-family homes and all five are located in 32304.
Emergency Home Repair Services to Mobile Homes within City limits
A key program enhancement that has been adopted within the past several months is the inclusion of mobile homes in the County’s Emergency Housing Repair Program to preserve and improve the condition of the homes of low-income households. The County’s Emergency Housing Repair Program provides repairs to address an immediate health and/or safety hazard in unincorporated Leon County. Emergency repairs include, but are not limited to roof replacement, septic system replacement, HVAC replacement, electrical repair, plumbing repair, and tree removal. The City has a similar program administered within its jurisdiction.
The County program is funded through multiple sources including the State Housing Initiative Partnership, which is the primary funding source of the County’s Housing Programs; and the Housing Finance Authority of Leon County (HFA). Due to State restrictions on uses of SHIP funding, HFA funds are utilized to provide emergency repairs to mobile homes. The City’s Emergency Repair Program is funded entirely through SHIP. As a result, mobile homes within the City limits are not eligible for the City’s emergency home repair program. In June 2021, the HFA approved the utilization of its funds through the County’s Emergency Home Repair for the emergency repair of mobile homes within the City limits. Approximately 27% of mobile homes in the City limit are located in 32304 and are now eligible for immediate response to emergency repairs such as roof, electrical, and plumbing repair through the County’s program. The County has coordinated with the City and Tallahassee Lenders Consortium to raise awareness of the program to mobile homeowners that reside within the City limits.
Economic Development
In collaboration with numerous partners including the City, the County has led the effort to bring economic prosperity to neighborhoods through investments in infrastructure and minority-owned businesses. These efforts include the Greater Frenchtown/Southside Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), Leon Works Expo and Junior Apprenticeship Program, and SmartSteps Micro-Loan Program.
Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA
The Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA was created by the City in coordination with the County in 2000 to revitalize neighborhoods and commerce within the boundaries. The boundaries of the Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA encompass portions of the 32304 zip code including the Frenchtown neighborhood (Attachment #5). The County contributes 4.1 mills in annual increment revenue payments for the Frenchtown/Southside CRA. For FY 2021, the County contributed approximately $2.0 million to the Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA and is projected to contribute $2.1 million in FY 2022. The Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA administers several programs to redevelop neighborhoods within its boundaries including the construction of sidewalks, streetscape improvements, and development of affordable housing though single-family housing and multifamily housing projects. As presented further in the next section on Neighborhood Development, in July 2021 the CRA dedicated $6.4 million over the next five years to the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan which was developed in coordination with the residents of Frenchtown.
Leon Works Expo and Junior Apprenticeship Program
Leon County has an ongoing Strategic Initiative to promote skilled career fields through the Leon Works programs, which includes both an annual Expo and Junior Apprenticeship Program. The Leon Works Expo is a one-day event that connects employers, academic institutions, and students, and provides opportunities for individuals to explore skilled careers. The Expo was first held in 2015 at the then Lively Technical Center with 85 exhibitors, and participation from approximately 300 Leon County Schools students. The Expo has become a regional program and grown so substantially that it was moved to the FSU Civic Center. The most recent Expo held in March 2019, had participation from 130 exhibitors and nearly 500 students from Leon, Gadsden, and Wakulla County.
In the Spring of 2017, Leon Works was expanded to include a Junior Apprenticeship Program for Leon County high school students. For one semester, students work in a County department shadowing and assisting a staff member in a skilled career field. Currently, students have an opportunity to explore a range of career fields including graphic and digital design, information technology, web development, computer aided design (CAD), construction management, emergency management services (EMS), and automotive mechanic services.
While gaining work experience, Junior Apprentices also earn an hourly salary and elective credit toward their high school, in addition to completing CareerSource’s Dynamic Futures training to prepare them for entering the workforce after graduation. Since the Program began in Spring 2017, approximately 60 students have successfully completed the Program. Over half of these students are from low-income families or live in high-poverty areas, and approximately 25% are living below the poverty line and have additional barriers to employment (arrests, disability, pregnancy, foster care, etc.). To ensure their success, this latter group of students receives support services from CareerSource both during and after the Program.
SmartSteps Micro-Loan Program
Minority-owned businesses have historically struggled to access capital. In 2020, the Office of Economic Vitality (OEV) conducted a survey of more than 200 local minority-owned business owners and 69% of the respondents felt that their existing access to capital was insufficient to run and grow their business. Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic OEV also found that 53% of minority and women-owned businesses experienced a 50% or greater decline in revenue, compared to 39% of non-minority/women-owned businesses. Within the past year the County has adopted a multi-million-dollar program that has begun to inject critical financial capital into minority-owned start-up and emerging businesses including many located within 32304.
In order to increase access to capital for minority businesses, during the November 17, 2020 meeting, the Board authorized the County Administrator to execute an agreement with FAMU Federal Credit Union (FAMU FCU) to establish a microloan program for Black-, minority-, and women-owned businesses. As approved by the Board, Leon County committed $1 million in Leon CARES funding for the microloan program, known as the SmartSteps Program, which was supplemented with a $250,000 match from FAMU FCU. The SmartSteps Program launched in February 2021 to enhance and diversify the existing capital pool in the market for minority businesses. Since that time, approximately $667,0000 in loans have been distributed through the Program to approximately 24 Black-, minority-, and women-owned businesses. Approximately 30% of the loans funded were made to businesses within 32304 in the amount $201,000 (the largest amount of any zip code).
In May 2021, the Board allocated an additional $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to extend the SmartSteps Program and further support the needs of growing MWSBE businesses. The City also provided $500,000 to the Program for a total of $2 million. The additional $500,000 supports the administration of the SmartSteps Program as part of the City’s Neighborhood First Initiative. As mentioned earlier, through the Neighborhood First Initiative, the City has worked with community members within the Frenchtown, Griffin Heights, and Greater Bond neighborhoods to collaboratively plan community improvements within these areas such as housing improvement programs, economic development, and placemaking. During these planning efforts, each neighborhood requested access to microloans as an economic development goal within its plans. As proposed, the additional funds will be dedicated to the SmartSteps Program to be distributed to MWSBE businesses within the Frenchtown, Griffin Heights, and Greater Bond neighborhoods. The Neighborhood First Initiative is described in the following section.
Neighborhood Development
Over the past several months neighborhood development plans have been adopted that focused on making improvements to neighborhoods within 32304. As presented in this section the plans include strategies and action items that align with the programs and services provided by the County. The City’s Neighborhood First Program works with residents and community stakeholders in targeted neighborhoods to develop plans to improve the social and economic outlook of the neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are identified by the City’s Public Safety Collective (PSC), which is comprised of the Tallahassee Police Department, Leon County Sheriff, U.S. Attorney, State Attorney, City’s Neighborhood Affairs, Big Bend Crime Stoppers, and other community stakeholders.
The PSC selects neighborhoods for the Neighborhood First Program through the City’s Neighborhood Public Safety Initiative (NPSI) with an emphasis on public safety and developing safer neighborhoods in areas that have experienced high crime and high poverty. Plans have been developed and adopted for Greater Bond, Frenchtown, and Griffin Heights. The City is currently engaging the Providence neighborhood to establish a Neighborhood First Plan. The following section presents the respective neighborhood first plans that have been adopted for Frenchtown and Griffin Heights including specific initiatives that have been, will be or could be implemented in partnership with the County.
Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan
The development of the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan commenced in Fall 2019 with the establishment of the Frenchtown Community Action Team (FCAT) to lead the planning process (Attachment #6). As reflected in Table #4, the FCAT is comprised of Frenchtown residents and business owners.
Table #4. Frenchtown Community Action Team Members
|
Members |
Organization |
|
Beverly Williams |
Big Bend Community Development Corporation |
|
Darryl Scott |
Frenchtown Resident |
|
Mutaqee Akbar |
Akbar Law Firm, PA |
For approximately 18 months, the FCAT held 15 meetings staffed by the City to establish goals, identify neighborhood concerns and desired outcomes. They evaluated neighborhood assets, opportunities for community beautification and infrastructure improvements as well as initiatives and recommendations of previous plans such as the Frenchtown Placemaking Plan conducted by the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department. This culminated with the development of the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan with six (6) priority areas:
The Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan priorities include 44 strategies associated with neighborhood concerns, and 210 actions items to address the concerns. The Frenchtown neighborhood is fully located within the City limits, and the City is taking the lead to implement the strategies and actions items of the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan with the FCAT. However, County staff conducted a comprehensive review with City staff of the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan and found that County programs, services, and initiatives align with several of the action items including 36% in the Housing Priority areas and 43% of actions items in the Health and Resident Empowerment Priority area (Attachment #7). For example, as mentioned earlier the CLT is anticipated to build six homes in the area within the following 18-36 months, and the Emergency Home Repair Program provides assistance for mobile homes within the City limits providing a pathway to homeownership while preserving the homes of established residents in Frenchtown.
The Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan was adopted by the FCAT on May 13, 2021. As mentioned earlier, on July 1, 2021, the CRA adopted the Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan and dedicated $6.4 million in County and City funds over the next five years to implement action items identified in each priority areas of the Plan.
Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan
The Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan was developed by the Griffin Heights Community Action Team (GHCAT) (Attachment #8). The GHCAT is comprised of Griffin Heights residents and business owners reflected in Table #5.
Table #5. Griffin Heights Community Action Team Members
|
Members |
Organization |
|
Allie Taylor-Grant |
Griffin Heights Resident |
|
Rodney Landers |
Griffin Heights Resident |
|
M. Miaisha Mitchell |
Greater Frenchtown Revitalization Council |
|
K. Lenorris Barber |
Mt. Olive Housing & Community Development |
For approximately two years, the GHCAT staffed by the City, engaged community stakeholders through virtual townhall meetings, open houses, one-on-one meetings, and social media to establish goals, identify neighborhood concerns, and desired outcomes. Additionally, the City worked with the Florida State University Urban and Regional Planning Department to conduct community survey and design work to capture the desire of residents in the neighborhood. This culminated with the development of the Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan with five (5) priority areas:
The Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan priorities include 41 strategies associated with neighborhood concerns and 161 actions items to address the concerns. Similar to the Frenchtown neighborhood, Griffin Heights is fully located within the City limits and the City is taking the lead to implement the strategies and actions items. However, a comprehensive review of the Plan with City staff found that County programs, services, and initiatives align with many of the action items identified including more than a third of the action items in the Economic Development and Resident Empowerment priority areas (Attachment #9). For example, the Essential Libraries Initiative adopted by the Board will establish new programs that address several of the action items including enhancing tutoring programming that would be held within the community such as at churches and family centers.
Another key strategy included in the Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan is identifying dedicated funding sources to fund critical neighborhood infrastructure projects. Several action items within this strategy focus on exploring the expansion of the CRA boundaries to include the Griffin Heights neighborhood. As mentioned earlier, the Frenchtown neighborhood is part of the Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA and funding from the CRA, which includes County funding, will be utilized to implement the Greater Frenchtown Neighborhood First Plan. A request to expand the CRA boundaries has not been submitted by the City or CRA to the County. Staff will bring an agenda item to the Board if such request is submitted for its consideration.
The Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan was adopted by the GHCAT in October 2020. On September 22, 2021, the City Commission adopted the plan and approved funding in the amount of $2.2 million to implement action items in the Plan. Over the next several months City staff and the GHCAT will conduct further analysis to determine the projects identified in the action item to fund with the allocation approved by the City Commission. These projects are expected to include the purchase and renovation of 1309 Alabama Street for food retail; a targeted microenterprise development program; a homeownership program that includes rehabilitation of existing homes and new single-family home construction; and establishment of a Griffin Heights Children & Families Resource Center.
Recommendations
Plans to address poverty and inequities in the targeted neighborhoods of Frenchtown and Griffin Heights within 32304 have been developed and adopted by the residents, business owners, and stakeholders. Staff met with members of the FCAT and GHCAT who strongly encouraged the County to work with the City to implement the goals, strategies, and actions plans detailed in the Neighborhood First Plans rather than undertake the process of planning and developing a separate plan. The Neighborhood First Plans reflects the priorities of the neighborhoods that were adopted after extensive engagement with residents; community stakeholders have expressed an interest to begin implementing with key partners including the County. Implementation is underway and there are several opportunities to coordinate and better align existing and recently adopted County programs to address specific needs and actions that will enhance economic prosperity, improve the quality life, revitalize the neighborhoods, and empower the residents, as detailed in the Frenchtown and Griffin Height Neighborhood First Plans.
As described in the following recommendations, the proposed actions would occur in collaboration with the local partners including the City, FCAT GHCAT, and human and health care partners. The recommendations place a great emphasis on concentrating resources and investment in neighborhoods that are within census tracts with significantly high levels of family poverty.
As stated earlier, the City’s Neighborhood First Program works with residents and community stakeholders in targeted neighborhoods to develop plans to improve the social and economic outlook of the neighborhoods. Plans have been developed and adopted for Greater Bond, Frenchtown, and Griffin Heights. The plan for Greater Bond was developed by residents and utilized the same approach of establishing priority areas, strategies, and action items (Attachment #10). The City is currently engaging the Providence neighborhood, which is located south of Elberta Drive, west of Lake Bradford Road, east of Iamonia Street/Herlong Drive, and north of Pineview Elementary. Open houses are currently being conducted with the neighborhood and a Community Action Team comprised of residents and community stakeholders of the neighborhood will be established in the next several weeks.
As mentioned earlier, although Bond is primarily located in the 32310 zip code, however, according to the U.S. Census, the census tract for the neighborhood is considered a high poverty area for family household. The census tract for the Providence neighborhood is also considered a high poverty area for family households with a poverty rate at 31.6%. The Neighborhood First Plans provide an opportunity to maximize and better focus the County resources dedicated to improving the quality of life and economic conditions of neighborhoods that have historically experienced poverty and inequity. The plans identify short and long-term actions that will be implemented over the next several years to revitalize the neighborhoods and empower the residents through social services, infrastructure improvements, and economic development. Long-term, the planning, development, and implementation process of the current plans would serve as a model for addressing poverty and inequity in other neighborhoods in Leon County in collaboration with the City and other community partners such as Providence. Therefore, it is recommended that the Board direct staff to work with the City on the implementation of the current Neighborhood First Plan for Greater Bond, Frenchtown, and Griffin Heights as well as the development and implementation of future neighborhood plans such as the Providence neighborhood. County staff would work with the City to further evaluate opportunities to align current County programs with the established neighborhood plans. The development process would serve as an opportunity to promote programs, services, and initiatives of the County to neighborhoods and make any necessary enhancements to improve access and awareness to residents that could be captured in the plans.
As mentioned earlier, the Promise Zone Category of CHSP funds human services programs designed exclusively to serve residents in high poverty census tracts in the areas of youth services, family services, job training/placement, and health services. The Promise Zone includes the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods as well as Greater Bond. It is recommended that the County and City prioritize for funding in the Promise Zone Category human services programs that align with the action items identified in the Neighborhood First Plans. For the current two-year funding cycle (FY 2021 and FY 2022), the County and City allocated $1.1 million to the Promise Zone Category. Current and potential CHSP agencies that apply for funding through the Promise Zone Category, would be required to identify the priority areas, strategy and actions that its program would address with CHSP funding. Additionally, members of the FCAT and GHCAT would be recruited to serve on the Promise Zone Citizen Review Team to evaluate the proposals and make recommendations for funding to the Board and City Commission for respective approval. Output and outcome measures would be developed to evaluate a program’s effectiveness to meet the goals of an identified Neighborhood First Plan.
The respective Neighborhood First Plans adopted by the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights residents place a high emphasis on enhancing access to mental health services, to improve the quality of life and reduce crime in the neighborhoods. Specifically, the plans identify for action outreach events to serve to reduce the stigma of mental health in the black community. Over the past several months, the Behavioral Health Navigator has worked with the neighborhoods and Mental Health Council to identify three outreach and training events that would be designed exclusively for black males, black females, and the general public. The events are expected to take place at the Lincoln Center. This would align with action items that call for mental health outreach events that target barbers and beauticians in the neighborhoods too, as mentioned in the Griffin Heights Plan. Therefore, it is recommended that the Board direct staff to collaborate with the City, FCAT, GHCAT, and Mental Health Council of the Big Bend to conduct approximately three annual outreach events within the Neighborhood First Plan neighborhoods on mental health services. Each event is anticipated to cost approximately $10,000 for a total of $30,000. The City and Mental Health Council would also serve as strategic and financial partners. As a result, the County portion would be approximately $10,000 annually. If approved, general fund contingency is available in the FY 2022 budget to host mental health outreach events this fiscal year. Future funding would be incorporated into the budget process. This investment would build on the County’s commitment which was highlighted earlier to improve access to mental health services to low-income residents. The first event is expected to occur in Spring 2022.
On June 8, 2021, the Board adopted the plan to implement the Essential Libraries Initiative new programs that represent and appeal to Leon County’s diverse population and, more importantly, proactively address the needs of the community. Over the next three years programs and services will be developed and organized in four focus areas: Literacy & Lifelong Learning, Business & Workforce Development, Civic & Community Engagement, and Arts & Humanities. As previously described, several of the Neighborhood First Plans’ action items align with the four focus areas of the Essential Libraries Initiative, including implementing a neighborhood-based reading and STEAM mentoring program for youth, and establishing a tool library to lend equipment to residents to make home repairs. It is recommended that Library Services collaborate with the City on programs that align with the Neighborhood First Plans.
Conclusion
Poverty and inequity exist throughout Leon County. Therefore, the County has actively worked to address issues of poverty and inequity in all parts of the community in collaboration with local partners to improve economic prosperity and the quality of life to the most vulnerable populations and neighborhoods through a variety of programs and services. Over the past few years there has been a high emphasis on poverty within the 32304 zip code following a 2018 Florida Chamber of Commerce report that found that 32304 has more residents living in poverty compared to any other zip code in the State. However, in evaluating poverty and inequities in 32304, it was important to concentrate on census tracts with significantly high poverty rates which are utilized by federal and state agencies to define communities and more accurately reflects the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods that have experience generational poverty and long-term disinvestment. Additionally, critical to identifying generational poverty is evaluating the family poverty rate within a census tract. Based on the U.S. Census, the census tracts representing the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods which are fully or partially located in 32304 are considered high poverty areas with family household poverty rates that exceed 40%.
Much of the population of 32304 including the Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods are within the City limits. As a result, they receive City programs and services that are supplemented with annual state and federal funding to address the revitalization of impoverished neighborhoods such as Community Development Block Grant for housing rehabilitation/development, neighborhood development, and social services. For FY 2022, the City budgeted $6.4 million in CDBG funding that will be invested in low-income neighborhoods including 32304
However, the County has actively worked to address issues of poverty and inequity in collaboration with the City and other local partners through a variety of programs and services that seek to improve economic prosperity and the quality of life to the most vulnerable populations in the community. As a result, significant investment in neighborhoods within the 32304 zip code have been adopted and implemented over the past several years by the County and its partners.
The recommendations presented, recent Board actions, and continued investment and implementation of current programs and services in human services, health care, library services, housing, and economic development, well position Leon County to address poverty and inequities in 32304, specifically and most appropriately the neighborhoods of Frenchtown and Griffin Heights as described in the Neighborhood First Plans developed by the residents.
The Neighborhood First Plans provide an opportunity to maximize and better focus the County resources dedicated to improving the quality of life and economic conditions of neighborhoods that have historically experienced poverty and inequity. The plans identify short and long-term actions that will be implemented to revitalize the neighborhoods and empower the residents through social services, infrastructure improvements, and economic development with the goal of making transformational change to end generational poverty. According to the City and members of the neighborhood each plan will be evaluated and updated periodically to ensure they continue to reflect the highest needs and best strategy for addressing poverty and inequity in the respective neighborhoods.
Long-term, the planning, development, and implementation process of the current plans would serve as a model for addressing poverty and inequity in other neighborhoods in Leon County in collaboration with the City and other community partners. The City has begun the process for developing plans for the Providence neighborhood and implementation is under way of plans that have been adopted for neighborhoods such as Frenchtown and Griffin Heights. Therefore, the following recommendations would provide greater coordination and alignment of existing and recently adopted County programs to address specific needs and actions that will enhance economic prosperity, improve the quality of life, revitalize the neighborhoods, and empower the residents of the identified neighborhoods:
Should the Board approve the recommendations presented, staff would commence coordination and collaboration with the City for implementation of the established Neighborhood First Plans. The Board would be provided updates on the Neighborhood First Plans annually that would include updates on action items and any revisions to the priority areas, strategies, and action items. As mentioned earlier, the Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan includes action items to explore the expansion of the CRA boundaries to include the neighborhood. A request to expand the CRA boundaries has not been submitted by the City or CRA to the County. Staff will bring an agenda item to the Board if such request is submitted for its consideration.
Options:
Recommendations:
Options #1 through #4
Attachments: