Boards push prevention, data‑sharing and a new dashboard to spot student needs earlier

Leaders from Palm Beach County’s four taxing and service authorities used a joint meeting to stress prevention, shared data and coordinated services as the most effective way to reduce youth crises.

"About 65% of our budget goes 0 to 5," Lisa Williams Taylor, CEO of the Children’s Services Council, said while explaining CSC’s emphasis on early interventions. "We use the data on a regular basis to drive where we're gonna use our dollars."

Why it matters: Presenters argued that upstream investments — prenatal and infant risk screens, developmental screenings, mentoring for youth in the juvenile system, and behavioral health professionals in schools — can reduce later crises, juvenile involvement and long‑term costs. The meeting cited measurable progress since the birth‑to‑22 coalition formed: high school graduation rose from 77.9% to 92.1% since 2013, and child‑victim reports fell from over 1,200 in 2019 to 805, even as chronic absenteeism rose and mental‑health indicators for adolescents remain concerning.

Data tools and privacy limits: Superintendent Mike Burke and his team demonstrated a Power BI dashboard built to show student demographics, attendance, homelessness counts and service needs that partners can use to target supports. Burke said the dashboard helps school and community partners pinpoint areas for food pantries, weekend feeding programs and targeted outreach. He also noted an enrollment decline that produced a roughly $40,000,000 budget shortfall for the district this year and that state funding mechanics (the Florida Education Finance Program) constrain local choices.

Interagency data‑sharing is underway but limited by federal privacy rules and statutory boundaries. CSC and other agencies report established data sharing agreements with the Department of Health, Early Learning Coalition, Department of Children and Families and Department of Juvenile Justice for program evaluation while emphasizing compliance with HIPAA and federal education privacy laws.

Prevention beyond crisis centers: Board members urged investments in family supports, after‑school programming, and stronger 211/988 navigation so community members can find help before events escalate. Commissioners and school members pressed staff to take the dashboard and outreach “on the road” to city mayors and community leaders to ensure local awareness and accessibility.

Next steps: Staff said they will continue to develop APIs and data interfaces, pursue release agreements where legally allowed, and use the dashboard to inform where dollars and wraparound supports should be targeted.