Scottsdale Family Resource Center reports hundreds of referrals, expanded programs

Tracy Weese, a representative of the Scottsdale Family Resource Center, told the Human Services Advisory Commission that the center — based at the Paiute Neighborhood Center — focuses on families with children from birth to 5 and is grant-funded through First Things First. "The FRC is grant funded through First Things First," Weese said.

Weese reported that in fiscal 2025 the center provided 768 referrals and served 2,995 families; for the current fiscal year the center has provided "80 plus referrals" so far. She described the center's emergency pantry — which supplies diapers, formula, baby food and car seats — and credited recent donations, including a diaper drive that delivered more than 2,000 diapers and donated car seats.

"It is 250,000 a year, renewable each year," Weese said of the First Things First grant that covers operating costs other than in-kind facility support. She outlined programming that reached 2,381 adults and 2,400 children in fiscal 2025 through roughly 238 events, including bilingual story time ("Once Upon a Cuento"), parent–child activities and the new Little Reader Book Club funded by a private donor.

Commissioners asked about partner funding and data reporting. Weese said University of Arizona Cooperative Extension recently lost funding for the center's ZIP code and clarified that "duplicated" service counts mean repeat services to the same family while "unduplicated" counts reflect unique families. Commissioners also raised liability questions about installing used car seats; Weese said technicians check expiration dates and work with Scottsdale Fire Department guidance, replacing seats identified as compromised.

The commission thanked Weese and the FRC staff for their work and outreach. The presentation closed with plans to run parent surveys and pursue partnerships and grants to expand programs and an outdoor play area.