Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Child Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates urge Cumberland County to raise funding for child advocacy services and arts education
Summary
At the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners’ FY27 budget public hearing, a child psychologist and arts advocates asked commissioners to increase funding for the Child Advocacy Center and to expand school arts programs, citing higher local rates of reported child abuse and wide reach of arts services in Title I schools.
At a June 1 special meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, community speakers urged the board to increase funding for services that support children and their families as the board opened the FY27 budget public hearing.
Dr. Julie Lee Jacobs, a child and family psychologist, told the commissioners she has seen “firsthand that the CAC literally changes the lives and outcomes of children in our community who have experienced physical and sexual abuse.” She said Cumberland County’s rate per 10,000 children of investigative reports of child abuse and neglect has been consistently higher than the state rate for at least eight years and appealed to commissioners to “place children at the top of the priority list.” She cited April service activity that included about $21,000 in forensic interviews and about $13,000 in trauma-informed therapy and asked the board to fund the Child Advocacy Center at its full request.
An Arts Council representative asked the board to fund the Artisan School Program to ensure arts instruction in Title I schools, arguing that “arts education is not an enrichment activity. It is an educational strategy.” The speaker told commissioners that during FY26 the Arts Council supported arts experiences in 59 Title I schools and reached about 35,000 students, and said local investment helps leverage additional state and private funds.
County leadership framed the manager’s recommended budget as a starting point and encouraged public input as the board moves into a series of workshops to refine the FY27 budget. The chair reiterated that the recommended document will be shaped by public comments, emails and agency input before a final budget is expected later in the month.
