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Nonprofit seeks $8,000 from Marion County to sustain early‑childhood and family programs
Summary
Terry Bieber Meyer, director of Families and Communities Together, described six countywide programs — including an early‑childhood library and a family financial assistance network — and requested $8,000 to cover rising costs; commissioners received the presentation and asked staff to consider the request.
Terry Bieber Meyer, director of Families and Communities Together, presented an overview of six programs that serve Marion County families and children and asked the commission for $8,000 in county support.
Meyer described the family financial assistance network (emergency rent and utility help), a substance‑abuse prevention coalition focused on youth, an early‑childhood task force, the Charlie Burton Imagination Library (which mails age‑appropriate books; Meyer said mailing costs run about $25 per child per year), the "It Takes a Village" collaborative for early‑childhood identification and referral, and a referral/resource program that produces a county resource directory.
She said the Imagination Library currently has about 410 active participants and roughly 450 graduates, and that matching funds are available from the Kansas Children's Cabinet (a 50% match for the library mailing costs). Meyer noted that much of her position is grant‑funded and that program costs have risen.
"We are requesting $8,000," Meyer said, asking the commission to consider the county contribution to maintain program capacity. Commissioners thanked Meyer for the report and accepted the materials in the packet for further review; no formal appropriation was recorded on July 20.
Next steps: staff will evaluate the $8,000 request as part of the county's budgeting process and return recommendations to the commission if an appropriation is proposed.
