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Commission funds Youth Connect youth mental‑health program amid questions on target ZIP codes and data tools
Summary
The commission approved an ARPA amendment to fund Youth Connect (total ARPA $1,054,680). Staff said two priority ZIP codes (38105, 38126) were targeted and described remaining racial equity mapping deliverables, a private combined database for law enforcement/courts, and a public resource directory to be built via ArcGIS.
The commission approved an amended ARPA award to support Youth Connect, a youth mental‑health initiative, authorizing $1,054,680 in ARPA funds. Division of Community Services staff described five priority deliverables from a racial equity mental‑health mapping project; two items remain outstanding — cultural competency training for criminal justice professionals and a combined, non‑public database to help law enforcement and courts identify individuals who frequently interact with 201 Poplar facilities. Staff said the project will also produce a public facing resource directory (built with ArcGIS) with mapped mental‑health service locations within about a year.
Commissioners pressed staff for more quantitative details about the program’s target population and the number of youth the program expects to serve in target ZIP codes. "The combined database would not be a public facing dashboard," Division of Community Services staff said when clarifying the plan; they added that the public facing directory and dashboards would be built separately and made available to residents. Commissioners asked for follow‑up fiscal notes for the remaining mapping priorities and for staff to return with more precise population estimates.
