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STARS director urges clearer mission, more staff and partnerships as social‑service demand grows
Summary
STARS staff described how after‑school and youth programs have expanded to include intensive family support, crisis assistance and non‑youth services; leadership asked council to consider staffing changes and partnerships with county and school district to make services sustainable.
STARS leadership told council the program has grown beyond after‑school and summer camps into a hub for family services, juvenile diversion referrals, homeless assistance and intensive case‑management. The director (Amber Ware) said many of those activities are not currently reflected in the department's formal budget or staffing plan and called for a reexamination of STARS' role and resourcing.
Ware said: "Eighty percent of our families are under median income, and of those we have 40 families that participate or have had some type of family crisis each month." She asked council to consider a fuller staffing complement and to explore partnerships with Lee County Human Services, the school district and local health providers so professional social‑service functions are delivered in partnership rather than fully by city staff.
Council members responded by suggesting a dedicated work session to review STARS' mission, possible cooperative agreements with the county and school district, grant opportunities and the treatment of social‑service activities in the proposed new STARS facility capital budget.
