ACS Commissioner Details Community Partnerships and Preventive Services
ACS Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston discusses community partnerships, family services, and the difficult decision to close four prevention programs to realize $2.7 million in city tax levy savings.
As I take on this role, I remain committed to lifting up family-centered, prevention-driven solutions that improve outcomes and transform how systems support children, families, and communities.
I am committed to keeping children safe by providing ACS child protective staff with the tools, supervision, and training they need to make sound decisions.
And I am committed to ensuring ACS helps to provide families and communities with the support they need to succeed.
ACS will soon announce the providers recommended for the 11 community partnerships across the city.
Community partnerships are neighborhood coalitions that enhance child and family well-being through strategies responsive to each community's specific wants and needs.
By listening to the voices and ideas of community members, the community partnerships work to increase coordination among service providers, connect families to resources, and fill programming gaps.
The new contracts will expand the role of community ambassadors, trusted community residents who build relationships with and connect families to information and resources.
I'm looking forward to the implementation of these new contracts and the positive impact the partnerships will continue to have.
ACS currently contracts with 44 provider agencies operating 127 programs for family services, previously referred to as prevention services.
Across the system, ACS contracts for 10,277 slots, meaning more than 10,000 families can receive services at any one point in time.
In calendar year 2025, a little over 30,000 children in 14,000 families receive child welfare family support and therapeutic treatment services.
ACS and our providers have been intentional about supporting communities, engaging families, and connecting them to resources.
Through this work, we've increased community referrals from 12% of all families served in January 2023 to 27% of them in March of 2026.
These include referrals from schools, healthcare providers, and families themselves.
As part of our efforts to look closely at our budget and possible efficiencies, this budget includes closing four programs totaling 360 slots for savings of 2.7 million CTL and 7.1 million gross.
We will be looking working closely with the four providers as well as the providers in the same catchment area to ensure that no family loses services.
We will also continue to monitor community needs and make sure families continue to have access to services.