Boone County Children's Services Board Adopts Funding Priorities and Long-Term Funding Strategy

COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 10, 2026) - The Boone County Children's Services Board (BCCSB) has approved new funding priorities and a long-term funding strategy that will guide future investments through the Boone County Children's Services Fund (CSF), beginning with the 2027 Open Request for Proposal (RFP).

The BCCSB's action follows a year-long strategic planning process focused on strengthening governance, establishing sustainable funding practices, and ensuring the Children's Services Fund continues to meet the evolving needs of Boone County's children, youth, and families.

"The Children's Services Fund exists because the citizens of Boone County choose to invest in the well-being of children and families," said Leigh Spence, Boone County Children's Services Board Chair. "As stewards of those public resources, it is our responsibility to ensure the Children's Services Fund remains financially sustainable while investing in programs that address our community's greatest needs."

Funding Priorities

The funding priorities were informed by community surveys, focus groups, individual interviews, and findings from the 2024 Boone County Children's Services Fund Review and Assessment Report. Together, these efforts identified opportunities to better align future investments with community needs while maintaining the CSF's long-term financial health.

Beginning with the 2027 Open RFP, funding decisions will be guided by three priority areas that support the mental health of children, youth, and families:

• Treatment - Programs that support mental or behavioral health through therapy, counseling, other treatment, and supportive services.
• Safety - Programs that support safety by addressing child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, and youth violence, including consistent afterschool programming and childcare.
• Basic Needs - Programs that support families in improving long-term stability. Programs may also provide immediate needs including food, household items, and material goods.

Funding Strategy

In addition to adopting funding priorities, the BCCSB is implementing a multi-year funding strategy designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the CSF.

Over the past several years, the BCCSB intentionally awarded more funding than the CSF received annually through sales tax revenue in order to gradually reduce a historically high fund balance. As the fund balance has declined, annual expenditures must now more closely align with annual revenue to ensure funding commitments can be sustained over future contract cycles.

As part of the funding strategy, the BCCSB established a long-term goal of maintaining a 20% reserve by 2030. While Boone County policy requires a minimum reserve of 17%, the additional reserve will provide flexibility to respond to changes in sales tax revenue, emergencies, and unforeseen expenses while helping reduce the likelihood of future disruptions to funded programs.

To help organizations and community members better understand these decisions, the Boone County Community Services Department and the BCCSB will host several community meetings to discuss the funding priorities, funding strategy, and implementation timeline. Community members, nonprofit organizations, and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend.

Community meeting dates include:

• Friday, July 24, 12:00-1:30 p.m., Boone County Family Resources - Les Wagner Community Room
• Monday, August 10, 9:30-11:00 a.m., Boone Electric Cooperative - Community Room
• Tuesday, August 11, 5:30-7:00 p.m., Daniel Boone Regional Library - Friends Room

Additional information about the Children's Services Fund and upcoming meetings will be available through the Boone County Community Services Department. Questions may be directed to communityservices@boonemo.gov.

About the Boone County Community Services Department

The mission of Boone County Community Services Department is to support the greatest possible level of independence and self-sufficiency of Boone County residents by promoting their physical, mental and social well-being to cultivate a safe and healthy community. The BCCSD oversees funding distributed from the Boone County Children's Services Fund and Domestic Violence Services funding. For more information, please visit https://www.boonemo.gov/community-services/

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