Area family resource, youth services centers awarded money

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

FRANKFORT — A total of 150 GEER II grants totaling $15 million have been awarded to local family resource and youth services centers from the second round of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund 2, including schools in Lawrence, Johnson, Martin and Floyd counties.

In Lawrence County, Fallsburg, Blaine and Lawrence County Youth Service Centers are recipients.

In Johnson County, Johnson County Middle Youth Service Center was awarded funding.

In Martin County, Martin County Middle Youth Service Center and LINKS Youth Service Center were both awarded funds.

In Floyd County, the Floyd County Youth Service Center has also been awarded funds.

The grants will fund educational support services needed due to COVID-19’s impact on schools, youth and families, with a focus on early childhood education and child care, as well as family crisis and mental health counseling, according to a release issued by Gov.Andy Beshear.

Local family resource youth service centers applied for a maximum allocation of $100,000, the release also said.

“As an education first administration, we are going to make sure that Kentucky educators, students and families have the support they need as we move out of the COVID-19 crisis,” Beshear said in the release. “This funding will help parents return to work knowing their children are learning in a safe, caring place, and it will also help families bounce back from the mental and emotional tolls of the past year.”

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) was signed into law Dec. 27, 2020.

“Congratulations to the FRYSCs that have been selected for the second round of GEER II funding,” said Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, who is also the secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. “As an educator and former school administrator, I have witnessed how much our FRYSCs mean to our schools and students. They stand in the gap for the most vulnerable students and connect schools to the home and community, so they are the best conduit for these grants.”

The grants will be managed by the Division of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. More than 850 FRYSCs provide services to Kentucky children, youth and families in approximately 1,200 schools.