AGENCIES HOPE TO CONSOLIDATE SERVICES; GROUPS TARGET DIFFERENT NEEDS

A movement is under way by three organizations in Cape Girardeau to consolidate community services and information to more efficiently meet needs of those they are meant to help.

Since the city lacks a public transportation system, the people who need the services often have trouble getting to them. Also, although many social, job-training and other programs are available, sometimes people aren't aware they exist.

Efforts are under way to address these problems:

-- A new group, the Cape Area Family Resource Center, has received state funding to combine social services at a yet-to-be determined site on the city's south side.

-- The Private Industry Council of Southeast Missouri is already combining employment related services at its offices at 760 S. Kingshighway.

-- The Area Wide United Way is developing a comprehensive referral network to connect people with the hundreds of available programs in the county.

The goal of each organization is to provide "one-stop" service in areas in which they are focusing.

While there is some crossover and cooperation, all three groups are targeting different needs.

Family Resource Center

Family Resource Centers have been developed throughout the country to combine social, educational and recreational services in one place to make access easier for lower-income residents.

The idea for a local center grew out of the Community Caring Council, a group founded 10 years ago by state Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau.

"It's a great concept," Kasten said. "It will offer a more efficient way to provide services."

Though it has an active board of directors, at the moment the Cape Area Family Resource Center exists only on paper. However, that will soon change.

The center's board recently received a $90,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Social Services to start turning years of planning into reality. The grant will go to hire an executive director, rent office space and launch initial services.

A search for a director with experience at a similar center in the Midwest is under way.

The center will serve those residents who live south of William Street and east of West End Boulevard. Services at the center could include an after-school latch-key program, GED classes, family counseling, health care and a myriad others.

"What we are trying to do is bring all the resources together," said Edythe Davis, vice president of the center's board.

That doesn't mean moving every existing local social service, department and program -- many of which have extensive staffs -- into one facility. However, those groups would be invited to have representatives at the center on designated days of the week or month.

Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Health Department and an associate center board member, said the health department will work with the center.

"It's a grand and wonderful idea," Craig said. "When it comes to fruition, we will certainly want to do something with them."

Davis expects a director to be hired by spring and for programs to be offered shortly thereafter.

The board will seek additional grants as needed to offer services and hire more staff.

The center's director will work out of the Private Industry Council's offices until permanent quarters can be found.

At one time the center's board was looking at old St. Francis Hospital, but that is no longer considered a viable option.

May Greene Elementary School at 1000 Ranney is one site under consideration. The school will be closed by the Cape Girardeau School District at the end of the current school year.

Private Industry Council

Although it is working closely with the resource center -- including, for the moment, acting as its fiscal agent -- the Private Industry Council of Southeast Missouri's one-stop efforts have a different focus.

"Our mission is very simple: Try to help people get and keep jobs," said Ron Swift, PIC's executive director. "Their focus will be more holistic and much broader than just employment issues."

Swift is a founding member of the resource center board, though he no longer is actively involved.

PIC serves a 13-county region of Southeast Missouri. Last month its Cape Girardeau offices were designated as a one-stop career center for its service area. However, it still offers services in other counties.

As part of the move toward consolidation, the local Job Service office started moving in with PIC Thursday.

PIC's services include job training, employment search assistance, mentoring for young people and other related programs.

One program, the Career Closet, provides disadvantaged job seekers with appropriate business attire for attending interviews and going to work.

Department of Family Services staff work at PIC with the increasing number of welfare recipients now entering the work force. With changes in federal welfare rules, many former recipients are required to get jobs.

Many single mothers have misconceptions about how going to work will affect issues such as child support payments, Swift said.

DFS workers help explain these and other issues, and having them on-site allows people to get that information more easily.

First Call for Help

While literally hundreds of programs and services exist in Cape Girardeau County, finding them can prove difficult.

The Area Wide United Way, through the Community Caring Council, is compiling a database to make that information more obtainable.

"The biggest challenge is keeping the information updated because there are changes on a daily basis," said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the local United Way chapter.

Work on developing a comprehensive referral system, to be called First Call for Help, began in August 1997.

Over 300 organizations, both money making and not-for-profit, are being included. Each organization offers numerous programs.

The database will include a description of individual programs, criteria for eligibility, the groups offering them and how to contact those groups.

When it is in place, people will be able to call a toll-free number. Workers will search the database to find programs fitting their individual needs.

"It will be so useful when it is done," Jernigan said.

She added that it is intended to compliment, not replace, existing referral systems.

A committee of volunteers has raised nearly $20,000 for First Call for Help and has applied for a grant through the Missouri Hospital Association that would be worth between $20,000 and $30,000.

Jernigan said news on the grant should come this week. She is hopeful the application will be approved.

If it is, a full-time coordinator will be hired to oversee the program. Jernigan hopes the system can be launched within 90 days.