On Jan. 28, 2025, Sheila Horton Holt, director of Family Services for Lexington, briefed the Social Services and Public Safety Committee on the Family Care Center’s programs, outcomes and community partnerships.

Horton Holt said the Family Care Center, which marked 35 years of service in October 2024, partners with Fayette County Public Schools, Community Action agencies and Bluegrass Behavioral Services to provide early childhood care, case management, home visitation and a parent-education high school for pregnant and parenting teens.

The center serves an average of about 189 clients weekly through four core programs, program managers told the committee: an early childcare program (Irma Bennett, manager), a family service coordination program (Elena Howard, manager), the HANDS home-visiting program (Amanda Patrick, manager) and a parent education program (Robin Wilkerson, manager).

Irma Bennett said the early-childhood program holds a five‑star Kentucky All STARS quality rating and is COA‑accredited; it also partners with Fayette County Public Preschool and Community Action’s Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. Bennett reported that roughly 75% of children approaching kindergarten met readiness measures on the screening tool cited in the presentation (presenter referenced the Brigance kindergarten screener). The center uses Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) for ongoing developmental monitoring; staff reported 75% of children overall achieve “optimal development” on ASQ measures.

Elena Howard described the family service coordination program’s intensive case‑management model: families receive comprehensive assessments, goal-setting and frequent contact (often once or twice weekly), transportation assistance and referrals. The program reported that of 19 families who exited during the reporting period, two had achieved at least 50% of two self‑sufficiency goals and eight had achieved at least 75% on at least two goals. Staff said they provided 320 referrals and 106 deliveries of essential supplies to enrolled families. The program also recorded 319 unduplicated non‑FSC family contacts and 492 referrals to outside services for families who did not enroll.

Amanda Patrick said the HANDS program (a state‑administered home‑visiting model) serves pregnant people through infants up to 24 months and can extend services for younger mothers; Fayette County operates two HANDS sites. The program uses the state curriculum “Growing Great Kids,” performs ASQ developmental screens every two months, and conducts repeated maternal depression and domestic‑violence screenings. Patrick said the program has seven full‑time and one part‑time staff and that, in the last fiscal year cited in the presentation, the program conducted more than 2,500 home visits and served roughly 145 families (figures presented verbally by staff).

Robin Wilkerson described the parent‑education program, which is an alternative high‑school site for pregnant and parenting students that pairs on‑site childcare with classroom instruction. All students receive transportation, case management and parenting education; the program reported a 95% rate of students meeting educational goals last year, a 97% parenting‑goal success rate and a 93% school‑retention rate. Staff said 15 students graduated last year and about 14 were on track to graduate in May.

Committee members asked about funding and partnerships. Vice Chair Baxter confirmed that Fayette County Public Schools provides classroom teachers while Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) pays transportation under a contract. Members also asked how the programs prioritize underserved communities; staff said they do targeted outreach, participate in community resource fairs and provide direct transportation to appointments. Council Member Morton pressed for details on the family service coordination self‑sufficiency goals; staff said families set and prioritize those goals and the program tracks milestones such as housing stability, employment and child development.

Members praised the programs and offered to help recruit volunteers and support community resource events. No formal committee action was taken on the Family Care Center presentation.