Paul Szmal: Julie Champion joins us now from Child and Family Resources here on FLX Morning. Hi Julie, how are you?
Guest: Hi Paul, I'm pretty good, thanks.
Paul Szmal: And we have some news to talk about here in terms of a little bit of shuffling, reorganizing, moving and all that stuff. So I imagine it's been a pretty busy time here over the past few weeks.
Guest: You are so right. It's been pretty hectic here at Child and Family. We're making some shifts in our locations. We actually, our first transition is complete. We've downsized our Penny Inn space. We're still at 263 Lake Street, but we're in a smaller suite, Suite B. And we have a few staff that are there and staff that land in there when they're not out in the field. And then we are also going to be downsizing our Seneca Falls location on 115 Fall Street. That one's actually going to be moving. We're moving across the street to 60 Fall Street and share a smaller space with Family Counseling Services of the Finger Lakes.
Paul Szmal: That sounds like a lot of boxes and a lot of packing.
Guest: You are too true. This has been the longest move I've ever had, I think. But it's just timing and least timing and obviously getting all of our balls in the right baskets. But the really big exciting news too is that we're going back to Geneva. And in fact, we're in Geneva again. We left I think back in 2024 for various same reasons. And we found a larger space to operate as our hub for the agency. It's centrally located right on 821 Preemption Road in Geneva. And it's nice. It's a big space. We're going to have a large meeting room, small meeting room, room for supervised visitation, and numerous office spaces for staff to land in. We're pretty excited. We actually just got our internet set up yesterday. So we're thrilled to be back in Geneva.
Paul Szmal: So this is one of those kind of projects where it's the operational cost of doing business that's a factor in it. And being able to effectively use space, especially having this larger space now with the hub in Geneva, allows you to do a little bit more there than you were able to do previously.
Guest: Yes, that is true. A lot of our work is in the field, in homes, in the community, and in child care programs. So we have a lot of staff who are in and out, and in and out. And we were finding that we had a lot of empty spaces in these larger offices in Seneca Falls and Penny Inn. And we're like, hmm, that doesn't make sense. So we thought, let's redistribute how we're set up. Let's get a location that's centrally located so that we are a little more efficient. And it's hopefully going to help sustain us and look really good for the future.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, because this is not an easy time for any not-for-profit organization.
Guest: No, it's not. And one of the things that really drove this is that we used to be funded through OCFS for our Family Resource Centers for many, many years. And funding cycles through the state, as you're probably aware, and you apply, and then you reapply. And this year, there was a huge shift. There were several existing Family Resource Centers, including us, who were not refunded. The state decided to pick new locations across the state. So luckily, a lot of our programs are supported by additional funding as well, but some of them were not. So we are looking and had to look at how can we restructure and how can we put us in a good position to continue moving forward.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it becomes a matter of financial necessity at that point.
Guest: Exactly, exactly. And we want to be able to keep staff, pay staff competitively, and still be able to keep up with some of the costs. For instance, I mentioned that we have a lot of staff who work out in the field. There's a lot of travel costs. And with the gas costs right now, holy cow, it's really difficult for staff to maintain that. So we're trying to help support that as part of this move as well.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that's one of those unforeseen expense increases because last year at this time, I think we were $1.50 less a gallon was the figure I heard this morning. So, you know, anybody who is out, like you said, you have a number of staff members who are out on the road to do the work that they do, you know, that is a sudden increase. And the money to pay for that is going to come from somewhere.
Guest: Exactly. And it's not fair that it would be on the backs of the staff. So we've got to be able to increase our mileage reimbursement. We're not even close to the federal reimbursement at this point. So we have some steps to put in place to get there. But it's it really is a nonprofit struggle across the board. And I'm hoping that with this move, we can really help navigate some of these changes.
Paul Szmal: Now, regarding that funding and the redistribution of that funding, is this something that's kind of cyclical? Or is this a case of, okay, this is a permanent relocation of funds, and we need to essentially redo the playbook?
Guest: I think it's cyclical. The way the Family Resource Center funding works, it's a five-year cycle, and it's a competitive grant, and anyone can apply. They opened it up a little bit more this year, and they're looking at school-based centered hubs. They're looking at kind of a different direction in Family Resource Centers. So there's a little bit of the cycle and a little bit of nuance to it this time around. But I do think that we're not out of the game, for sure. We are seeking other funding to support the programs in the next cycle that comes around. We will definitely be applying. So we're still in there.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Julie Champion from Child and Family Resources here on FLX Morning. Is the 821 Preemption Road location, is that open now?
Guest: It is. Right now, it's minimally staffed because we haven't had the internet. But now that we're up and running, we anticipate we'll have staff there more regularly. So yes, we are open normally from 9 a.m. till 4 30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Paul Szmal: And you mentioned it was just a shift, same location, smaller space in Pennyhead. It's an actual physical move in Seneca Falls. Is that something that's in transition right now?
Guest: Yes. Our moving day for Seneca Falls is actually this Friday. So we're gearing up for that. So we will no longer be able to help folks at the 115 Fall Street. If they need assistance, they need to come see us at 60 Fall Street.
Paul Szmal: Now, I'm glad you said that you're moving on Friday, looking at what the weather for Saturday and Sunday is going to be. Because moving is bad enough. Nobody wants to do it in a downpour.
Guest: No, that's no fun. Not at all.
Paul Szmal: So what do you think the long-term outlook is now for the balance of the year for the organization?
Guest: I think probably a calming and steady back-to-business flow for us for the rest of the year. You know, and additionally, this is our 50-year anniversary for the agency. So we're hoping to kick it off this fall to have some sort of open house grand reopening event in Geneva. And I'll keep you posted about that. But we're excited.
Paul Szmal: As the year goes on, what do you feel like are going to be the most utilized programs at the new location now that you have things like, you know, increased meeting space, stuff like that?
Guest: I think for the new location in Geneva, we will be able to increase trainings to child care programs. We will be able to host community meetings and collaboration meetings. We also will be able to connect with a lot of our legally exempt enrolled child care providers. And that's the folks who care for children who are on the child care assistance program. We get a lot of walk-in traffic from them. So we're hoping that being back in Geneva will help us connect with a lot of those. There are a lot in Geneva. So we think that's where we're going to see the most traffic.
Paul Szmal: And that's important because with the economic climate being the way it is, there's been a strain put on child care resources, not only out of people's pockets, but also as you and I have discussed frequently, there's a shortage of child care providers in the area.
Guest: Yes. It seems like I've been in the business for 30 some years, and it seems like there's always a shortage, Paul. And there's this need for it, but it's such a hard role to fill. And that's why we're struggling. There are a lot of regulations. And yes, they are there to protect the children, but that can be a barrier for some folks and not wanting to have to navigate all of that. But we're hoping that we can continue to help build some more programs in the area. And the state has a couple new initiatives that will also help out the child care population, including a substitute pool for programs that need help with subs in there.
Paul Szmal: Now, that sounds like a good idea.
Guest: Yeah, definitely. It's hard to find the workers. So we have centers that are open, but if they can't find staff to work in them, then they can't open a certain room or they can't have the capacity that they need to have. So that's part of the issue with the lack of child care.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. It takes a special kind of someone to be able to do this, right?
Guest: Oh, yeah. Not everybody can work with children. It takes a skill. It takes patience. It takes the ability to understand child development and being able to connect and communicate and actually read cues of infants and toddlers. It's not just, yeah, I'm going to babysit and plop kids in front of a TV. That's not what we're looking for.
Paul Szmal: Right. Right. Yeah. There's been so much talk about that, that way too much screen time for kids from that young toddler age all the way up through school age, obviously not just television, but devices too. And you got to get creative sometimes to be able to get kids away from the screens and to be engaged in other things.
Guest: Yeah. They need to learn. Kids learn through play and you have to set up your environment in a way that invites them to play and to explore and learn. And that's a skill set. It's not something everybody can do automatically. And that's why child care providers are so important.
Paul Szmal: CF Resources, again, has their new Geneva location up and running. It's 821 Preemption Road in Geneva. If you want to find out more about the organization and what they offer, you can go to cfresources.org on the web, cfresources.org. I wish you the best of success with the move, Julie, and hopefully a chance to maybe chill for a couple of days in a recliner after this is all done.
Guest: Oh, I'll be ready for that. For sure. Thank you.
