ICARE is an organization of 24 congregations in Duval County that is now in its thirteenth year. Combined, our congregations represent more than 14,000 residents from a broad cross-section of the Jacksonville community.
We are incorporated in Florida as a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) tax exempt and politically non-partisan organization. Our mission is to powerfully address citywide concerns related to issues of justice and fairness. We are a direct action organization not a direct service organization. We use our power to press our elected officials and other city leaders on county-wide solutions.
Hold an annual assembly to secure commitments from our public officials to implement solutions for serious community problems. Each year our members vote democratically to determine the problems ICARE will focus on for the year.
This year we had nearly 1200 people at our Annual Nehemiah Assembly, where we worked with the Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to secure commitments to begin an evidence-based restorative justice program in two schools, which will begin January 2011. ICARE also worked with the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) and Jacksonville Children’s Commission to expand access for working lower-income Duval County families to the quality early literacy program Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK). This will make available 2.1 million dollars to provide wrap-around funding for a full-day care voucher for 500 four-year-olds. Additionally, ICARE worked with ELC and Duval County Public Schools to track VPK students through their school careers and provide a data-driven accountability measure for both early learning programs and the school district.
As of 2009, only 58% of Duval County Public Schools children are reading at grade level (DCPS Strategic Plan Data Summary 08/09).
1/2 the reading gaps for HS seniors can be directly attributed to their gaps in learning at school entry. High-quality early childhood programs have been found to have the strongest effects with at-risk children (Racial & Ethnic Disparities, 2009).
Gaps in school readiness that appear in kindergarten tend to persist throughout the school years. Racial gap in achievement scores of high school students was already evident when children began school (JCC Racial & Ethnic Disparities Report, 2009).
ICARE has had a profound impact on reducing behavior of Duval County Public School students that leads them to the criminal justice system.
- Nancy Ricker, ICARE Treasurer and Co-Chair of the ICARE Crime Committee
We applaud ICARE for their persistence and their powerful approach for achieving systemic change. By publicly voicing the will of the community and strongly encouraging hospitals to take specific and measurable action, ICARE plays a valuable role that no other agency or organization in Jacksonville has the capacity to accomplish.
- Heather E. Huffman, MS, RD, LD/N, IBCLC, Co-Chair Northeast Florida Breastfeeding Collaborative
