What are the start-up costs involved in developing a Communities In Schools program?
• Under a comprehensive approach, there are minimum costs to individual communities to implement CIS. • A community’s investment in establishing a local CIS initiative consists identifying available resources, determining local needs, developing a plan, coordinating with local boards of education, hiring an executive director and support staff, raising funds to match CIS grants for start-up and support, and tracking and reporting on students served. • The cost to a community of sustaining a CIS collaboration varies from minimal to modest. Many local CIS operations begin – and maintain – their staffing levels with a single executive director and an administrative assistant. Salaries and benefits vary depending on community standards; office rent and supplies may often be in-kind contributions; typical budgets also include travel, insurance and other miscellaneous costs. Larger CIS operations may require more staff and in some CIS programs staff is assigned to each school served. On aver
