For years, state business leaders have focused on strengthening the talent pipeline that fuels Florida’s growing economic engine. Too often, those discussions center on the end of a student’s educational career – high school graduation, technical training, college and the skills employers need to compete. But if we really want to grow the talent pool, we need to start at the beginning, because there’s a simple but profound truth: Florida’s talent pipeline begins before birth, shaped by the conditions leaders create for children and families.

At Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS), we know a child’s development begins with the health and stability of expectant parents, available support systems and the community environment they’re born into. Workforce readiness continues to take shape throughout their education, life experiences, and personal relationships, from school readiness and family support to health care access and nurturing adults who help kids navigate life’s challenges. But when these foundational pieces are missing, the consequences follow children into adulthood, limiting educational achievement, career opportunities and upward economic mobility.

This is how generational poverty persists, passing from parent to child as an inherited burden.

Breaking this cycle is key to building Florida’s talent pipeline. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Florida Chamber Foundation on its Florida 2030 Blueprint, a long-term, strategic plan to help Florida become a Top 10 global economy. Achieving this goal, however, requires reducing childhood poverty by addressing the 10 Root Causes of Childhood Poverty that keep families locked in this pattern.

According to the Florida Prosperity Initiative’s State of Childhood Poverty in Florida report, 711,576 children live in poverty, and the North Central region of the state is no exception. Nearly 90,458 children across the region live this reality, and the problem is not confined to any one city or county. While Florida has made significant progress, reducing childhood poverty by more than 200,000 children since the launch of the Florida Prosperity Initiative, the need remains especially urgent at the neighborhood level. Across Duval, Clay, Flagler, Volusia, Brevard and Putnam counties, 23 ZIP codes rank among the 152 Florida ZIP codes with the highest concentrations of children living in poverty, representing nearly 53,000 children whose opportunities and outcomes are shaped by economic hardship.

These numbers show the scale of the problem and provide us with a map of where action is needed most. That’s why CHS has created a bold new strategic vision focused on providing preventative services from “cradle-to-career,” averting crises before they occur and removing barriers to long-term success. Through our research-driven Community Impact Model, we create greater access to educational opportunity, healthcare and parental support in community hubs throughout every phase of a child’s development. This approach ensures children can thrive, families can succeed, and employers can get the talent they need.

Community Partnership Schools like Edward H. White High, Matthew Gilbert Middle and Longbranch Elementary in Jacksonville bring CHS’s model to life by uniting four core partners under 25-year commitments, connecting students and families with counseling, tutoring, food, housing and other supports that remove barriers to educational success. This preventative, partnership-driven approach is essential to addressing poverty at its roots, but it all depends on continued community involvement, investment and business support.

CHS cannot do this work alone. By standing with us, you can help build a safer, stronger foundation for every child in the North Central region and grow the talent pipeline that will drive Florida’s economic future.