The first round of cuts would represent about 15% of the council's revenue, and the second would amount to a 25% drop. The council funds roughly 200 programs across the county, including after-school care, school nurses, water safety lessons, and safe sleep education and cribs.

"Some people will not get the services, but which services I'm not sure yet," Arenberg Seltzer said.

Arenberg Seltzer said the council's two main priorities are reducing the number of children in foster care and decreasing juvenile arrests. She hopes to preserve core initiatives tied to those missions, such as after-school care, but warned that other programs could be trimmed if alternative funding cannot be found.

"Then do we give up nurses in schools? Do we stop funding water safety lessons to keep kids from drowning? Do we stop doing safe sleep education and cribs? All of those save lives, so there are tough decisions to make," she said.

Among the families potentially affected is Joy Barrows, a mother of two whose 9-year-old son, Julian, has autism. Julian attends an after-school program at Arc Broward in Sunrise, one of the roughly 200 programs funded by the council.

"It's helped his speech. It's helped his behavior. It's helped his interactions with children and adults; it's helped him make friends. And he does swimming lessons there," Barrows said.

Without the program, Barrows said finding suitable specialized care would be nearly impossible.

"Without Arc Broward, I wouldn't have any facility or anywhere that I trusted because he'd been turned away from other programs because they don't have the amount of specialized care. So I, I wouldn't be able to work," she said.

Arenberg Seltzer said the council aims to maintain after-school care programs and could look at trimming specific components, such as field trips or job exploration.

"To the parents out there, I promise you that the Children's Services Council remains committed to providing the best quality services we can for as long as we can," she said. "These cuts will not happen immediately, and we will do our best to find a way forward."

For Barrows, the uncertainty is a major concern.

"You can't control the disabilities that your kids face, but with services and programs like Arc Broward and CSC, they just give you a better opportunity at life," she said. "And to think that there's potential to lose that, that's scary."

Broward County is currently seeking residents interested in serving on the Children's Services Council, a governor-appointed position. More information is available through the county's boards and committees page.