Mission Statement

Our Mission

The COSY Trust Board of Trustees operates as an independent body providing fundraising, marketing, advocacy and oversight to the COSY Children’s Trust Fund.

The COSY Trust was formed to raise donations so that COSY could expand services to families in crisis.  The COSY Children’s Trust Fund is managed by the Coastal Community Foundation.  Your donations are 100% tax deductible!

What is COSY and the COSY Process? What does the COSY Trust do?

COSY is the Collaborative Organization of Services for Youth in Beaufort County and The COSY Trust is a grassroots effort created like a “Friends of COSY Kids” in that the COSY Children’s Trust Fund provides financial support to assist with purchasing activities, equipment, etc. that government funds cannot be used for, but that individual case workers identify that are beneficial for the individual at-risk child(ren) involved in the COSY Process and their families. These can include things such as dance lessons, sports programs, summer camps, school uniforms, etc.

“Hope for Tomorrow” is the ongoing outreach program of the COSY Trust. It serves existing “clients” and new at-risk children and their and families as needed. In addition, funds are used to increase community awareness and donor contributions. So what is the COSY Process? COSY is comprised of representatives from 14 state, regional and local agencies. Some of these provide case management for our COSY clients and their families. Managing a case consists of coordinating services with outside service providers, helping the family in obtaining resources such as training, respite and other forms of assistance. Several of our member agencies provide case management for clients who remain in the custody of their parents – BEFORE the situation escalates to require removal from the home by the state. This form of “early intervention” can often prevent a child’s situation from worsening.

When the COSY Trust came into existence we recognized that agencies providing this type of “early intervention” to “parent-custody” cases had the potential to drastically improve the outcomes for our children. They often need resources that cannot be provided by the Medicaid system.

The funds raised by the COSY Trust are distributed to the COSY partner agencies who have “lead” responsibility for these types of clients based on the percentage of COSY families they manage. Last year, four lead agencies, the Beaufort County School District, the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Coastal Empire Community Mental Health, and the Beaufort County Disabilities and Special Needs Department, were awarded funding for this purpose.

Of note, The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recognized COSY as a model and is trying to replicate our process in the other 45 counties across the state.