Frank and Carol Platt

February 23, 2021 Program

Maslow’s Hierarchy of need.

Carol & Frank Platt both graduated from Florida State University with Masters in Clinical Social Work.  After graduation they began their 30-year careers working in long-term in-patient programs for children and youth in the big bend of Florida.  The focus of their work was in treatment and program development.  After working in the private sector for over 20 years they both began working for the State of Florida. The focus at the State level was policy/rule development and legislation mitigation/implementation.

Carol and Frank moved to Waynesville in February of 2018.  Both have spent a great deal of their careers as advocates for quality behavioral health services for children and youth at the local and state level.

Frank and Carol Platt gave a presentation on childhood advocacy.  They stated that children are a product of their environment.  In order to achieve full potential, a child’s physiological and safety needs must be met first.  Children need to belong and have intimate relationships with family and friends.  This then leads to self-esteem and self-actualization.

More than half of the children living in Haywood County live in poor or near-poor homes, and one-fourth live in food insecure households.  Children living in poverty are more likely to face negative education, health and economic outcomes, and children in food insecure households have higher risks to their health, safety and ability to learn.

To help children we need to adopt a holistic approach to education and learning.We need to consider the complete physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual and how these impact learning. The challenge for schools is to fit the program to the child’s needs, not try to fit the child into the school’s set program.