Community Foundation Ensures Outreach Services National studies conclude that young children are at three times higher risk of being expelled from their child care due to behavior problems than children in kindergarten through grades twelve. (W.S.Gilliam, Ph.D., Yale Child Study Center: Yale School of Medicine,  2005).  “It is imperative that we provide the necessary services to keep these little ones in their safe settings so they can grow and develop in the context of a stable, nurturing relationship with a primary care giver,” says, Kathryn Shea, President and CEO of The Florida Center for Child and Family Development, “The Community Foundation has assisted us in these efforts this year by awarding the agency a BOOST grant.” The Community Foundation of Sarasota County recently awarded $47,500 to the Florida Center for Child and Family Development for operational support to conduct outreach services and mental health counseling for children and their families. The funding will allow the agency to retain key staff positions that provide early intervention services at the organization in support of its mission. At-risk children will learn to cope more effectively with stress, respond better to care-giver interventions, and feel more secure in their home and child care setting. Therapists are witnessing an increase in behavioral problems in young children, receiving increased referrals from day care centers and the school board, and getting many calls from parents in the surrounding communities.  Staff concur that these acting out behaviors are most likely due to the stresses within the family system as a result of the economic decline.  Many parents in the area have lost their jobs, their homes, or had their utilities cut off.  Some parents are working two jobs in order to provide for their families.  “Young children do not have the cognitive skills or emotional capacity to deal with this level of stress witnessed in their parents, and so their behavior becomes their means of communicating that things are not well for them” adds Shea, “This funding will allow key support for the children and help teachers and family members intervene in behavioral conflicts.” The Florida Center for Child and Family Development, a private, non-profit organization was established in 2003 from a merger of the Child Development Center and the Family Counseling Center of Sarasota, each with over 30 years of serving children and families in Sarasota County.  The Florida Center supports healthy development and strengthens relationships within families and communities through a comprehensive system of early childhood education, mental health services and family support.

 

The Florida Center for Child and Family Development is a nationally accredited community-based agency that provides quality programs and services dedicated to the development of young children, their families, and our communities.

The Florida Center provides early childhood education and developmental services (speech, occupational, and physical therapy), mental health services for young children and families, fetal alcohol diagnosis and intervention services, prevention and parent education services.