OPINION:
The “Sunshine State” is a shining example of many wonderful things: a thousand-mile coastline with pristine beaches, world-famous theme parks, and best-in-America hurricane preparedness. A lesser-known superlative is our state’s proven safety net for children and families in crisis: The Florida Network of Youth and Family Services.
Responding to a developing crisis before it becomes an ongoing catastrophe is crucial and it is what we do every day.
Our dedicated mission at the Florida Network is to protect vulnerable children and preserve families. Our providers offer shelter, counseling, and family skill building.
In America’s third largest state, this network provides intake and counseling services in all of Florida’s 67 counties — and offers 28 shelters for those needing respite. There’s nearby help in nearly every part of Florida.
Our Network, an association of youth-serving programs throughout the state, began in the early 1970s when kids in search of a different life often ran away from home. These youth were often lured down a disastrous path. The stark truth was that these young people frequently met dark fates – being robbed, beaten, molested, or even killed.
In response, Congress appropriated funds for runaway shelters which were opened in metropolitan areas for children to get to safety and, hopefully, eventually returned to their parents.
In the decades since, the national need for shelters for children has evolved and, in fact, substantially increased. As CEO of the Florida Network, I frequently hear stories about families who are desperate for help. Often, these families don’t know that there are resources available to help them in their own communities.
Children today seek shelter for a variety of reasons. Parents and families frustrated by their inability to help turn a troubled child around eventually realize they need outside professional help. It is somewhat common for parents to sadly conclude their child’s behavior has become unmanageable. Under Florida’s related laws, the term is “ungovernable.”
In desperation, parents’ outreach for help comes with pleas such as: “I don’t know what to do with him anymore;” “he’s in trouble at school for fighting and won’t listen;” “she didn’t come home last night;” “I think he’s hanging out with the wrong kids.” Sometimes, it’s more frightening: “I’m afraid he’s going to hurt me;” or “I’m worried she’s going to kill herself.”
These are truly dire scenarios. But it is not uncommon for our programs to also offer services to children who have been trafficked, who are being neglected or abused, and increasingly, for children with no place to live.
Our statewide network of these impactful youth and family services represents a respected national model. Few states have such a well-established and uniform system to care for children and to help families.
We are deeply grateful for the unified vision and wisdom regularly asserted by members of the Florida Legislature and their predecessors. In true and historic bipartisan spirit, Florida has a statute that provides for a continuum of services available to families when they are often in desperate straits.
The good news is that other states can also replicate what we are accomplishing in Florida. From the data we collect on the significant impact of the services that we support, the numbers are stunningly hopeful in these meaningful ways:
• More than 88% of the children we help return home or to an appropriate living environment.
• More than 90% are attending school regularly – learning to build and achieve their better future.
• Wonderfully, 89% of children helped by our service providers do not go ‘off the track’ or become “delinquent.”
State leaders have consistently recognized that an ‘ounce of prevention’ is indeed worth a pound of cure.
In fact, the Florida Network has completed three independent research studies about the return on investment, from groups such as Florida TaxWatch and the Justice Research Center. Most recently, Analytic Initiatives found that there is a $9.19 return on investment for every $1 invested in Florida Network services. That underscores how important and cost-effective it is to invest in early intervention for children and families in need of services.
In 2024, for example, nearly $410 million in cost savings were realized through Florida Network services.
We encourage other states to study and replicate our effective, efficient, and excellent Network approach to help children and families. We would be happy to collaborate and advise other states to know more about the “Sunshine State” approach to lifting children and families to their better, brighter path to the future.
The conclusion: The Florida Network’s programs are proven to work. We provide an effective safety net for children and families. Our impact is a powerful example of partnership between state government and community-based organizations that works. Thanks to our healthy partnership with the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice, we can focus on protecting children and families. That priority goal is best measured not by what it costs but instead by what it saves: children’s lives and family units.
Stacy Gromatski, President and CEO of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services since 2010, believes there is no greater honor than to work in a field that seeks to ensure every young person has a path forward to a brighter future. She may be reached at stacy@floridanetwork.org.
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