{"id":349830,"date":"2026-07-23T13:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349830\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T13:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:24:09","slug":"50-years-later-florida-network-of-youth-and-family-services-has-become-a-leading-voice-for-floridas-at-risk-children-and-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349830\/","title":{"rendered":"50 years later, Florida Network of Youth and Family Services has become a leading voice for Florida\u2019s at-risk children and families"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today marks 50 years since the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services<\/a> was established to support vulnerable youth and their families.<\/p>\n

What began as an effort to coordinate runaway and homeless youth services is now a nationally recognized delinquency prevention model with a network of providers serving every county in Florida and influencing policy discussions far beyond the state\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

Founded on July 23, 1976, the Florida Network was created to unite organizations dedicated to helping young people and strengthening families in response to the youth runaway crisis. The Network emerged during a pivotal period when communities across the country were confronting a growing runaway youth population, prompting Congress to pass the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act in 1974 and establish federally funded programs, including six in Florida, to provide shelter, counseling and support services for vulnerable youth.<\/p>\n

That mission has now expanded into a comprehensive statewide system of care that includes emergency shelter, counseling, family intervention, prevention services and community-based support programs.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The Network\u2019s member agencies) care so much about the children and the families in their communities,\u201d said Chris Dudley, former Chair of the Network\u2019s Board of Directors and a managing partner at The Southern Group.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an organization that is looking to check a whole bunch of boxes. The box that matters is the kid that\u2019s in front of us today and providing all the services that they need, and that is so different from what most people do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the Network\u2019s member agencies supported 14,333 youth and their families, hosted 58 outreach events, provided safe shelter to 4,067 youth and provided 75,231 total shelter bed days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the metrics certainly demonstrate the need, they are not a comprehensive view of the impact,\u201d said Network President and CEO Stacy Gromatski. \u201cThe impact of this organization over the last 50 years is immeasurable. So many lives were improved, families supported and tragedies prevented because of the visionaries who formed this network, not to mention the relationships built and the bonds formed.\u201d<\/p>\n

When families face conflict, they turn to their local Florida Network partner for support and guidance. For both counseling and immediate help, shelters are open around the clock. The Network offers programs that give families the tools they need to manage hard feelings and survive crises and build stronger, more resilient relationships.<\/p>\n

As a result of the support they receive, many youth who were previously at risk of delinquency, detention or arrest, are on their way to becoming well-rounded, hard-working and productive Floridians.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more: There is no cost to the family, thanks to funding from the federal government and the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are immensely grateful to our state leaders for recognizing the need and funding the solution. Because of their leadership, Florida is the national model for prevention and early intervention programming,\u201d Gromatski said.<\/p>\n

While the impact of the Network is difficult to quantify, the state\u2019s return on investment is clear.<\/p>\n

According to a 2024 economic impact study by Analytic Initiatives, Inc., there\u2019s a $9.19 return on investment for every $1 Florida allocates to prevention and early intervention programming known as Children and Families in Need of Services. In addition, nearly $410 million was generated in cost savings during an 18-month period, showing that prevention is effective.<\/p>\n

What sets Florida apart is the Network\u2019s commitment to collaboration. By bringing together local providers, state agencies, lawmakers and community partners, the Network developed an approach that prioritizes prevention, early intervention and family preservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor five decades the dedicated professionals at the Network, the volunteers, community leaders and partner organizations have worked together to provide support to vulnerable children and their families when they needed it the most,\u201d said Don Eslinger, former Chair of the Network\u2019s Board of Directors and retired Seminole County Sheriff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis anniversary is not just a celebration of years, but rather this should be a celebration of lives changed throughout the fifty years they have been at work throughout the state of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Network\u2019s 50th anniversary serves as both a celebration of its impact and a reminder of what is possible when communities come together to invest in the well-being of Florida\u2019s children and families. Fifty years down, and the commitment to Florida\u2019s future remains stronger than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today marks 50 years since the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services was established to support vulnerable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[121710,143124,28,30,69848,29,69850],"class_list":["post-349830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-chris-dudley","tag-don-eslinger","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-network-of-youth-and-family-services","tag-florida-news","tag-stacy-gromatski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}