Services Offered:

Pregnancy Counseling and Adoption Services – The adoption program includes pregnancy counseling; information and referral; intrastate, interstate, and international home studies; post placement services; counseling and education for prospective adoptive parents; placement for special needs infants; pre-adoptive foster care for infants awaiting adoption; and parenting training for prospective foster parents. These services are provided in Collier County and throughout the Southwest Florida area.

Developmental Disabilities - Support coordination (long-term case management and referral) is provided for children and adults diagnosed with a developmental disability of mental retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Prater-Willi Syndrome and/or Down Syndrome. CHS helps families complete an extensive application for Medicaid waiver services. These services are provided in Charlotte, Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties.

Healthy Families Florida – Healthy Families provides intensive voluntary long-term home visiting services to vulnerable children and families to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Residents who are pregnant or who have recently given birth are eligible to participate in the program in Immokalee, Golden Gate and Fort Myers. Mothers may enroll in the program any time before the birth of the child, or up until the baby is 3- months-old. Families may participate in the program up until the child is 5-years-old. The Healthy Families program has operated in Immokalee since the inception in 1999. This unique program operates from a prevention model and provides education, skills and tools to prevent child abuse and neglect rather than trying to correct a problem once it has begun. The structure of the program allows Family Support Workers (paraprofessionals) , to receive intensive and ongoing training. Visits with families are initiated early in a child’s life and continue on a regular schedule throughout the time in which parents are forming their parenting styles. Research shows that parents are more receptive to instruction during the early months of a child’s life, rather than when a child is older and parenting styles have already been formed. 

Independent Living Program provides mentoring services to teens age 13-18 in foster care. Services include assessment to determine needs for life skills training, life skills classes to prepare youth for adulthood in the areas of work skills, money management, social development, self care, housing, educational opportunities, tax preparation, college application completion, applications for scholarships, and practical daily living skills. Teens are encouraged to stay in school and may participate in an outing once per quarter to reward them for attending skills classes and other accomplishments. Youth may also participate in an annual college tour, career exploration adventures and a graduation luncheon. Youth choosing to continue their education may continue in the program up until they are 23-years-old. Additionally, this year Children's Home Society of Florida added several components to the program. These include:

• Formal work study program that encourages local business to "adopt" a youth
• Professionals night - an opportunity for professionals from all walks of life to eat dinner and interact with our youth
• Life skills competency reward program allows youth to demonstrate "Life Competencies" and earn $10.00 to be deposited into their saving account upon completion

This program is provided in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties.

Bridges Program - Case management is essential to the success of the Homeless Prevention and a Rapid Re-housing Program. This program is a partnership with the Lee County School District. The goal is to provide a blend of effective case managers with assessment and coordination services. The staff possess in-depth knowledge of communities and available services and housing, mixed with genuine empathy and respect for the families and individuals seeking their assistance. Case managers use their expertise to provide services that help families move through crisis toward stability. This program is currently offered in Lee County.

Cribs for Kids- our division is one of seven "Cribs for Kids" affiliates in Florida, and we are the only affiliate in Southwest Florida that is part of the national "Cribs for Kids" program administered by SIDS of Pennsylvania. The program provides new portable cribs to low-income families in our community at little or no cost. New Graco Pack 'n Play portable cribs are provided to families to make sure that babies have a safe place to sleep. In addition to providing cribs, the program requires each family to complete safe sleep education before being given a crib. The national "Cribs for Kids" program has been credited with helping to reduce the SIDS death rate and is being replicated in 250 locations in 44 states. The program is funded solely through grants, sponsorships and private donations. CHS is currently expanding the program to include the five geographic counties of Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties.

The purpose of this program is to:

• Provide safe sleep education for families and help reduce the risk of injury and death of infants due to unsafe sleep environments
• Provide a new Graco Pack 'n Play portable crib at little or no cost, based upon financial ability of family
• Provide educational materials regarding safe sleeping arrangements and other important safety tips to protect babies

This services is offered in Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte Counties.

Community Mental Health Service - Our comprehensive community mental health services serve children and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, family transition, grief and loss, anger management, abuse and other issues affecting the quality of their lives. Our commitment to high-quality evaluation and treatment builds upon clients' strengths, abilities and preferences to help them overcome obstacles. We provide both in-home and outpatient services. This service is offered in Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte Counties.

Early Learning Services Initiative – The Early Learning Services Initiative is Children’s Home Society of Florida's newest endeavor to provide services which truly attempt to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect by providing quality early learning experiences for children and families who would not normally be able to afford high quality learning experiences during their formative years. The program is a group of three centers in East Naples affectionately called the “Three Bears.” Huggie Bears, Cubbie Bears and Grizzle Bears provides preschool, voluntary pre-kindergarten, child care and after school programs for children 12 months - 11 years. Currently Cubbie Bears is closed for renovations, and the remaining centers serve 100 children or more with these services. A large majority of the families served in this program (over 90%) participate in the free and reduced food program, live below the poverty level and receive subsidized assistance through the Community Coordinated Child Care program.

These services are only provided in Collier County at this time.