Community Foundation of Sarasota County Awards Major Grant to All Star Children’s Foundation

The James Franklin Warnell & Dorothy J. Warnell Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County recently awarded All-Star Children’s Foundation a $50,000 grant to help staff its clinical outpatient treatment center. The center, which is located on All Star’s new, state-of-the-art “Campus of Hope and Healing” in Sarasota County, will have its grand opening in November.

“This critical grant will help fund the employment of four clinical professionals certified in trauma care,” says Graci McGillicuddy, All Star Children’s Foundation’s co-founder and board chair. McGillicuddy explains that three licensed clinical counselors and one clinical director currently work with All Star at its temporary offices in Sarasota’s mid-town area until the campus opens. The organization plans to hire one more clinician in 2019 and two in 2020.

“Our team already has over 50 referrals for children involved in child welfare,” says Lucia Branton, executive director. “These referrals come from ​case managers, diversion counselors, child protective investigators, and foster parents.” Branton adds that All Star’s clinical counselors are licensed or license-eligible professionals who have received specialized training to work with children and families who have experienced trauma. Clinicians are trained in several evidenced-based treatment protocols, including PCIT, CPP, TF-CBT and ARC.

According to Branton, All Star has implemented an unprecedented, trauma-informed program that delivers the latest evidence-based protocols and treatments for foster children and their biological families. Partnering with leaders across the child welfare system, the non-profit organization has tapped best-in-class partners to assist in their mission. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) is providing critical clinical advice as well as serving as the lead research entity.

“When our campus opens this fall, we’ll provide abused children, when first removed from their homes, a nurturing, family-style home environment and comprehensive, trauma-sensitive treatment,” says McGillicuddy. “We’ll keep siblings together and offer a full range of innovative services, informed by the latest findings in neural research.”

All Star is currently seeking six couples to become foster parents in six single-family homes on its new campus. Interested applicants should contact Lindsey May, ASCF’s program director, at 941-217-6503.

For more information about All Star Children’s Foundation, visit www.allstarchildrensfoundation.org or call 941-217-6503. The campus is located at 3300 17th St, Sarasota.