Jewish Family and Children's Service Of The Suncoast Inc

JFCS provides counseling and support to family caregivers as they cope with the challenges of care-giving. Our services include weekly support groups with both daytime and evening hours, individual/family meetings at home or at the JFCS office, on-site respite, education, connections to resources, mental health support, and care management. Clients are engaged in music, art, dance, exercise, and brain fitness therapies while their caregivers participate in support groups. Lunch and socialization are offered and accessible transportation is available. A caregiver helpline, 941-364-7560 is staffed by JFCS professional staff during agency business hours.

The mission of Building Strong Families (BSF) is to provide integrated case management services to enable families to obtain or maintain permanent housing and financial stability. The BSF program comprehensively addresses the needs of families with children who are at-risk of homelessness as well as those families that are literally homeless by providing integrated case management and coordination of services, development of service plans (which address short and long-term goals), housing counseling, mediation services, budgeting, and financial assistance. Eligible families must reside in Sarasota or Manatee County. Families must have a least 1 dependent child and must be the legal guardian of this child. Families must be at-risk of becoming homeless or are literally homeless. All BSF participants are required to: Complete at least 4 sessions with a Case Manager. Must be able to provide all required information. Must be able to show future financial stability.

JFCS’ Trauma and Counseling Service provides children, youth, adults, and seniors the needed supports and interventions to rebuild good physical and mental health following a traumatic event, series of events, or set of circumstances experienced as physically or emotionally harmful with lasting negative effects. The impact of trauma for individuals is often felt in the areas of relationship, ability to parent, to work, or to feel safe and secure. Our services include evidence-based trauma interventions designed to develop understanding, recognition, and response to these negative effects for the purpose of restoring a sense of empowerment, control, and well-being in the lives of our clients. These services are provided at JFCS or at other locations such as schools, homes, or other facilities.

ADAP serves youth, ages 11-17, who are involved with the juvenile justice program or are exhibiting behaviors that put them at risk of involvement with juvenile justice. ADAP offers individual and group counseling with an emphasis on learning better-coping skills, anger management, and social skills to reduce the risk of repetitive destructive behaviors. Individual, group, and family counseling is available for adolescents and families needing support and is offered at an affordable rate. These are some of the topics that are covered:
Domestic Violence
Gang-Related Activity
Shoplifting/Stealing
Battery/Assault
Substance Abuse
Criminal Mischief/Trespassing
General Violent Behaviors (including Bullying)

Nearly 40% of Sarasota County households earn too much to qualify for traditional assistance programs but not enough to comfortably pay their bills, save money, and build financial sustainability. Simply put, these ALICE households (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) are stuck in Survival Mode. JFCS’s Career And Financial Advancement Program aims to help these families get unstuck. To Qualify
Applicants must meet all three of the requirements to qualify:
North Sarasota County residency;
At least ONE school-aged child in the home; and,
Annual household income at or below $78,000.

Camp Mariposa® Sarasota is a year-round addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth affected by the substance use disorder of a family member. Youth ages 9-12 attend weekend camps up to six times a year. Weekend camps offer fun, traditional camp activities combined with education and support sessions led by mental health professionals and trained adult mentors. Additional social activities are offered for youth and their families throughout the year. Many Camp Mariposa® locations offer programs for teens ages 13-17. All program activities are offered free of charge to families. Camp Mariposa® Sarasota is part of Eluna’s national Camp Mariposa® program. Eluna is a public, 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to support children and families impacted by grief or addiction.

Ignite is a grant & research study exploring the role of fathers and father figures through individualized coaching and group discussions. Participants are welcomed into an encouraging growth environment where they can connect with others and share their experiences. Through this study we hope to:
Promote healthy relationships
Strengthen family functioning
Improve economic stability
Eligibility (fathers or father figures, must meet all 3 criteria):
Ages 18 or older
Caring for a child 24 years of age or younger
Residing in Sarasota, Manatee, or Charlotte County
Duration is 24 weeks. Participation includes attending group sessions with your Facilitator and meet with your Fatherhood Advocate for individualized goals and services for 12 weeks. Surveys are completed at orientation – week 12 and week 24 to show change over time. Compensation is $70+ in Target gift cards for survey completion.

This federally funded program assists adults in developing the skills they need to hone healthy relationship skills, improve parenting/co-parenting skills, and enhance skills and abilities required to gain and retain economic self-sufficiency. Skills and support are provided through the usage of 10-week evidence-based curricula and individualized case management. To be eligible for this program you must be 18 or older and live in Sarasota, Manatee, or Charlotte County.

JFCS supports veterans and their families who reside on the Suncoast who are confronting life’s challenges. We offer case management and financial and employment assistance to low-income veterans and their families who are homeless or who are about to become homeless. This assistance enables them to obtain or maintain stable, permanent housing. We work with veterans in the Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Collier, Desoto and Lee counties.