Without collaboration,
support is easy for families experiencing poverty to miss.
Click each (+) below to see how a child experiences poverty without Children's Home Society of Florida:
Like her mother during pregnancy, she frequently misses critical doctor's appointments due to costs and transportation. She is among one third of babies born without adequate prenatal care, and nearly half of low-income children who miss early childhood pediatric appointments.
Without consistent care from a pediatrician or licensed childcare provider, her exposures to adversity are nearly invisible. She is one of every five child experiencing food insecurity, and one of six children with unstable housing. The stress she encounters doubles her chances of delayed language and literacy, but no one knows.
On her first day of school, she is already behind, joining more than half of Florida children who are not ready for kindergarten. Even with the excitement of school, she struggles to adjust to the classroom environment. As a young child, she has already seen enough adversity to impact her brain development.
Hunger, health issues, and worries about home make it hard to learn. She hasn't been to the dentist enough and her teeth hurt, making her 4x more likely to have a low GPA. She is 2-3x more likely to have an undetected and untreated vision impairment. By 4th grade, she is among 76% of low income children who read below proficiency. Her teacher notices she is struggling and gives her extra attention, but doesn't realize how deep the challenges go.
By middle school, she is managing an untreated mental health condition, like 21% of her classmates who are also experiencing poverty. She knows she needs help, but doesn't know how to get it. Her school does not have a counselor and her family can't pay out of pocket for therapy. If she does not find support soon, her condition may persist into adulthood and she may see up to 20% lower lifetime earnings. Feeling hopeless, it's harder to regulate her emotions, and she begins closing off, occasionally disrupting class. Her grades plummet.
Without support, long-term risks are no longer theoretical. If her home life still includes adversity, her disengagement rises and dropout risk increases 5x. When she's not feeling well, she skips school more and juvenile justice system involvement becomes more likely. Without support, the path in front of her narrows to fewer opportunities and fewer second chances. She doesn't believe college is "for" her. She is one in five high schoolers who consider suicide.
If she graduates, she faces only a 25% chance of earning a college degree within six years of graduating high school. Without intervention, she only has a 16% chance to escape poverty by her 30th birthday. If she has children before escaping poverty, her children will have a 43% chance of remaining in poverty as adults, continuing the cycle.
Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) aligns resources and expands access to healthcare, education, family support, and economic opportunity.
Each support ecosystem is co-designed for children, families, and communities breaking the cycle of poverty.
We coordinate 75+ partners across Florida
We excel at finding collaborative solutions to complex challenges
that no single organization can solve alone.
We are immensely inspired by the transformative initiatives underway. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all those who were instrumental in making this vision a reality. We know this partnership and program expansion will provide invaluable support for [our] students, families and staff.
Mark McQueen
Superintendent, Bay District Schools
A former child welfare professional, I’ve seen what it means to meet families at their lowest moments. When I learned about CHS's cradle-to-career prevention model and the impact of Community Partnership Schools, I knew I wanted to be part of the work - their mission is one I can proudly stand behind.
Sarah Chattman
Kolter Homes
Statewide impact. Locally focused.
For nearly 125 years, CHS has evolved to meet the changing needs of children and families, offering programs across early childhood, counseling, community schools, and child welfare. Today, our mission has grown into a bold, statewide movement to address the root causes preventing children from reaching their full potential. Our partnerships, statewide reach and ability to design for local communities gives us the power of transformation at scale.
Community-powered transformation.
Our donor contributions, corporate partners, volunteer network, and grants are the backbone of our mission, enabling us to serve more than 50,000 children and families each year.
Removing barriers to success
Florida communities are working hard to remove barriers. Together, we create the conditions for change: building trust, creating safe spaces, offering resources at the right time and place, opening doors to opportunity and offering hope in “hope deserts.”
Here's how we do it:
We replace barriers with bridges.
Identify needs
We engage each community to identify and respond to barriers so that children are meaningfully supported throughout their lives.
Form long-term partnerships
We establish 25-year partnerships with school districts, healthcare providers, and higher education to anchor an ecosystem in a community.
Build the ecosystem
We build bridges strategically connecting cross-sector partners, programs, and services right where children grow, learn, and earn.
Prove what works
We test, evaluate, and optimize our Community Impact Model to fully implement it across the cradle to career continuum.
Complex challenges need collaborative partnerships.
Our long-term partnerships create stability for families.
16
School Districts
19
Healthcare Providers
20
Colleges / Universities
9
Government / Advocacy / Affiliates
10+
Major Corporations
Dozens
Local / Community Orgs
Support from diapers to diplomas
We believe children can break the cycle of poverty when they have steady support. Our model prepares children for critical milestones, like starting kindergarten, succeeding in school, graduating, joining the workforce, and even starting a family of their own. Along the way, we build bridges, fill gaps, and break cycles, taking every opportunity to support children as they grow.
We work across the following impact areas:
Ready To Grow
Strong beginnings
Early childhood development and learning
Family stability
Access to healthcare, family support, and essential resources
Ready To Learn
Success in school
Schools become community hubs with services on campus
Access to healthcare, food, clothing, hygiene, tutoring, and expanded learning
Family engagement and essential resources
Ready To Earn
Bridges out of poverty
Mentorship, workforce development, and career readiness
Socio-emotional development
Life skills and pathways to independence
30%
Increased graduation rates after support.
$355k
Increased lifetime earnings projected after support.
50K+
Children and families supported last year.
130+
Programs strengthening the system statewide.
The families served by CHS face extreme challenges. CHS leverages its partnerships in our community to remove barriers to education and employment. As a result, children are empowered to live successful and independent lives.
Megan Fry
Former Board Member
Change a life.
Change generations.
Your support ensures we never miss an opportunity to be there for Florida kids. For this generation, and the next.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're learning about Children's Home Society of Florida for the first time, welcome to the movement!
Here are answers to some of your first questions:
Your gift helps fund Children's Home Society of Florida's Hubs of Hope — places where families receive comprehensive support designed to help them thrive, from early childhood through young adulthood. That means healthcare, tutoring, job training, family support, and more — all in one place, in Florida communities with high concentrations of child poverty.
CHS is Florida's largest and oldest nonprofit dedicated to children and families. For nearly 125 years, we've evolved to meet the changing needs of Florida's most vulnerable communities. What began with a focus on foster care and adoption has grown into a bold, statewide movement to address root causes and expand opportunity. By aligning resources and expanding access to opportunity, we’re creating nurturing environments where children and families can truly thrive — supporting every child, every dream, every future.
Together with our partners, we are building comprehensive systems that leverage long-term partnerships — staying in a community for 25 years, working across generations, addressing needs from birth to career. By joining forces with communities, we move beyond Band-Aids and design blueprints for lasting change.
Both. CHS is statewide, serving 16 regions across Florida. We're focused on Florida's 150 highest-need zip codes, where more than 50% of children in poverty live. We implement our model statewide and customize it for local communities, guided by local leaders who know their neighborhoods best.
CHS has a clear goal: 100 more Hubs of Hope across Florida by 2035. This campaign is funding that expansion. Every dollar raised now helps bring stability to the next community with a high-concentration of child poverty. By working strategically across the state, we are addressing root causes of poverty and trauma.
Yes. Last year we served more than 50,000 children and families through our comprehensive cradle-to-career model. Children in our early childhood development programs hit their milestones and remain free from abuse and neglect nearly 100% of the time. Children and families are gaining access to primary, dental, vision, and mental health care when they might otherwise go without. We've seen up to 30% increases in graduation rates, schools whose academic performance jumped 3 full letter grades, and children who are the first in their families to earn a college degree. With your support, we can expand these solutions and change life trajectories.
Thank you to our incredible sponsors!
Our Mission
Building bridges to success for children.
Our Vision
A world where children realize their full potential.
© 2026 Children’s Home Society of Florida. All Rights Reserved.
Tax ID 59-0192430
CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, REGISTRATION #CH180, IS REGISTERED WITH THE STATE UNDER THE SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS ACT. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR BY VISITING WWW.800HELPFLA.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
