Family Resource Centers are helping Leon County families find support, build connections and strengthen their neighborhoods. From selecting groceries at an onsite marketplace to attending a free financial literacy workshop, families can find practical support close to home. Kim Sineath, senior director of Family Resource Centers of Leon County, describes FRCs as “resource hubs where families can address their needs, develop trust with providers, and strengthen themselves and their communities.” FRCs help families address immediate challenges while also building the knowledge, connections and confidence needed for long-term stability. Resources may include financial education, food and clothing assistance, healthcare connections, developmental screenings, legal support, referrals for mental health counseling and connections to other community services.
What should a family expect on their first visit to a Family Resource Center?
Upon first arrival, families are met with a warm and friendly welcome to the FRC. Families should expect to learn how the FRC works and become more familiar with resources available their neighborhood. After meeting with a team member and going over the services their center has to offer, staff connect each family with resources tailored to its current needs. That sense of choice extends to the FRC’s marketplace and clothing closet, which are designed to offer families a welcoming, dignified shopping experience. Rather than simply receiving a preselected handout, families can choose the food, clothing and household items that best meet their needs and preferences. Families may also leave with books for their children, information about community services or an invitation to an upcoming program that matches their interests.
The FRC team continues outreach to families through follow-up calls or messages to check in and see if the services offered were utilized or helpful in addressing any of the immediate stressors that brought them into the center. Families who begin to consistently visit the FRC will be assigned a navigator, who is a team member who helps the family develop a support plan and work toward goals the family identifies. The goal is not simply to resolve a single challenge, but to build an ongoing relationship that helps families become more stable, connected and confident over time.
CSC Leon’s Family Resource Centers
Although every FRC offers core services (e.g., marketplace, clothing closest, computer access), each center’s programs are shaped by the strengths, priorities and voices of its surrounding community. Central to the FRC model is the belief that families themselves should shape what happens inside each center. Through Parent Advisory Committees, parents and caregivers meet regularly with center staff to discuss neighborhood priorities, provide feedback and help guide the programs and activities offered at their FRC. This commitment to family voice and choice ensures that services are developed with families, not simply for them.
In August 2024, Leon County’s first Family Resource Center opened on Old St. Augustine Road, near Blairstone, affectionately named Cross Creek. The center offers activities designed to help families connect and thrive. These range from music classes for toddlers to afterschool homework help for older children to evening family gatherings, where parents and caregivers can meet one another, learn about specific resources, and build social connections crucial for family success.
The opening of the Cross Creek FRC marked a new beginning for the community, bringing support for challenges such as childcare, housing and access to basic necessities directly into the neighborhood. Today, it truly serves as both a gateway to community resources and a welcoming gathering place for families. The lessons learned at Cross Creek have also helped guide the development of additional FRCs across Leon County.
In April 2025, CSC Leon, in partnership with Leon County Government, opened its second location in Fort Braden. Because it serves a more rural area, the FRC focuses heavily on bringing health, wellness and educational opportunities closer to local families. The Fort Braden FRC offers the community a central meeting place for families to access opportunities ranging from health screenings and sewing classes to a homeschool cooperative. Services that once required families to travel into Tallahassee are now available closer to home, not only making resources more accessible to families but also helping to develop personal connections and trust necessary for a community to thrive.
Strengthening Families Across Leon County
CSC Leon contracts with Children’s Home Society of Florida to operate and support Leon County’s Family Resource Centers. Both Cross Creek and Fort Braden have become beacons in their respective neighborhoods for family engagement, education, and support. Through ongoing outreach and guidance from their Parent Advisory Committees, each center continues to respond to the priorities identified by local families. With a third FRC planned for the Griffin Heights neighborhood, CSC Leon is expanding a neighborhood-based network built on relationships, dignity, family voice and meaningful choice.
Individuals, businesses and community organizations interested in supporting local families may contact Children’s Home Society of Florida to coordinate a donation of food, clothing, household supplies or other needed items.
Learn more about FRCs here.
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