The Heart of Florida Youth Ranch Board of Directors met last week and were able to celebrate some great milestones. The Ranch has earned reaccreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA).
COA President Richard Klarberg noted, “Reaccreditation is a tremendous achievement that demonstrates that The Heart of Florida Youth Ranch is recognized as a provider that continues to successfully implement high performance standards and, as such, is delivering the highest quality services to all of its stakeholders.”
During the peer review site visit recently the reviewer affirmed that the ‘Performance Quality Improvement’ processes instituted by the Lead Team were, “the most robust and successful he had ever reviewed.” The new board chairman and Florida Administrative Bishop Tim Brown recognized Dr. John and Jo Ann Sweet and the HOFYR Lead Team for the remarkable national recognition. Along with the reaccreditation the board was able to celebrate a record-breaking fiscal year as a record number of children were served; the highest census numbers ever were recorded and donor contributions were up 25%.
The Heart of Florida Youth Ranch is a Church of God residential center for children who have lost parenting due to abandonment, abuse, neglect or death. Hurting children from almost every state and several countries find their way into Florida due to the huge population shifts and immigration. According to Sweet, “The need of a place like HOFYR in Florida is extreme due to the large population centers and the interstate corridors that become a pipeline for child sex-trafficking. As many as one-third of the children we serve will have exposure to trafficking. When we began to work with children almost 25 years ago, I never dreamed we would see trafficking at this level in the United States. It is through the strong support of the Churches of God in Florida and other states as well that we can say ‘yes’ to some of the most vulnerable and hurting children.”
To learn more about the Heart of Florida Youth Ranch, visit their website at www.hofyr.org.
The Heart of Florida Youth Ranch Board of Directors is comprised of the following individuals: Chairman: Tim Brown, Rhonda Brown, Betsy Morgan, Audre Bamberg, Sherrell Compton, John D. Childers, Brian Tillman, Rocky Schrable, Mark Schrade, John Mitzell, Rocky McKinley, Les Bowen and ex-officio members Randy Watson, John Sweet and Jo Ann Sweet.