Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches

The Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches is a statewide non-profit organization that has been providing child-care services for troubled children since 1957. The cornerstone and pride of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches is its nationally renowned network of four residential child-care campuses located throughout the state offering stable homes to needy children. The four campuses: Boys Ranch/Live Oak, Youth Villa/Bartow, Youth Ranch/Safety Harbor and Youth Ranch-Bradenton/Sarasota, employ trained and devoted professionals who nurture needy, neglected boys and girls, providing them with a needed sense of security, guidance and tenderness. Along with therapists, teachers, horse trainers, eco-guides and gardeners, and many more program support staff, each campus houses several cottages manned by full-time parents. The parents live day-to-day with their kids, instilling in them a strong work ethic, sense of responsibility, teamwork, and respect in each boy and girl. Each child is cared for through childhood into adolescence, with several scholarship programs available for the college-bound. It is hard to describe the transformation that takes place -- with the infrastructure, care, and the opportunities provided, these kids regain hope, strong values and focus, and the reality of a better life. FSYR also offers camping programs. These include week-long summer camps in two locations, "Harmony in the Streets" is a mobile day camp that travels from county to county. Community-based services include clinical social services, family life education and "Harmony in the Schools", a mobile educational program