On Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, Family Support Services Duval & Nassau Counties welcomed board members, community leaders and staff to their annual report to the community at the campus of GuideWell Health and FloridaBlue. The Evening of Inspiration highlighted the many gains FSS has made over the past fiscal year and opened the agency’s official celebration of 20 years of active service in Northeast Florida.

Emceed by Octavius Davis, the agency’s Director of Community Engagement, Grants and Recruiting, the event included keynotes by current Josh Nixon, FSS’ Chairman of the Board of Directors and Jacquelyn Green, Circuit 4 Community Development Administrator — Office of Child & Family Well-Being for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Green’s message on behalf of Secretary Shevaun Harris delivered a commitment to partnership and praised FSS and the Northeast Florida region for their ongoing commitment to cooperation and excellence in child welfare.

Jenn Petion, President and CEO of Family Support Services, delivered a report on the state of the agency with a reflection on the organization’s history in the region, innovative programs and vision for the future. Among the highlights:

• To date, FSS has strengthened more than 8,600 families in Duval and Nassau counties with its programs, including in-home prevention programs such as FAST (Family Assessment Report Team) and STEPS (Strengthening Ties and Empowering Parents)
• Part of the FSS Strategic Vision for Circuit 4 is to build upon a history of stability and lead the system of care to a period of optimization and innovation.
• FSS has thoughtfully invested new legislative funds into:
  • Adding critical positions to strengthen teams and developing new ones needed to support the system of care
  • Compensation adjustments to make salaries commensurate with fair market values
  • Our CMO partners
  • Foster and adoptive family support

Professional photographs from the evening can be found at the photographer’s website here.

To review Family Support Services’ mission and view the 2022 Report to the Community, click here.

About Family Support Services (FSS) of Duval and Nassau Counties

Family Support Services is the lead agency for family preservation, foster care, and adoption services in Duval, Nassau, Pasco and Pinellas counties. Through community-based care, FSS provides services and programs to help prevent child abuse and neglect, to promote a healthy family environment and to care for our community’s children in foster care. For more information, go to www.familysupport.org.

For media inquiry, email Chanel.Martin@fssnf.org.