Kathryn Shea Named President and CEO of the Florida Center
October 27, 2008 –Kathryn Shea has been appointed President and CEO of the Florida Center for Child and Family Development. Shea was formerly the Chief Operating Officer for the Florida Center and has been with the Center for eight years. “I’m pleased to have the opportunity to lead the Florida Center, and to find new and innovative ways to continue the organization’s mission of providing programs and services that support the healthy development of our community’s young children and their families,” says Shea.
While in the position of Chief Operating Officer, Shea worked closely with the Center’s CEO and CFO to achieve fiscal stability and accountability through several critical changes in agency funding and key organizational staff.
Shea is a licensed clinical social worker with expertise in the areas of infant mental health, emotional and behavioral disturbance in children, as well as fetal alcohol and drug effects. Shea was instrumental in working with local and state government and private foundations to help the Florida Center open the only Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Diagnostic Intervention Clinic in the state.
Shea was recently the recipient of The Lawton Chiles Award, which is presented by the Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota to an individual whose contributions to prenatal and early child health in Sarasota county are characterized by exceptional commitment, wisdom, leadership, and vision.
She is also responsible for directing one of three infant mental health pilot projects in the state of Florida and developed a crosswalk from the DC: 0-3 Diagnostic Manual to the ICD-9-CM, which was accepted by the state Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the state Medicaid agency.
Recognized as a national trainer on a variety of topics related to infant mental health, child welfare, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, early childhood, and leadership development, Shea has served as a consultant for the State of Alaska’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The Florida Center brings over 70 years of experience to the community and serves more than 5,000 children and family members each year. Programs and services include screenings and therapy services (speech, physical and occupational) for children with special needs, early childhood education, mental health therapy for infants/young children, a Healthy Families Program to prevent child abuse and neglect, parent education classes, grief support groups for children experiencing a loss, family/marital counseling, and a Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Assessment and Intervention Clinic for children with pre-natal exposure to alcohol and their families.
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