About Us

Our Mission

Building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children, families, and communities.

We provide the counseling, education, prevention, and training that help children heal from adversity, build resilience, and thrive — while strengthening the adults and systems that surround and support them every day.

Our Vision

Resilient, thriving children in healthy families and safe communities.

We envision a Palm Beach County where every child feels safe, seen, and supported — where positive childhood experiences are the norm, not the exception, and where the science of HOPE guides how we care for our youngest community members.

Renée Layman

MS, LMHC — President and CEO

A Message from Our CEO

Every Child Deserves to Feel Safe, Cherished, and Free from Harm

At the heart of our mission is a steadfast commitment to nurturing the mental health and well-being of children and families. We know that childhood adversity and trauma have profound impacts — not only on individual lives, but on families and communities across generations. That's why we are dedicated to proactive intervention and innovative solutions, fostering environments where safety, healing, and hope are possible.

Our approach is comprehensive and data-driven. By empowering caregivers, engaging communities, and advocating for policies that protect children, we create a foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living through a public health approach.

We don't have to wait for a child to fall apart emotionally before we do something.

To our donors, your support fuels our ability to reach more children and families every day. To parents and caregivers, we stand by you as partners on this journey toward safety, healing, and resilience. And to community leaders — we invite you to join us in building a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Our Approach

A Public Health Model for Children's Mental Health

We address children's mental health at every level — from community-wide prevention to individual clinical treatment — because lasting change requires a comprehensive, systems-level approach.

Prevention

Community-wide education and training that builds awareness, strengthens protective factors, and creates environments where children feel safe — before crisis occurs. KidSafe, A Way of Being, and professional training reach tens of thousands annually.

Early Intervention

Identifying and supporting children and families showing early signs of difficulty — through school-based mental health, Child First, infant mental health consultation, and pediatric behavioral health integration.

Treatment

Evidence-based clinical services for children, teens, and families experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and behavioral challenges — including play therapy, family therapy, EMDR, and trauma-focused CBT.

H O P E

Woven through every level is the HOPE framework — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences, developed at Tufts Medical Center. HOPE shows us that positive childhood experiences actively buffer against the effects of adversity, changing a child's brain and trajectory.

Learn About Our Journey from Trauma to HOPE →

25+ Years of Impact

Our Story

1999

Founded as All 'Bout Children

Jane Robinson founded the organization after recognizing the critical need for mental health programming to address trauma in very young children and their caregivers. Beginning as an all-volunteer organization, we provided Play Therapy in local childcare centers.

2004

CCSEW Program Formally Developed

The Childcare and Community Social and Emotional Wellness Program was formally developed to meet the growing needs revealed by community feedback and program evaluation data — expanding our reach into schools and childcare centers across Palm Beach County.

2016

Fighting ACEs Initiative Launched

We launched a groundbreaking public health approach to preventing and healing the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences — shifting from a traditional clinical model to a community-wide, three-level prevention framework.

2019

Data Dashboard and Real-Time Impact

We began building a comprehensive Data Dashboard to evaluate long-term program outcomes — transforming how we deliver care. Today, our data-to-action approach allows us to provide more efficient, effective, and timely services based on real-time community need.

2020

Pandemic Response

When the pandemic intensified the children's mental health crisis, we expanded telehealth services, launched new community education initiatives, and ensured that no child or family lost access to critical support during the most challenging period in a generation.

2022

HOPE Framework Integration

We formally integrated the HOPE framework — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences — across all programs, training, and organizational practice, shifting our lens from "what happened to you" to "what's strong with you."

2024

25 Years of Service

Celebrating a quarter century of transforming children's mental health in Palm Beach County — serving over 7,500 children annually, training thousands of professionals, and building a HOPE-informed community where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

What Guides Us

Our Core Values

A Way of Being with Children

The open and trusting nature of children is precious, calling us to nurture and respond to their needs through informed and thoughtful choice of our actions and words.

A Trauma-Informed Focus

We work to understand, prevent, and heal the impact of trauma on children's health and relationships, building communities of awareness, equity, and action to address ACEs and trauma.

Fighting on the Frontline

We pledge to support children in their most vulnerable moments as trusted first responders to family and community crisis.

Healing and Resilience

We exist to bring healing to children and family generations, building their resilience and strength to end cycles of suffering — and we promise to care for our healers in their dedication and service.

Modeling Success

Our goal is to deliver success through teaching, training, and replication of a proven approach to mitigating ACEs and trauma across our community and beyond.

Relentless Initiative

We are shaping the field by encouraging forward-thinking and out-front leaders who transform practice with intelligence, heart, and integrity.

Center for Child Counseling is committed to using a trauma-informed equity lens in all aspects of our work and services. We also endorse the Diversity-Informed Tenets developed by the Irving Harris Foundation.

Trusted and Accredited

4-Star Rating

Platinum Transparency

Nonprofits First

Top Rated 2025

Join Us in the Fight for Every Child

For more than 25 years, champions like you have made it possible for us to heal, protect, and strengthen children and families across Palm Beach County. Your generosity writes the next chapter of this story.

Give Today → Join the Circle of Giving →

Center for Child Counseling

Building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children, families, and communities.

Resilient, thriving children in healthy families and safe communities.

Every Child Deserves to Feel Safe, Cherished, and Free from Harm