SRQ MAGAZINE | October 2025 In Conversation: Innovation in Children's Services by SRQ MEDIA

INNOVATION IN CHILDREN’S SERVICES

ADVOCATES AND MENTORS FOR OUR YOUTH

A CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFRY GILOT, TEEN PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ROY MCBEAN BOYS & GIRLS CLUB, ALVIN L, SENIOR AT FLORIDA VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND BRENA SLATER OF SAFE CHILDREN COALITION.

GEOFFRY GILOT (left) is the Teen Director at the Roy McBean Boys & Girls Club. Once a Club Kid himself, he truly understands the impact our mission has on young people. He helps facilitate every teen program we offer, creating meaningful opportunities for growth and leadership. His dedication and passion make him a vital asset to advancing our mission and empowering the next generation. ALVIN L. (right) is a 17-year-old student entering his senior year at Florida Virtual School and a dedicated leader in Boys & Girls Clubs’ teen programs. Through opportunities like Students Taking an Active Role (STAR), the Perlman Price Young Entrepreneurs (PYE) program, Youth Council, and ACT, Alvin has honed his skills as a changemaker and mentor among his peers. Most recently, he traveled to Chicago to host the National Keystone Conference that he and fellow Club members across the country spent a year planning, an achievement that reflects his commitment to youth leadership on a national scale. Alvin embodies the mission of the Clubs: giving young people the tools to succeed and the confidence to lead in their future.

BRENA SLATER, SCC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology Counseling and more than 30 years of hands-on experience in Child Welfare including relationship building, community development, leadership in case management, diversion, and strategic initiatives. Before transitioning to the CEO in October 2019, Ms. Slater worked with the Safe Children Coalition (SCC) for six years as the Vice President (VP) of Community Based Care, which proved her ability to successfully bring a community together to meet and exceed outcomes that benefit children and families.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SARASOTA AND DESOTO COUNTIES

TELL OUR READERS A BIT ABOUT YOURSELVES. GEOFFRY GILOT I am the team program director at the Irving and Marilyn Naiditch campus, home of the Roy McBean Boys & Girls Club and I’ve been with the organization since I was 13 years old, so I’m also a Club Kid, but started working full-time in 2016 at the Boys & Girls Clubs. My experience as a teenager at the Gene Matthews Boys & Girls Club in North Port is what inspired me to work here. I had mentors there that impacted my life in a positive way, and they shaped my view on life in terms of service. I just love helping people, whether that’s youth, adults or anyone in general. That inspires me to do what I do. ALVIN L. I’m a senior in high school, full-time at UF’s Dual Enrollment program and I have been going to the Boys & Girls Clubs here in Sarasota since I was 14. I’m about to be 18, so it’s about four years now. My ﬁ rst touch point with the club was the award-winning Culture Fest, which was the Keystone participation in the national project a few years back, and that was really what made me fall in love with the club.

my participation in the Cultural Immersion Program, which is one of Mr. Geo ry’s ﬂagship programs and one of the ﬂagship programs of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties. I was fortunate enough to be in the 2024-2025 cohort for the program which is a volunteer-based program where a group of teenagers from Sarasota has the opportunity to travel to an international country and volunteer and educate, whether that be youth or children. This past summer, we traveled to the Republic

club will give back to you. Being involved has advanced me as a person. I’ve been able to advance my speaking skills. This is something that I could have never imagined doing even just four years ago. I’ve deﬁ nitely seen myself grow academically as a person not only in the classroom, but even outside of the classroom when we discuss academics. Being able to be around a di erent circle of people outside of my social circles in school has been truly transformative for me.

of Georgia and worked with a nonproﬁt there called Society Biliki, and we were able to educate some of the children there about American culture, and then they were able to educate us about things happened in their country. So that is deﬁ nitely one of the things that has been most eye-opening for me.

WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB?

GEOFFRY There are quite a few things that the general public may not know about our organization. For one, we don’t serve only six to 12-year-olds. We also serve teenagers, 13-18. Through the high-quality programs, we equip teenagers with di erent skills, opportunities and leadership skills. From our leadership team to the frontline, we foster a family atmosphere where we truly, deeply care about each other and the youth that we serve.

ALVIN, CAN YOU THINK OF A SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE AT THE CLUB THAT MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED YOU? ALVIN It was

SOMEONE ONCE TOLD ME THAT BOYS & GIRLS CLUB IS THE BEST-KEPT SECRET, AND WE DON’T WANT THAT TITLE ANYMORE—WE WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT US.”

— Geo ry Gilot

as the Perlman Price Young Entrepreneurs Program. I was able to research the issue and get our former mayor’s stamp of approval last summer. This summer and actually through the spring, we were able to create a nonprofit that would begin to tackle the issue. I’ve been very fortunate to begin the production of A ordable Books, which is the name of the nonprofit. The goal is to provide a ordable books that children can take home and that they can read in their own spaces. The research shows that children who are reading at home are significantly more likely to succeed in the long run than children who just read at school.

GEOFFRY, HOW DO YOU KEEP UP WITH OR ADAPT TO THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SERVE?

GEOFFRY I am very much hands-on in the community. I make a point to do my research, get out in the community and go to the di erent school sports games and attend events. I put myself out there because I want to stay relevant. Someone once told me that Boys & Girls Club is the best-kept secret, and we don’t want that title anymore —we want everyone to know about us. I made it my personal mission, if you will, to break that kind of stigma.

ALVIN, TELL ME HOW THE CLUB HAS HELPED YOU GROW PERSONALLY, ACADEMICALLY, SOCIALLY OR ALL OF THE ABOVE?

GEOFFRY, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME NEW PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVES THAT YOU’RE ESPECIALLY PROUD OF? GEOFFRY There are so many and our programs are always evolving. I’m very proud of our Keystone program, especially being awarded the 2024 National Keystone Club of the Year, winning the National Keystone Project of the Year and also being named the National Keystone Advisor of the Year. Just recently, we won the National Keystone Academic Success of the Year. That program allows teens a platform to use their voice to be creative and to be themselves, and that’s one of the programs that I enjoy. Another great program is the Cultural Immersion Program, which allows teens to expand their global perspective and to get together weekly to brainstorm di erent ways of raising funds for the program, and also focus on volunteer work that they’ll be doing in the next country. Watching their ideas come together and seeing them put their plan together and execute it, I have no words— it’s a great feeling.

A lot of kids in Sarasota, unfortunately, don’t have access to books at home so our solution is 10-cent books. The books cost 10 cents to make, they’re paper-based books and we distribute them widely in the community. Through Boys & Girls Club, we’re able to read them to the kids during the after-school programs and then they will each get their own book to take home to continue their journey.

GEOFFRY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU’RE FACING AT THE CLUB? GEOFFRY

The biggest challenge is year-round recruitment. We’re the best-kept secret, but we are always in the schools and at recruitment events. Our challenge is just getting the word out there more in the public to all the schools, parents, families and community partners. On the program side of things, attending these national conferences and events, securing and fundraising for these programs to send our kids to these locations, could be a challenge that our teens come up with solutions for.

ALVIN All of the above for sure. The club has been so transformative for me, frankly. They’ve given me so many di erent opportunities, and I’m forever grateful for everything. I truly do believe that the more you give to the club, the more the

ALVIN, WHAT IS ONE COMMUNITY PROBLEM THAT YOU WOULD MOST LIKE TO SOLVE? ALVIN It would be literacy rates. The club has allowed me to pursue this through both the Advocacy Careers Training Program as well

LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT IS YOUR LONG-TERM VISION FOR THE NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS FOR THE PROGRAM AND THE CLUB IN GENERAL? GEOFFRY In ﬁve to ten years I want the Roy McBean Club to be a premier destination for teens. I love what I do and I think the teens who have come through our programs talk highly of our programs and they talk highly of our

sta members. I want them to have a safe place while being themselves, and then also gaining all of the skills that they need post-high school.

ALVIN, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE TO TEN YEARS? ALVIN L. I see myself ﬁ nishing college and starting a career. Through Boys & Girls Club, I’ve had the opportunity to serve on the National Steering Committee for Keystone, which is a group of 10 to 12 teens who are hand-selected from around the world, from California to all the military bases and military-a liated organizations that Boys & Girls Clubs has around the world. I was able to have a part in creating the National Keystone Conference for this year, for 2025, which took place in Chicago in July. Through that, I was able to put together a college and career expo and to do that, we did a lot of outreach and event planning. I had a lot more creative decision-making to do in this than I had expected. It was being able to speak to potential exhibitors and trying to pitch to them on why they should come. While we’re at the event, we have to make sure that everybody is situated and understands what their role is going to be. In the end, everybody was just so overwhelmed with emotions and happy that they were able to connect with teens from around the world, so through that, it’s given me this passion for potentially going into a more creative role. I know I want to pursue something in the business administration risk management ﬁeld, but I would also love to incorporate something more creative into that.

very important. I think that a lot of people think that leading is always just from the front, or showing people, ‘Hey, follow me by doing this’. But I think being able to go to the individual where they need support is very important, especially in the di erent programs that we have. For example, with Keystone, I was recently elected the president. A lot of the Keystone members come to the meetings. They might be in eighth grade, going into high school and they might not know fully where to fit in or where their puzzle piece fits into the whole Keystone map. So being able to find a place for them is, I think, very important and making sure where they can contribute is most impactful.

ANY PARTING THOUGHTS?

including with child abuse investigations, foster care and adoption work, protective supervision and several di erent roles before I knew I was ready to step into more of a leadership position. It’s a tough ﬁeld and a tough job, and I wanted to be able to tell newer sta , ‘I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and you can do this too’. There is a very high turnover rate, but I think that sometimes my passion for the ﬁeld and for the job helps me feel like I can help certain employees to stay and make a di erence.

GEOFFRY I would leave you with this. I learned this when I was a teen and it’s always stuck with me. It’s our mission statement, I know it by heart: to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.

SAFE CHILDREN COALITION

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

SINCE YOU’RE BOTH LEADERS, WHAT LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE IN MOTIVATING YOUR TEAM? GEOFFRY Build a relationship with your teens. They can read you like a book, so you need to come in with a very genuine and sincere sense of respect. Just be an open book, have open arms and build positive relationships. ALVIN Being able to lead from the back is

with their parents. That’s been our big shift over the last several years, especially, which has shifted our children into out-of-home care. Just over three years ago, we had over 1,000 children in out-of-home care, and now, we are down to 500.

SHARE THE NEW PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVES THAT HAVE MADE A MEASURABLE IMPACT?

BRENA SLATER I’ve been with the Safe Children Coalition for about 14 years and in the role of CEO for about six years. In total, I have over 35 years of child welfare experience.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WORK IN CHILD WELFARE AND TO TAKE ON THIS LEADERSHIP ROLE?

My parents always joke and say that I was doing child welfare when I was three, bringing home any stray child or animal, but I started my o cial work in 1989 at a shelter for runaways. Even though I was young myself, I really enjoyed helping others and making children feel safe in their environments. Throughout the years, I’ve had many roles in child welfare,

HOW DO YOU KEEP UP OR ADAPT WITH THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF YOUR COMMUNITY THAT YOU SERVE? Because there’s such a great need, our organization over the past couple of years has evolved. Although we still do foster care and adoption as part of our organization, we’ve moved so many of our services upfront to the front-end diversion piece–the prevention of having children come into our system of care. It’s deﬁ nitely a lot more cost-e ective for children to be served with their parents out of our foster care system. But at the end of the day, it’s better for kids. Over the years. I’ve seen the pendulum swing–there are lots of removals, lots of kids coming to care, and then all of a sudden, there are not a lot of kids that come into care. Watching this pendulum swing over the last 35 years, the one thing that always stands out is that children do better when they’re with their parents. There are deﬁ nitely children who need to be removed, but we’ve really tried to move our services upfront so that when there’s that initial abuse report called in and we know there’s an issue, we have sta who are going out with the investigators from the Department of Children and Families right then and then because his family needs services. Instead of removing them, we try to help the family stay together, and we will put really intensive services in to try to mitigate the risk and the safety issues with the children so that they can stay in their home

We’ve had several new programs. One is called CAPTA and it stands for Children and Parents Together Always. It’s for either pregnant moms who are substance abusers, or moms who have young children who are abusing substances. In the state of Florida, if a mom is pregnant and she’s abusing substances, the Florida Abuse Hotline does not make a call because the child is not a child until the child is born. They now hand those cases to our program and our sta will go in and work with pregnant moms who are abusing substances with a curriculum called Plan of Safe Care–an evidence-based program to help pregnant moms get clean before they give birth. Another new program we started this year is called FIS–Family Intervention Services. We had recently been seeing teens coming into care who had a significant mental health history or significant Department of Juvenile Justice history and their parents had reached their boiling point, but the children were in that status where they hadn’t been convicted, they weren’t sentenced to any kind of juvenile detention. We now have case managers who are going in and working with those parents to really help manage the children’s behavior issues and keep the children at home with the parents. Teenagers are not going to get better by coming into a foster care system where there’s not a lot of placement for older children, especially if they have a significant criminal history. Probably one of my favorite new programs is our fatherhood initiative. We have three fatherhood engagement specialists who are now working with fathers, one-on-one, helping them, because sometimes when children

are removed from their mom, the whole goal is to reunify them with their mom. Our specialists go in and help dads if they need secure employment or an appropriate place for their child to live, doing one-on-one work to help dads really engage with their children and make sure that they’re in their children’s lives.

CAN YOU SHARE A RECENT SUCCESS STORY? We had a mom who had had two other children that were removed from her in the past for substance abuse, but when she was pregnant with her third, she actually came to us and said, ‘Look, I didn’t make it with my ﬁ rst two kids. My rights were termi-

WHAT ROLE WOULD YOU SAY THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAYS IN THE SUCCESS OF SAFE CHILDREN COALITION?

At Safe Children Coalition, we do much more than foster care and adoption. While many people only associate us with those services, last year alone, we served around 10,000 children—and only 1,300 of them were involved in the court system. We also run programs for higher-risk youth and provide counseling in local schools. Our shelter supports children ages 10 to 17, but many of the kids we work with aren’t in shelters. Without help, they could end up on the streets, where they may be forced to make dangerous choices just to

“Beyond the shelter, we’re focused on expanding our diversion and prevention services. Currently, most of our cases come in after an abuse report is ﬁled. Our goal is to shift further upstream—supporting families before abuse ever happens.”

nated. They were taken away, and they’ve been adopted, but I want to do this. I want to be a parent.’ Our CAPTA program worked with her when she was two or three months pregnant and got her into treatment. She said it was the ﬁrst time she’d ever gone that long without using. She went on to have a clean baby, and she’s doing great. Thinking of our fatherhood initiative, we had a dad who spoke at one of our board meetings. He was the father of several children with several di erent moms. He said that was the ﬁrst time somebody had come out to him and said, ‘Hey, I’m a dad too, and you have the right to be a dad and to do a case plan.’ He had said that in other areas he had lived, they never even o ered him case plans to do tasks to get his children back. He always felt like it was the mom’s kids. He actually got custody of two of his children, who were from this area, and our sta helped him work on getting his other children, who were in the system in another area.

— Brena Slater

survive. That’s why we need the entire community. Thankfully, our local legislators and foundations have been incredibly supportive with funding and grants, not just for us, but for many community service providers. It truly takes a village to raise and protect our children—especially in today’s world with more substance abuse issues and more significant mental health issues. I also think some things are leftover from COVID where children missed school and abuse reports went significantly down because those children weren’t being seen in school or they weren’t out in the community. I think the community, everyone together taking care of our kids is definitely essential to be helping out.

CAN YOU SHARE A FEW CHALLENGES THAT

of that, federal funding is being cut across the board. While we don’t receive a large portion of our funding from the federal government, we do have smaller programs that rely on it. For example, our Street Outreach program connects with homeless or unaccompanied youth—many of whom are still in high school—to get them o the streets and into safe situations. We also work with Schoolhouse Link through Sarasota County and run HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), which helps children ages 2–5 get ready for school. Programs like these are partially supported by federal funds, so proposed cuts put their future at risk. Even though we haven’t seen cuts yet at the state level, much of the state funding we receive is tied to federal matching. That makes our situation unpredictable—we never know when the state budget could change. Because of this, it’s di cult to expand or start new programs, and some important federal grants we’ve relied on are disappearing. Another ongoing challenge is recruiting foster parents, especially those willing to care for teenagers. That’s a major struggle for us—we always need more families willing to take a chance on teens.

YOU’RE FACING RIGHT NOW? One of our biggest challenges is keeping up with the growing demand for services while facing limited and uncertain funding. State funding, which makes up most of our budget, has not increased—even as the need continues to rise. On top

WHAT LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE IN MOTIVATING YOUR TEAM AND CREATING A STRONG CULTURE? I probably lead with empathy more than anything else. It’s just my nature; I’ve done it my whole life. Our organization is going through becoming trauma-informed, all the way from the front desk person to me. We’ve committed to becoming a trauma-informed organization. We’re partnering with All Star Children’s Foundation, and we’re doing a lot of training because it’s really about not only taking care of others like we always all do, but it’s also taking care of ourselves. I think people in this system probably don’t do as much self-care as they should.

LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT’S YOUR LONG-TERM VISION FOR THE NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS? Over the past few years, we’ve been running a capital campaign for our new shelter, and we’re now in the fi nal stages. We’ve broken ground, and construction should be completed within the next year. It’s incredibly exciting—this new facility will be a game-changer. Right now, we’re operating out of a temporary shelter that can only house 11 or 12 children. Our new shelter will o er single rooms, which is a significant improvement. Given the emotional and behavioral challenges many children face today, having more privacy—whether in a single or double occupancy room—makes a big di erence. Our old shelter was over 50 years old and dorm-style, which just didn’t meet current needs. One of the major challenges in building the new facility has been funding. While we receive federal and state support for operations, they don’t fund construction—no brick and mortar—so we’ve had to raise those funds ourselves. Beyond the shelter, we’re focused on expanding our diversion and prevention services. Currently, most of our cases come in after an abuse report is fi led. Our goal is to shift further upstream—supporting families before abuse ever happens. We want to prevent crises, not just respond to them.

HOW CAN OUR READERS HELP YOUR MISSION?

We always need foster parents and donations. We deﬁ nitely want to make sure that our shelter is state-of-the-art, that we have great furniture, and a nice, tranquil space for our children to be in. We can always use volunteers for di erent events we do throughout the year–backpack events, Foster Angels or SCC Angels at Christmastime. Advocacy is another way to help. People can advocate for federal and state funding for all children in care.