FBI joins groundbreaking for new Hernando child advocacy center

FBI Tampa representatives stood alongside Hernando County partners Monday as You Thrive Florida broke ground on a new Children’s Advocacy Center, a facility leaders say will bring abuse investigations, advocacy and healing services together for children and families who now often have to move between multiple agencies.

You Thrive Florida says the center is Hernando County’s only nationally recognized, fully accredited children’s advocacy center. The nonprofit says the facility coordinates the investigation, prosecution and healing services for child abuse cases in the county, serving more than 800 children and their non-offending family members each year.

The center works with the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, the University of Florida Child Protection Team, mental health providers and victim advocates. That network is designed to reduce the number of times a child must recount abuse, while putting law enforcement, child welfare and treatment providers under one roof for cases involving sexual abuse, physical abuse, trafficking, violent crime exposure, and exposure to substance abuse or pornography.

For Hernando families, the new building represents more than a ceremonial start to construction. The county’s child abuse response currently depends on coordination across separate systems, and the advocacy center is built to make that process less fragmented. By housing the work in one place, the facility is expected to improve the experience for children and the adults protecting them, including non-offending family members who often need counseling, guidance and case navigation at the same time.

The groundbreaking also reflected the federal and local law enforcement interest in the project. FBI Tampa’s presence signaled that the center is viewed as part of a broader child-protection response, not just a social service addition. In Hernando County, where child abuse cases can touch sheriff’s investigators, state prosecutors, child welfare workers and therapists at once, a centralized facility is a practical upgrade meant to speed coordination and strengthen accountability.

You Thrive Florida’s Hernando County office lists the Children’s Advocacy Center at (352) 754-8809. The Hernando County location operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The organization, founded in Brooksville in 1968, rebranded from Mid Florida Community Services in May 2024 and now operates across eight Florida counties.