FAU Gets $1.2 Million Palm Beach County Grant for Free Youth Mental Health Services Through OWLS-FLY
The three-year initiative will provide free counseling, family therapy and parent support groups to children ages 6 to 17 across Palm Beach County — half its focus on youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities — while training eight to 12 graduate counselors a year.
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic University's College of Education has received a $1.2 million grant from the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County to launch OWLS-FLY, a three-year initiative providing free, family-centered mental health services to children ages 6 to 17 and their families, FAU announced. OWLS-FLY — short for Opportunity, Wellness, Leadership & Strength with Families Leading Youth — will prioritize underserved families, with half of its focus dedicated to youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their siblings and caregivers.
Based in FAU's Department of Counselor Education, OWLS-FLY will offer individual counseling for youth, family therapy and parent support groups, delivered in person or through telehealth — in person on FAU's Boca Raton campus, according to the university's student newspaper, the University Press. The program will prioritize low-income families, families living in designated mental health professional shortage areas, children with significant exposure to adverse childhood experiences, autistic youth and other children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their siblings, and families referred through community partners, FAU said. The Children's Services Council anticipates the initiative will serve 30 families and 50 youth annually, the University Press reported. 'By bringing accessible, family-centered services together with specialized counselor training, we can support children's emotional well-being, strengthen families and help ensure that more families have access to professionals who understand their unique needs,' said Kelly Emelianchik-Key, a professor in FAU's Department of Counselor Education and the initiative's principal investigator.
The services come with a training pipeline attached. Care will be provided by advanced graduate counseling students pursuing education specialist degrees and by postdoctoral scholars, with specialized instruction and close supervision from licensed faculty and clinicians, FAU said. Each year, eight to 12 advanced graduate counseling students will complete a specialized four-course training sequence and gain supervised clinical experience, building the county's supply of counselors prepared to work with children with and without disabilities. The grant was funded through the Children's Services Council's fiscal 2026 Request for Proposals for Youth Development, with a focus on youth mental health.
