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What type of agency is the Ann Storck Center?
The Ann Storck Center is a private non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Directors made up of community leaders, business men and women and members of auxiliaries supporting the children and adults of the Center.

Where do we get our funding?
The Center contracts with the State of Florida, Broward County and the Broward County School Board for preschool, developmental training and residential services. In addition, the Center must raise over $1,000,000 annually through special events and grant/foundation acquisitions each year to offset service and program deficits.

How long have we been in business?
The organization was previously known as Pediatric Care Center and was founded in the late 1950's by a registered nurse named Ann Storck. In 1981, the Center was incorporated and renamed the Ann Storck Center in her honor. Since then, the Center has financed and completed additions to its Fort Lauderdale campus. These additions include a central service building and three residences, involving more than 25,000 square feet of living and learning space.

In 1984 the Center, in conjunction with the State of Florida, opened the Pembroke Pines Cluster to 24 young adults with several multiple disabilities. These residents had finally found a home after many years in institutional placements, most far from home and family.

Since 1994, five group homes, including the widely-known Gizmo House, have also become a part of the Center's family of services. We now serve more than 300 children and adults daily.

What types of programs does the Ann Storck Center provide?
The Ann Storck Center provides year-round residential programs to children and adults who are severely or multiply developmentally disabled and/or medically fragile. Our Preschool children come for daily educational and therapeutic training and live with their natural or foster families. The Preschool operates year-round on a Monday through Friday schedule. The Ann Storck Center operates a Developmental Training Program for adults 18+ who, because of multiple disabilities, are not eligible for vocational rehabilitation training or supported employment placement. The Developmental Training Program operates Monday through Friday year-round.

What is a Cluster?
A Cluster is a special residential facility built and owned by the State of Florida. The Clusters were designed for the purpose of de-institutionalizing certain individuals living in the large state institutions. The concept is to return residents to communities, in close proximity to their families. The State of Florida contracts with the Ann Storck Center to provide comprehensive residential service to the 24 residents served in the Pembroke Pines Cluster. The Center oversees the daily operations, supervises staff and attends to residents' needs. The Center is responsible for meeting all health and safety standards and maintaining active treatment programs for the residents, as well as providing for their physical, medical and social well being.

How does the Ann Storck Center differ from a Cluster?
The Center is not a state facility. It is a private, non-profit organization operated under the supervision of the Board of Directors. The Fort Lauderdale campus was built with a combination of donations and private investment funds.

Who constitutes the staff of the Ann Storck Center?
More than 300 professional and paraprofessional staff provide services in the respective programs of the Center. The ASC staff is noted for its commitment to excellence and has received well deserved recognition as individuals and as a group with awards and citations by both accredited and other monitoring authorities.

What special types of equipment do our children and adults require?
Individual positioning devices, wheelchairs (all individually designed), braces, splints, computerized communication boards and other adaptive equipment help our children and adults sit, stand or lay in the best possible position and to communicate to the world at large.

What type of services are provided by the Ann Storck Center?
The Ann Storck Center provides its children and adults with services in the following areas:

These services are available to the children and adults served by the Center through licensed professionals and trained staff. Each individual receives these services based upon their individual needs and interests.

What is our method of treatment?

The Ann Storck Center is dedicated to the philosophy that despite the presence of disabilities, there is ability to be discovered. Each person is served on an individual basis in a normalized setting with respect for their special needs. The Center strives to maintain a positive and affectionate living and learning environment.

What type of family interaction is available for our residents?
Parents are encouraged to become active members of their child's Circle of Support to assure that the hopes, dreams, and desires of those we serve are fully realized.  Parents have access to a nurse, social worker or program managers in our Residential, Preschool, and Developmental Training Program, so that the opportunity to offer their own dreams for their children and how the Center might provide services is assured.   Parents are kept informed of school programs and their child's progress through participation in annual and quarterly meetings and through written reports. 

What about schooling for residents of the group homes?
Most of the Center's residents who are of school age attend public school. The Center's adults attend the Developmental Training Program or other community services, some residents require homebound education due to their medical fragility.  

How are the children or adults referred to the Ann Storck Center?
Many of our program participants are referred by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families. Many of our residents have transferred to the Center from state institutions. Children and adults are also referred to the Center by physicians and other social service agencies, as well as by parents/families who have learned of the Center by referral or our reputation.

What are the financial obligations of the parents?
Services are provided without regard to financial ability, race, creed, color, sex or national origin. For day program services, Participants are funded either by the State Agency for persons with Disabilities or the Broward County School Board. Private arrangements are available on a limited basis. For residential services, there is no financial obligation to the Ann Storck Center by any parent.

How can my child or guardian get services?
We have many specialists who can help you find the services your son, daughter, or loved one needs. For our preschool services, call Preschool Director Lori Mandke and for residential or adult day training services, call the Director of Social Services. Both can be reached at 954-584-8000.

What other facilities or services are sponsored by the Ann Storck Center?
The Center has developed a network of specialized group homes. These group living arrangements are homes which have been adapted with equipment and/or have been physically renovated to meet the needs of the group home residents. Gizmo House is an example of this specialization in group home technology & construction. Gizmo House is a computer-facilitated, automated home designed to assist individuals with severe and multiple disabilities to live as independently as possible. Each of the Center's group homes is adapted and staffed to promote the independence of the respective residents of each home. The Ann Storck Center group homes are dispersed in area communities and accommodate six residents in each home.

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