The Family Resource Center is the realization of a community dream that began during the design of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers. The construction of the Center was completed on the new campus in May 1998. The Department of Children & Families first licensed the program on June 24, 1998, which was also the date the first child entered the program. The Center was fully enrolled by August 24, 1998, the first day of classes of the University’s second year of operation. The Center is one of ten Educational Research Centers for Child Development in Florida’s state university system.

Center staff and parents began the Accreditation process with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in January 1999. The Center was fully accredited by NAEYC on September 30, 1999. The Center went through the process of reaccreditation in 2002 and 2007.

The primary purpose of the Center is to provide the children of university students, employees, and the community with a quality early education experience. The Center also serves as a practica site for students studying child development and education, a site for fulfilling the university’s service-learning requirement, a site for part-time student employment, and a site for research.