SCO’s Connie Cerrato Inducted into the Women in Human Services Hall of Fame

SCO Family of Services is proud to announce that Assistant Executive Director Connie Cerrato has been inducted into the Women in Human Services Hall of Fame by Strong Nonprofits for a Better New York at an Awards Ceremony in Albany on March 5^th.

For over 30 years, Connie Cerrato has dedicated her professional career to helping women and children overcome challenges. As Assistant Executive Director at SCO Family of Services, Connie oversees SCO’s Madonna Heights campus for women and girls and Westbrook Preparatory School. Under Connie’s leadership, Madonna Heights provides a safe and therapeutic environment that teaches, strengthens, and encourages women and girls to heal from trauma. She also provides highly specialized therapeutic programming at Westbrook Prep, NY State’s first residential Regents junior/senior high school designed for students with high functioning autism.

A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Connie has championed the adoption of strength-based and evidence-based/evidence informed programming throughout her portfolio of services. She has also championed programs under her leadership to become Sanctuary certified – creating safe, compassionate, and high-quality trauma informed care for youth and families.

Connie Cerrato is well respected by her staff, whose expertise, compassion and work ethic are a reflection of her own. Her collaborative efforts have helped her forge strong partnerships with peer organizations and government agencies to strengthen and expand critical services, including the recent expansion of SCO’s residential recovery program that allows mothers recovering from substance and opioid abuse to live with their young children while receiving treatment. Connie is also collaborating with SCO leadership on transforming the delivery of care for women and girls on Long Island through the development of a Women’s Health and Wellness Center to provide a holistic, integrated approach to medical care, mental health care and substance use treatment.

Prior to her current role, Connie was the Program Director at Madonna Heights. She has also served as Director of SCO’s Independence Inn program for homeless youth and has worked in other SCO programs concentrating on children with special needs, children in foster care, and youth in transitional housing.