Frank joined the Center for Great Expectations with over 30 years of experience creating trauma-attuned environments in residential treatment programs, schools, and juvenile justice programs throughout New Jersey and the country. Mr. Picone earned his master’s of social work from the School of Social Work at Rutgers University; he is a licensed clinical social worker, advanced trainer in the Nurtured Heart Approach, and a certified school social worker.

Over the past 30 years, Mr. Picone has served as a therapist, clinical supervisor, chief operating officer, and executive director in two large residential treatment settings for at-risk youth. He also served as director of the Placement Services Unit in New Jersey’s Children’s System of Care (CSOC), where he was responsible for managing the care of high-needs youth in residential treatment. Mr. Picone worked as a senior training and consultation specialist at Rutgers, providing coaching and training to residential providers as part of a four-year SAMHSA grant to transform New Jersey’s CSOC to be trauma-informed and reduce the need for seclusion and restraint. For the past 20 years, as founder and director of “Positive Culture Change”, Mr. Picone has provided transformational training and consultation in the areas of leadership, workforce development, creating positive and motivating work cultures and trauma-attuned approaches for residential treatment programs and school systems throughout the country.