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January 2008
- FCF and Florida Youth SHINE participated in a statewide conference on foster
care recruitment and retention held by DCF in conjunction with the Eckerd Family
Foundation and the National Youth Law Center on January 16 and 17.
January 2008
- On January 8th Florida Youth SHINE members met with the Florida House
Committee on Healthy Families to provide information on youth transitioning out
of state care.
December 2007
- FCF participated, along with Florida Legal Services and Connected by 25 in DCF
regional trainings that were conducted through out the state to educate front
line workers on the practical and legal needs of older foster youth. A copy of
their presentation appears on FCF's "For Youth" page.
December 2007
- Florida Youth SHINE met December 14-16 in Broward County to plan their goals
and strategies for 2008.
December 2007
- On December 7th Florida Youth SHINE met with the Florida Bar Foundation grant
committee to describe their work to empower former foster youth and seek
improvements from the Legislature, the Courts and the Executive branch.
November 2007
- On November 28th FCF Executive Director Andrea Moore addressed the Commission
on Open Government to offer FCF's recommendations on how Florida law can be
improved to strengthen youth's access to their own records. A copy of her
remarks which include detailed recommendations are available on the publications
page.
November 2007 - Tammy
Workman is welcomed to staff and participates the Foster Care Alumni training
and Welcome Home for the Holiday event in Washington DC from the 19th to the
23rd.
November 2007
- On November 14th FCF Executive Director was an invited guest at the Florida
Supreme Court's Mental Health summit for the release of Judge Liefman's report
on mental health reform in Florida.
November 2007
- On November 8th FCF Deputy Director Robin Rosenberg and Barry Shalinsky of the
Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities trained Independent Living
Coordinators from around the state on the transition issues for youth with
disabilities.
November 2007
- On November 1st FCF conducted a training on Improving Educational Outcomes for
youth in care in Jacksonville.
October 2007
- On October 1st Executive Director Andrea Moore addressed the
members of the Children and Youth Cabinet at their inaugural
meeting. On behalf of FCF, she provided information on key components of their
charge, interagency coordination, preparing a children's budget,
and preparing child impact statements. A copy of her remarks and a
summary of FCF's recommendations are available on the publications
page.
September 2007
- Bob Butterworth, Secretary of the Dept. of Children and Families addresses the
Dependency Court Improvement Summit and introduces a new DCF publication,
"Rights and Expectations for Children and Youth in Shelter or Foster
Care." This publication is a direct result of the work of Florida Youth
SHINE who advocated to the Secretary the need for all youth to know their rights
will in state Care. At the same summit, DCF also distributed FCF's new
publication, Frequently Asked Questions for Foster Youth Transitioning to
Adulthood. Both documents are available on FCF's "For
Youth" page.
September 2007
- The Dept. of Children and Families announced that beginning on October 1st it
will discontinue its practice of reducing welfare (TANF) payments to children in
order to pay back overpayments to parents. This change was made in response by
an inquiry from FCF as to why a child living with a relative caregiver was
having her welfare payment reduced to pay back her mother's fraudulent receipt
of benefits.
September 2007
- On September 20th FCF Executive Director Andrea Moore addressed
the Task Force for Child Protection to offer FCF's recommendations
for improving services to youth in the child welfare system. A
copy of her remarks, which include detailed recommendations are
available on the publications
page.
September 2007
- On September 4th FCF Executive Director Andrea Moore addressed
Florida's Blueprint Commission which is examining the State's
Juvenile Justice system. A copy of her remarks and a summary of
FCF's recommendations for improvements to the juvenile justice
system are available on the publications page.
August 2007
- FCF issued its Children's Mental Health Overview and
Recommendations. This document provides a comprehensive look at
how the child welfare and juvenile justice systems deliver mental
and behavioral health services to youth. Each section includes
specific recommendations for reform. A copy of Children's Mental
Health Overview and Recommendations is available on the
publications page.
July 2007
- FCF and its partner the University of Miami Children and Youth
Law Clinic released a report examining the creation and
implementation of local agreements between foster care agencies
and school boards. This report highlights issues with
implementation around the state. It is a good guide for educators
and child welfare professionals who are concerned about educating
youth in foster care. A copy of the report, Interagency
Agreements: Improving Educational Outcomes for Florida's Children
in Foster Care, is available on the publications
page.
May 2007
- FCF worked with the Florida Bar Standing Committee on the Legal
Needs of Children to present a workshop on children's mental
health for Judge Liefman, the Special Advisor to the Chief Justice
on Criminal Justice and Mental Health. FCF gathered
recommendations, reports, articles, and public records from
presenters and interested agencies to prepare a Mental Health
Briefing Book for Judge Liefman. A link to the Briefing Book, a
"web-based notebook" is available on the publications
page. A cd version of the briefing book can be requested by
emailing fcf@floridaschildrenfirst.org.
Sept 2007
- DCF published Rights
and Expectations for Children in Foster and Shelter Care.
Secretary Butterworth credited the members of the FCF founded group, Florida
Youth SHINE with giving him the idea and helping his staff prepare this new and
important document.
April 2007 - FCF receives major fund increase from the Florida Bar Association to expand efforts to help foster kids - Read article
February 2007 - On February 22, 2007 we held our Broward County Reception with Secretary Bob Butterworth, Department of Children and Families, delivering our Keynote Address. We were pleased to honor the Forever Family Project of NBC 6 and the Children's Services Council of Broward County for their dedication and work on behalf of the children of South Florida. The evening was also dedicated to the memory of Bill Keith, a man who helped to develop the physical and moral landscape of Broward County. We were pleased to honor Wanda Collins McDowell, Latoya Richardson, Terran Vandiver, and Tammy Workman, for their successful transition from state care to successful adulthoods.
February 2007 - Florida's Children First, Inc. is honored to announce the addition of two highly esteemed individuals to our Board of Directors. Former State Senator Walter 'Skip' Campbell, Jr., past Chair of the Senate Children, Families, & Elder Affairs Committee, will lend his infinite expertise to our work and statewide initiatives. After running for Attorney General in 2006, Senator Campbell is currently in private practice with his firm, Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Buser, Slama, Hancock, Lieberman & McKee. Jay Kassack, also a new member of our board, was former Chief of Staff to Senate President Tom Lee; his dedication and insight will be invaluable to our efforts throughout the state. Jay currently works as a Vice President of AMERIGROUP Community Care.
January 2007 - Our Miami-Dade Reception honored Speaker of the House Marco Rubio for his dedication to children's issues in the state of Florida. Board Member Alan I. Mishael was also honored for his decades of service to the most disadvantaged children in South Florida; his work both as an attorney and advocate has set a standard for individual service. The event raised awareness of the state care system within the Miami-Dade community and was a venue to celebrate the accomplishments of Kimberly Foster, a graduate of Florida's foster care system who has excelled against all odds.
Past
News 2006 & before |
