It is hard to believe that, given our strong sense of family, we can forget how truly blessed we are and how much we have to be grateful for. Often times things we take for granted don’t come as easily to others. The fact that there are more than one thousand children in our immediate area who are facing neglect, abuse, and hunger may come as a surprise, or even a shock to many of us, yet there are many families in need in our communities in North Central Florida.

Our local non-profit child welfare agency, Partnership for Strong Families (PSF) began operation in July 2004, as a mandate of the Community Based Care Act of 1996, in which the Florida Legislature decreed that vulnerable families of Florida would be better served by community-based child welfare service providers. This Act transferred primary responsibility for the delivery of these services from the State of Florida’s Department of Children and Families to community based providers like PSF.

Partnership for Strong Families provides for the delivery of child welfare services like child abuse prevention, in-home case management, out of home care (to include foster care, kinship/relative care and non-relative care), on-going protective services, adoption, foster home recruitment and licensing, intensive residential treatment, family preservation, family reunification, independent living services, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment and domestic violence services to nearly 2,000 children per day. These services are provided to vulnerable children and families in 11 counties (Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee and Union) throughout North Central Florida. PSF provides most of these services by contracting with a variety of local case management and human services agencies. This type of locally driven service provision makes community-based care unique from the traditional child welfare delivery model from years past.

PSF’s mission is “to enhance the community’s ability to protect and nurture children by building, maintaining and constantly improving a network of family support services.”

When families face crisis that result in the removal of children from their homes, the primary focus is to stabilize and reunify the family unit as soon as safely possible. It is critical to have quality, temporary homes in which to place children while their parents receive the necessary supportive services. PSF recruits community members who are interested in becoming temporary caregivers called foster parents. Unfortunately, the need for these homes often seems to outweigh the supply so the staff works diligently to educate the community to recruit quality foster homes.

In cases where reunification of families is not possible, the child becomes eligible for adoption. There is a great need for loving adoptive families, as there are many children waiting on “forever families”. Many of the children who need to be adopted are older or ethnically diverse, yet there are still infants and toddlers in need of good permanent homes as well. Community members interested in adopting one or more of the hundreds of children waiting on a family do undergo a screening and training process.

The “Invisible Child” is a PSF commercial campaign being run in North Central Florida on Cox Cable stations. The gist of this commercial is that most of us have more than enough of the necessities of life, yet right here in our community are children who may not have enough to eat, they may not have functioning utilities, adequate space or even most basic of all, love and nurturing from a caring or attentive parent caregiver. These children go to school with our own children, pass by us in the grocery store or wherever else we may be out in the community but they are invisible to us.

PSF strives to create stronger families within the community, provide safe environments for children, and respect the inherent dignity of children and their families. Working with community members to support vulnerable children and families makes sense. Protecting children is everyone’s job, and there are many ways to do so.

Mia Hobdy is the Director of Resource Development and her dream is to continue to have donations of new and gently used clothes (toddler and infant boy clothes are in short supply), diapers, wipes, pull-ups, baby bottles, formula, lotions, soaps, shampoo, and feminine hygiene products. In addition, there is a need for plus sized women’s clothing, and the donated service of a local laundry/dry cleaning company would be very helpful.

PSF operates under a set of principles that guide the staff in their everyday work:

PSF Core Principles of Practice:

• Provide a safe environment for all children
• Make prevention of child abuse and neglect a community priority
• Individualize services to meet the needs of children and families
• Respect the inherent dignity of children and their families
• Make all decisions regarding children and families with permanency in mind
• Recognize that more can be done with communities and families as partners
• Respect the diversity of all children and families in the community
• Commit to accountability using outcomes to measure performance and improve practice

There is a need for hair care services, in particular for ethnic care. Partnership For Strong Families does not have a food bank as such and food vouchers or grocery store gift cards can provide the resource for families in need to purchase the essentials when they are in crisis. In addition, many caregivers are family members who fall outside the system for financial assistance but still need help with providing for these children on a day-to-day basis.

There is a need for faith-based support all year long.

While Partnership for Strong Families is a non-profit organization with the majority of funding provided through DCF, there is still always a need for financial donations. Volunteers are always needed to assist in many areas.

PSF’s volunteer Board of Directors is comprised of community members from various counties within the PSF service area.

Board Chairman: Jim Stringfellow- Alachua County
Vice Chair: Jo Haley- Columbia County
Secretary/Treasurer: Dr Michael Bowie- Alachua County
Members: Ginger Childs- Alachua County; Joe Dunlap- Alachua County; D. Ray Harrison- Gilchrist County; Terrill Hill- Putnam County; Ed Jennings Jr- Alachua County; Ed Peddie- Alachua County; Nancy Reissener- Columbia

Partnership for Strong Families would like to recognize those who have contributed this past year including the Gator Exchange Club, Publix Supermarket Charities, A-1 Sewing and Embroidery Pro Gifts, Capital City Bank, Gainesville Fire and Rescue, Northwest Baptist Church, University City Church of Christ, Putnam County Agricultural Center, First Presbyterian Church of Starke, Storter-Childs, Kiwanis, Altrusa and many other business community partners.

With the holiday season now behind us, it is important to remember these families throughout the remainder of the year, with several worthwhile events happening at various times all year round.

April is Child Abuse Prevention month. One of the major keys to prevention is creating a strong awareness of how to avoid these situations, if one can prevent it in the first place, the need for children having to be removed from the family homes will decrease. April 20th is the date for activities centered around “Celebrate the Child”.

The month of May celebrates Foster Parent Appreciation Month, by hosting banquets and other activities for foster families throughout the PSF service areas. During this special time gifts and prizes are awarded to foster parents, culminating with the special recognition of “Foster Parent of the Year”. Support is strongly needed to make this a success and to show the need for more foster parents. With only about 200 families currently caring for the approximately 600 children in need at any one time, you can appreciate that the need for this is great. Contact: Jose Vega or Waheeda Bacchus at (352) 393-2740 to receive details on how you can become a foster parent.

August, of course, is Back to School month where there is a drive to provide not only essentials such as backpacks and the usual school supplies but also new or gently used clothing and personal hygiene products.

Last but not least, there is the Annual Wish Upon a Star for Christmas, where every child makes a list of the items they would like for Christmas and each sponsor purchases two of the gifts for that child, with a $25 suggested cost for each gift. This program is solicited through area businesses, and the faith community. This past Christmas over 1,000 children were sponsored by caring community members.

In the short time that Partnership For Strong Families has been active in the community, it has strived to increase its effect on the community and its families, but there is still a lot to do and will continue to be, so while the population of communities continue to increase, so does the need for community support in helping those in need, particularly our children who are the future. We would ask that if you have considered how to give back as part of your New Year’s resolution, this is one organization that can never have enough help, and especially if you can open your home as a foster or adoptive parent, you can truly make a difference both in a child’s life and your own.

Mia Hobdy- Director of Resource Development
Tia Stover- Foster Home Licensing Supervisor
Dana Bobb- Resource Development Specialist
Jose Vega and Waheeda Bacchus- Recruitment and Retention Specialist
Amanda Rodriguez- Resource Development Assistant

For More Information
Call: PSF @ (352) 393-2740
Or visit www.pfsf.org