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 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 |
