State Wants More Say in Foster Care
Ten years ago, children were slipping through the cracks of Florida’s state-run foster care system resulting in child abuse episodes that gained national attention. In an effort to fix the failing...
View ArticleWhy Did Baby Die Before 2nd Birthday?
Had she lived, Yvonne Bailey would be celebrating her second birthday this week. As the Ocala Star-Banner reports, Yvonne had been taken from her father, who was caring for her when her arm was burned...
View ArticleEpiPen Grants Among New Laws
The New Year triggered a series of new health-related laws in Florida, including a federal law that encourages schools to stock EpiPens to treat allergic reactions.
View ArticleKids' Programs Get Waiver, Funds
Florida has been granted a long-term waiver on how it uses federal money for at-risk children. The five-year waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides flexibility with Title...
View ArticleDCF Adds 1,500 New Foster Homes
The Florida Department of Children and Families has licensed nearly 1,500 new foster-care homes in the last year, trying to find families for the 10,000 children in state care.There is a constant need...
View ArticleFoster Care Fix Requested for Disabled
It's been two years since Florida's Legislature passed a law extending foster care from age 18 to 21, for youth aging out of the system who want to stay. But the law has had some unintended...
View ArticleMore Than 600 New Foster Homes Licensed
State child welfare officials have recruited more than 600 news foster homes. The increase comes after lawmakers passed a measure in 2013 aimed at improving the quality of people recruited to become...
View ArticleLawmakers Tweak Extended Foster Care Law
Lawmakers are working on changes to a two-year-old law that extended foster care in Florida from ages 18 to 21 and sought to give kids more time to prepare for independence.Hailed as groundbreaking...
View Article13% Of FL Foster Kids In Group Homes
A new study shows that 13 percent of Florida's 18,000 foster youth are living in group homes instead of with a family.A national report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed 57,000 of the 400,000...
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Advocates: Newly Signed Guardianship Bills Will Go Long Way For Elderly,...
Governor Rick Scott recently signed bills aimed at changing Florida’s guardianship laws. One relates to helping the exploited elderly and another aims to help developmentally disabled kids aging out of...
View ArticleSenate Bill Would Overhaul Foster-Care Placements
A bill aimed at reducing instability for foster children has started to move forward in the Florida Senate and would require the child-welfare system to match kids with their best placement options ---...
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Rate Of Kids Coming Into Foster Care Rising — But Is It Too Much?
More children are coming into Florida's foster-care system after a sweeping child-welfare reform law went into effect 19 months ago, but officials say the state is trying to focus on what's best for...
View ArticleCapitol: Needle Exchange? Guns in Schools?
A bill that would put at least one armed person at public schools passed with bipartisan support in a House committee, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Schools would have to hire an armed guard unless the...
View ArticleState Wants More Say in Foster Care
Ten years ago, children were slipping through the cracks of Florida’s state-run foster care system resulting in child abuse episodes that gained national attention. In an effort to fix the failing...
View ArticleWhy Did Baby Die Before 2nd Birthday?
Had she lived, Yvonne Bailey would be celebrating her second birthday this week. As the Ocala Star-Banner reports, Yvonne had been taken from her father, who was caring for her when her arm was burned...
View ArticleEpiPen Grants Among New Laws
The New Year triggered a series of new health-related laws in Florida, including a federal law that encourages schools to stock EpiPens to treat allergic reactions. The U.S. Department of Health and...
View ArticleKids' Programs Get Waiver, Funds
Florida has been granted a long-term waiver on how it uses federal money for at-risk children. The five-year waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides flexibility with Title...
View ArticleDCF Adds 1,500 New Foster Homes
The Florida Department of Children and Families has licensed nearly 1,500 new foster-care homes in the last year, trying to find families for the 10,000 children in state care. There is a constant need...
View ArticleFoster Care Fix Requested for Disabled
It's been two years since Florida's Legislature passed a law extending foster care from age 18 to 21, for youth aging out of the system who want to stay. But the law has had some unintended...
View Article