By Glen Casel, president & CEO of Embrace Families

On any given day in Central Florida, there are close to 3,000 children in the care of our community, many of them in foster care.  Kids don’t enter the child welfare system because they have done anything wrong.  They are there to make sure they are in a safe place.  Sometimes that is to protect them from abuse, but much more often it is to make sure their needs aren’t neglected as their families struggle with circumstances that can lead to abuse or neglect; like homelessness, financial instability, addiction, and mental health challenges. 

As a community, Central Florida hasn’t always agreed on the best approach. Do we take children out of struggling homes and put them into foster care? Do we try to bolster families so that parents can provide a safe home environment? Or do we try to prevent abuse from ever taking place by offering mental health counseling, parenting workshops and substance abuse treatment to at-risk families?

In fact, the best answer may be a combination of all three. In the late 1990s, Florida implemented a unique approach to providing child welfare services that put the responsibility for our most vulnerable children in the hands of the community. The result was known as community-based care – a flexible, child-centered system driven by non-profit lead agencies that was insulated from political shifts. Our philosophy is simple: Children shouldn’t be in foster care. They should be in safe, loving, permanent homes.

As we celebrate National Adoption Month in November, it’s worth reflecting on the strategies that have helped foster kids … as well as the challenges that still lie ahead.

Prevention. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It can be immensely harder – and more costly – to help a child recover from the trauma of being displaced from their home than it is to proactively build safer homes. Under legislation championed by Governor Jeb Bush, agencies were permitted for the first time to spend federal dollars on programs designed to strengthen and support at-risk families before they reach a crisis point.  Over time, these proactive efforts have substantially reduced the number of children entering foster care in Florida while helping families thrive.

Reunification. Even when kids do enter foster care, the primary focus is to ensure their well-being while working closely with willing parents to create a healthy home environment in preparation for their children’s return. The reality is that many parents do want to provide for their children – but they need help to overcome substance addiction, mental health problems or financial setbacks. Foster caregivers are an essential part of the reunification process.  And we continue to provide a support system for the family even after the kids return home.  

Adoption. If a child’s home is unsafe – and we can’t help make it safe – our top priority is to find them a new, permanent home and family. Adoption is one way to do that. Often, children are adopted by relatives who are already involved in their care, like grandparents, uncles and aunts, or cousins. Other times they may be adopted by their foster parents.  When that’s not possible, we review the state’s network of registered adoptive families to find the right fit. Because family ties are so important, keeping siblings together is a key consideration in our work with adoptive families.

This National Adoption Day – November 20 – thousands of foster children will be officially welcomed into their new families in courtrooms across the country. Although the courts aren’t at full capacity this year, we’ll still be celebrating what the day represents: an opportunity for kids to grow, heal and achieve their potential.

But adopting – or even fostering – isn’t the only way to make a difference. Whether you can donate a dollar, volunteer an hour of your time, sign up as a mentor or raise awareness about child abuse prevention in your community, you can help Florida’s most vulnerable children find caring homes and a brighter future.

Glen Casel is president and CEO of Embrace Families, Central Florida’s lead nonprofit agency helping families overcome the root causes of abuse and neglect through programs that offer case management and other prevention services.