Family Finding
Kids Central, Inc. has a core belief that families must be engaged by the system of care by recognizing their strengths and assisting lonely individuals develop a “team” around their family to address their unmet needs, and empowering the family to make sure the needs of the child are being met. Family connections on the child’s, team plan and make decisions in the best interest of the child while also working on the areas of risk in order to maintain safe homes, taking away the need for the dependency system in their lives. This process begins by identifying and locating a minimum of 40 family members to a child and should be conducted within 30 days of being removed from their caretaker.
Case workers with The Centers, Children’s Home Society and Youth and Family Alternatives, Inc. have been trained to conduct Family Finding activities with families, especially for children residing in foster care. The goal of finding family and connections is not just to find a forever home but to help each child identify who they are, where they came from prior to living in the foster care system and often providing answers to many questions unanswered without the information from located connections.
Case Workers have learned how to use the internet to search for relatives and connections and how to do Mobility Mapping with children to find out about potential connections the children remember and hear what the children say they need. Case Workers have also learned how to schedule and conduct Family Meetings with committed connections who want to participate on the child’s team in developing plans for each of their unmet needs. The team has the empowered and rewarding ability to make a difference in the life of a child by assisting in the child’s needs in whatever capacity they are able to do so, which may include transportation, school work, visits and ongoing contact, medical and mental health needs, or provide a forever home.
Adoption
Hundreds of children in the State of Florida do not have a forever home that they can call their own. All they want is a stable, nurturing family where they can feel safe, secure and most of all loved. Kids Central contracts with Youth and Families Alternatives (YFA) to provide adoption services here in the Fifth Judicial Circuit serving Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus, and Hernando Counties. Youth and Families Alternatives has been helping unite loving families with wonderful adoptive children since 1970. This program provides specialized training and preparation for parents interested in adopting children in the foster care system. A dedicated team of highly motivated professionals works closely with your family to best serve you and the children in our care.
The process begins when you consider adopting a child. YFA offers monthly Orientation sessions throughout our communities to provide information to interested families about the adoption process and the types of children needing permanent families. Our greatest need is for families willing to consider the older child, minority child, sibling groups and children with medical and behavioral challenges. YFA staff will follow up with each family to explore their interest in pursuing adoption. Families are invited to begin a mutual approval process, attending a 30-hour course on the Model Approach to Partnership and Parenting (MAPP class) where you will learn more about the children in care, positive parenting tools, helping children with birth family connections, and the impact of adopting in your life. You will then participate in a home study where we as an agency will learn more about your strengths and needs so we can effectively match your family with a waiting child.
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