Budget axe necessitates regrouping
October 30, 2011
THE ISSUE: State funding chopped; closure imminent.
OUR OPINION: Need to keep this resource open in the community.
When things go so wrong in a family that the case ends up in court, sometimes, for the safety of the children as well as the adults, the court orders supervised visitation.
Thanks to efforts led by Circuit Court Judges Patricia Thomas and Barbara Gurrola, for 13 years Citrus County’s Family Visitation Center has provided a safe, neutral environment for monitored visits and child exchanges. Since 2000, the Family Visitation Center has occupied a house on Seminole Avenue in Inverness, on the grounds of Citrus Memorial Health System. The center, which provides a home-like, child-friendly environment, supervises more than 700 visits every year. (read more)
The Overlooked Social Cancer
October 30, 2011
A message we heard with resonating repetition over the past month is to “think pink.” From lapel ribbons and T-shirts to NFL wrist bands and billboards, pink was on display everywhere we looked during October as the nation joined to observe National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (read more)
County visitation center could close
October 23, 2011
Kids Central Inc. to stop funding site used for court-ordered visits between children, parents
INVERNESS — Underneath the shade of a large oak tree, a little boy giggled as his father pulled him around the small, fenced-in play area in a little plastic red wagon.
Missy Allen-May doesn’t know what plight has brought this father and son to the Citrus County Visitation Center. She doesn’t want to know. (read more)
YMCA gets new director
October 22, 2011
HOMOSASSA — Joanna Castle’s face lit up with excitement as she entered the cafeteria Thursday afternoon at Homosassa Elementary School.
It was her first time seeing the YMCA’s Afterschool Enrichment Clubs’ dance program in action. Her eyes followed the group of young girls as they pranced about the stage wearing baby-pink dance shirts, trying their best to learn the intricate dance moves to perform later in front of their parents. (read more)
Kids Central Joins the Alliance
September 6, 2011
Kids Central in Ocala, Fla., has joined the Alliance for Children and Families. The organization’s child-centered, community-based system of care is designed to strengthen families and promote reunification. (read more)
DCF chief preaches patience to nonprofit group
July 13, 2011
Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins’ reception at Ocala-based Kids Central Inc. on Wednesday was cordial, but frank. The local, not-for-profit agency wanted the newly appointed DCF chief to explain why its funding was cut despite being one of the best DCF service providers — while poor performers were being rewarded. (read more)
Kids Central funding slashed
May 13, 2011
The words “Senate Bill 2146” may not mean anything — unless you’re a working parent of school-age children who relies on local agencies and organizations for summer day programs for your kids. (read more)
Nonprofit puts spotlight on foster moms for Mother’s Day
May 7, 2011
Kids Central Inc. wants to make sure that on this Mother’s Day, foster moms are appreciated, too.
For the past seven years, the nonprofit organization has worked with the Florida Department of Children and Families and is the lead child-protection-services agency for the Circuit 5 county district, which includes Marion, Lake, Sumter, Hernando and Citrus counties. (read more)
Where Family Finding Comes First
May 2011
This is one of three articles in this issue about agencies that received a Children’s Bureau Family Connection grant in 2009 to help children in foster care reconnect with family members.
Kids Central, Inc., based in Ocala, FL, is passionate about family finding. The agency believes that identifying and engaging all the family members of children in foster care is critical to providing these children with permanent families and connections. As early as 2007, Director Irene Rickus was working with family finding trainer Kevin Campbell to provide intensive training and case consultation to workers in the five counties that Kids Central serves. When the opportunity to apply for a Family Connection grant came along in 2009, they lost no time in translating that passion into a winning grant application. (read more)
Child abuse prevention is a community concern
April 18, 2008
They come from families where it’s OK to hit. It’s OK to use drugs.
Money is tight and stress is high.
The parents need help.
The children need protection.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Officials hope people will use this time as an opportunity to learn more about an issue that affects a young and vulnerable segment of society: children. (read more)
Kids Central helps family for holidays
December 20, 2010
Employees with Kids Central Inc. emptied their own pockets to donate groceries and Christmas presents to Brenda Monteiro and her grandchildren on Tuesday.
Her 10-year-old grandson, Anthony “Tony” Motler, was so excited about the possibility of a present being a RipStik, a type of skateboard, that neighbor Evelyn Bassler had to keep steering him away from the tree. (read more)
Kids Central honors Villagers for contributing more than 100 hours of community service
November 1, 2010
OCALA — Kids Central volunteer Patricia Wiswall remembers the excited look on the teenager’s face when she helped him find a suit for the organization’s teen dance this past June.
The boy could not find a suit that fit right until Wiswall came forward and suggested a lilac satin one. (read more)
The ABCs of safe sleeping for infants
September 5, 2010
Hopefully the picture, right, upsets you. This is an ad from the Milwaukee Health Department. According to a March 15 article, three out of four Milwaukee County babies who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, involved co-sleeping.
What about Marion County? Does co-sleeping affect our babies? Why do babies co-sleep with an adult? (read more)
Other Voices: Children in crisis
August 29, 2010
Are you or someone you know raising a relative child? In the United States approximately 6.7 million children live with grandparents and other relative caregivers. Nearly 14,000 children live with relatives in the five-county area served by Kids Central Inc. which includes Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. In Marion County, there are an estimated 5,200 children being raised by relatives. These relatives, many of whom are grandparents, struggle with overwhelming issues that can seem insurmountable. (read more)
Baseball event to help homeless children
August 1, 2010
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is hosting Home-runs for Homeless Children, a softball tournament fundraiser to benefit the Marion County Public School Initiative. The all-day tournament will be held in Citra at Wrigley Fields on Sept. 25.
“I knew we had some good softball players and wanted to do an event that first responders would want to participate in. It’s also a great way to promote agency camaraderie,” said Jenifer Lowe, MCSO assistant public information officer. (read more)
Camp brings harmony between kids, cops
July 22, 2010
While most summer camps specialize in sports, crafts and hobbies, Harmony in the Streets focuses on building positive relationships between children ages 6 through 12 and law enforcement officers.
The day camp, in its ninth year, is a partnership between the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches. (read more)
Building a future of abused and neglected children
April 4, 2010
In these trying times, all of us have challenges to face and difficulties to overcome. However, little compares to a child suffering from abuse and neglect. As economic turmoil continues to add pressure to already at-risk families, we need to be mindful of what is present in our community and respond appropriately.
Fortunately, there is hope if we all do our part. (read more)
Caregivers support group in spotlight
September 14, 2009
Sue Callahan was settling into her empty nest. Her youngest child was 21. The 57-year-old was planning to embark on life-long projects.
“When you get to my age, your life is focused in another direction,” she said.
Then her life took a sharp turn: She took in her two granddaughters, ages 7 and 14.
The stress of raising two young girls weighed heavily on her. She felt alone – it had been more than a decade since she raised small children
But after participating in a Kids Central Inc. support group she realized, “There are other people doing the same thing I’m doing,” she said. (read more)
Sewing group uses creations to help children in need
August 9, 2009
Suzanne McGuire wishes she could create nice things out of fabric and said she admires the way members of the Sewing Bees club make beautiful items out of scraps of cloth.
As Marion County Public School’s liaison for homeless children, McGuire reaps some of the benefits of the club’s work because she gets to distribute some of their creations to the kids in her care. (read more)
Saving money, saving families
June 25, 2009
We all know what happens when children have too much idle time on their hands over the summer. None of it very good, for sure.
So we were heartened to learn that Kids Central Inc., the private, not-for-profit organization that oversees child welfare services throughout the Fifth Judicial Circuit, doled out $630,000 in grants this year to a dozen Marion County community and faith-based groups for summer recreational and educational programs and day camps. As a result, hundreds of children, who otherwise would be sitting idly at home or worse, now get to participate in everything from academic camps to arts programs to just fun and games. It is a genuine gift to the community. (read more)
Symphony orchestra offers free tickets to local youth
March 31, 2009
The Ocala Symphony Orchestra is offering free tickets to local youth for this weekend’s concerts featuring the winners of its recent Young Artist Competition.
In a program called “OhSO Klassical Kids,” the local symphony is reaching out to youth who may not otherwise get a chance to experience a live orchestra performance, and in particular to see two young people who have achieved musical excellence perform with the OSO professional musicians. (read more)
Retirees find enrichment in volunteering
March 23, 2009
Dr. Mike Jordan and Dyer Michell are busy men, but much of what they do – serving as volunteers – enriches
the community, and the two men.
For Jordan, retirement means more than playing golf. He spends much of his timeserving on the boards of local nonprofit organizations, lending his expertise and wisdom to bettering the community. (read more)
Forging ahead
December 29, 2008
Ron White, 21, spent his teens in foster care.
He lived with two families and spent time in four group homes
He still sees one of the families every weekend but said, “I always told myself it could only get better. I only looked to the future.
InSITE, a new scholarship program headed by Lorraine Abruzzo, awards funds to young adults like White who have aged out of Marion County foster care services and are attempting to forge their own way in the world. (read more)
Lots of love, little money
December 18, 2008
OCALA – It’s been a challenging year for Annie Washington, who buried her father in May and her daughter a month later.
Washington’s daughter, Lamica Keys, was 29 when she died on June 14, 2008, leaving behind nine children who range in age from 7 months to 12 years. Washington said an autopsy showed that Keys likely died from child-birth-related hemorrhaging and an enlarged heart. (read more)
Summit examines problem of child abuse
September 6, 2008
OCALA – It’s the little things that make the most difference when it comes to preventing child abuse and neglect. That was the theme of the End Kids’ Tears Prevention Summit held Wednesday at the Ocala Hilton.
“The problem is not awareness,” said guest speaker Lonnie Parizek, director of communications for the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, noting that nine out of 10 people are aware that child abuse and neglect is a significant problem. (read more)
Child-welfare agency looking to ‘end tears’
August 24, 2008
OCALA – Do something – it can even be something small – but do something to help a child who is abused or neglected.
That’s the message Kids Central Inc. wants the people of Marion County to take away from its “End Kids’ Tears” child abuse prevention summit. Organizers hope the public will fill the hall during the free event, to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Hilton Ocala, 3600 S.W. 36th Ave. (read more)
An outrage overlooked
August 17, 2008
When Marion County officials discovered 120 neglected horses back in May, public outrage was swift and sustained.
Then, when the county animal shelter last month put down 65 dogs because of a disease outbreak, there was outrage again.
So when representatives of Kids Central Inc., the private group that handles child welfare cases in Marion County for the Florida Department of Children and Families, came knocking last week to talk about “an epidemic of child abuse, neglect and endangerment” in our community, I wondered: Where’s the outrage? (read more)
Independence Road
August 1, 2008
For those aging out of the foster care system, Kids Central is a lifeline between these young adults and the community.
NO ONE EVER SAID GROWING UP IS EASY. Even in the best of circumstances, inevitable bumps and detours occur along the way. And that’s when having loving and supportive adults in a child’s life can make all the difference. Someone to show the way, someone to offer proof that this too shall pass and a good life awaits.
But for many children who have been abused and abandoned by the very people who are supposed to love them, growing up can be a daily struggle just to survive. (read more)
Kids Central, Inc A Strong Kinship Resource Center Model
June 12, 2008
As a result of the publication of the book, “A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents”, I have had the opportunity to speak with a variety of groups. The audiences vary from professionals who work with kinship families, to kinship families themselves, to general bookstore visitors.
Kinship care is multicultural and as traditional for as long as we have walked the earth together. Perhaps that is why our society has an apathetic attitude about kinship care. Yet today’s caregivers, millions of them, are faced with extreme difficulties in their effort to secure the children. (read more)
Summer enrichment programs in full swing
June 21, 2008
OCALA – Canisha Lecorn wasn’t like the typical 11-year-old on her summer break, hoping to get a turn on the basketball court or playing with friends at Lillian Bryant Recreation Center.
The soon-to-be Howard Middle School sixth-grader sat inside the center’s computer room and talked about her education, specifically how her grades have excelled since tutoring began a year ago. (read more)
Grandparents suddenly forced to raise their grandchildren need some stress relief
June 1, 2008
I recently had the pleasure of having three of my grandchildren spend the night. Ages 8, 6 and 4, they are always good fun and a source of many cute comments.
On the way home from work, I switched gears to think about dinner, how much milk we had, what menu would be pleasing to both ends of the age spectrum and how to organize the time. (read more)
Single woman reflects on joy her 2 adopted children bring
May 10, 2008
OCALA – Even though Brenda Petkanics served as a foster parent to more than 30 children during the past eight years, she always wanted to hear the word “Mommy” from children she could call her own. Having never been married and diagnosed as perimenopausal at the age of 32, Petkanics saw only one option – adoption. (read more)
Raising grandchildren? Conference in Ocala can help
May 1, 2008
SPRING HILL — Like any mother, Judy Phelps has hopes and dreams for her children.
Twelve years ago, the 58-year-old stepped in to raise her two granddaughters when their parents could no longer do it. Phelps has ushered the girls, now 16 and 14, toward adulthood just like she did her own daughter. (read more)
Conference set for non-parent caregivers, kinship-care professionals
April 28, 2008
OCALA – Grandparents and other relatives who are the primary caregivers for family member’s children, as well as professionals working in the field of kinship care, may wish to attend the Second Annual Kids Central Kinship Care Conference on May 2 and 3. (read more)
Wide range of topics aimed at helping abused children
March 29, 2008
OCALA – Teresa Hanks learned helpful information Friday about using hypnosis as a tool to help children overcome trauma in their lives.
“So many people think it’s hokey,” said Hanks. “They do it for 90 days at least two times a week. Even though it’s intense, it can save years of therapy.” (read more)
Albertson’s donates to KCI
March 25, 2008
Kids Central Inc. receives donations from Albertsons based on the amount of money Kids Central supporters spend at the store. All you have to do to participate is carry a small card on your key chain and have the cashier scan it when you check out at the cash register. (read more)
Kids Central plans open house March 12
March 6, 2008
OCALA – The public is invited to an open house on March 12 being sponsored by Kids Central Inc. to thank donors, volunteers and community members who have helped Kids Central’s work with abused and neglected children.
The theme of the open house is “Celebrating Sweet Dreams for Children.” Those attending are asked to consider bringing a gift, such as bed sheets, blankets, pajamas, slippers or bedtime storybooks, for a foster child. (read more)
Community leaders don’t wait for state to act against abuse
March 4, 2008
OCALA – The state is not looking at root causes of child abuse and neglect, and it needs to come up with long-term solutions to those problems, Ocala West Side community leaders say.
Those leaders, however, are not waiting for the state to call the shots for their neighborhood, which has been identified as a problem spot. They will attend future focus groups and tell the state Department of Children and Families and Kids Central Inc. how they think the issue should be addressed. The focus groups haven’t been scheduled yet, but they should be held this spring. (read more)
Grants available to fight child abuse
February 21, 2008
OCALA – Kids Central Inc. is offering grants ranging from $500 to $49,999 to nonprofit agencies in Circuit 5 for the prevention of child abuse, neglect and abandonment.
Circuit 5 includes Marion, Sumter, Lake, Citrus and Hernando counties.
Interested agencies are required to register for and attend one of two mini-grant workshops to obtain Request for Proposal information and guidelines. (read more)
Young adults in need of household items
February 15, 2008
OCALA – Young adults who have been in the foster care system but who have turned 18 years old and are now on their own are in need of items to help them set up their first apartments.
The Independent Living Program of Kids Central Inc. is asking for donations of everything from bath towels and shower curtains and oven mitts, to cleaning supplies, toasters, irons, vacuum cleaners and furniture to help these young people get off to a good start. Pantry items, such as ketchup and mustard, aluminum foil, cooking oil, nonperishable foods and soap and toothpaste, also are needed. (read more)
Prevention Work Group to seek input from west Ocala leaders
December 18, 2007
OCALA – The group concerned with reducing the number of Marion County children removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect will address leaders from Ocala’s west side before conducting a neighborhood focus group to get input on ways to ease the problem. (read more)
Ocala bank executive becomes chairman of Kids Central board
October 31, 2007
OCALA — A bank executive has been named chairman of the board of directors for Kids Central Inc., the not-for-profit agency that coordinates child-protective services in Lake and four other counties.
Mark Imes, president and chief executive officer of Independent National Bank, succeeds Dr. Mike Jordan, who directed the nonprofit’s board of directors the past two years. Jordan helped guide the agency through troubled times.
Kids Central has new board officers
October 30, 2007
OCALA – Kids Central Inc., the lead agency for child welfare services in Circuit 5, which includes Marion County, has had a change of officers on its governing board.
Mark Imes, president and CEO of Independent Bank, has been named chairman. Dyer Michell has been named vice chairman and treasurer, and Brad Thorpe has been named secretary.
KCI to provide free bus to USF conference
October 6, 2007
OCALA – Kids Central Inc. will provide family caregivers free bus transportation to attend the free University of South Florida’s Kinship Care Conference on Oct. 18.
Transportation is limited to the first 50 people who are registered for the conference and who call Melissa Casto by 5 p.m. on Oct. 5 at 352-873-6332, ext. 3458. (read more)
Program assists people raising relatives’ kids
September 27, 2007
OCALA – Although she loves her 10-month-old grandson, Riley, to bits, Freda Hunter finds that raising him can be isolating.
“Socializing is a problem because who else at your age is taking care of a baby?” Hunter said. “At this age – [if] you have kids, you don’t have friends, because they don’t have kids.” (
read more)
Kids Central earns accreditation
July 27, 2007
MARION COUNTY – Kids Central Inc. was granted accreditation from the Council on Accreditation, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer Cindy Schuler announced at Thursday’s board meeting.
KCI is the community-based- care provider and lead agency for the state Department of Children and Families’ Circuit 5, formerly District 13, which includes Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Lake and Hernando counties. (read more)
Council visiting Kids Central for accreditation process
June 27, 2007
OCALA – The Council on Accreditation is doing an on-site peer review of Kids Central Inc. and will be at the agency through today as part of the process that could lead to accreditation of the community-based care agency. (read more)
Fostering a spirit of caring
June 29, 2006
The story of Antron McCullough, as recently reported in the Star-Banner, was certainly inspirational. Antron, 18, stands at the threshold of adulthood – he’s now weighed down by concerns of paying the rent on his apartment as he soon heads to Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville – after having navigated the foster care jungle for most of his life. (read more)
Report: DCF District 13 took fewer children from homes in 2006
June 18, 2007
OCALA – Department of Children and Families District 13, which includes Marion County, removed fewer children from their homes last year than it did in 2005, according to a report by the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
On Monday, the NCCPR released its Rate-of-Removal Index measuring the propensity of the states’ child welfare systems and their privatized agencies to remove children from their homes unnecessarily, which, the NCCPR says makes children less safe. (read more)
Conference helps frustrated caregivers
June 17, 2007
OCALA – There are some angry grandparents and other relative caregivers in Marion County. They have done the right thing and stepped forward to care for their grandchildren or other relatives’ children who have been neglected, abused or just dumped in their arms. They often are left alone wondering what help is available to aid them in raising these children. (read more)
Kinship care frustrates families trying to protect children
June 16, 2007
OCALA – There are some angry grandparents and other relative care givers in Marion County. They have done the right thing and stepped forward to care for their grandchildren or other relatives’ children who have been neglected, abused or just dumped in their arms. They often are left alone wondering what help is out there to aid them in raising these children. (read more)
Camelot takes over foster care
May 19, 2007
BROOKSVILLE – Foster care services in Hernando County will now be supervised by a new agency that will have many of the same workers as its predecessor but will operate with less money.
Child welfare officials say, though, that the changes won’t impact services or allow children and families in Hernando to fall through the cracks. (read more)
Children’s welfare agency may move to Belleview
May 11, 2006
Kids Central Inc., a nonprofit agency that tackles child welfare issues in the area, is considering a plan to move its operations from Ocala to Belleview by the end of the year.
The organization’s executive committee is studying a proposal that would mean moving operations to a site in Belleview – in a shopping plaza near the intersection of County Road 484 and Interstate 75 – allowing for the consolidation of its current services. (read more)
The world you may not know
February 6, 2006
The world the headline refers to is not on the other side of the planet, but exists here in Marion County. It is the world of the “child welfare” system.
Children who live in this world are there because they have been abused, abandoned or neglected. The state of Florida, through the Department of Children & Families (DCF), has intervened in their lives in order to insure their safety. (read more)
Spending plan benefits Marion County projects
May 6, 2006
OCALA — The State Legislature approved a budget Friday that should bring much needed relief to the Department of Children & Families District 13 and Kids Central Inc., the community-based care agency that handles foster care and child welfare in the five-county district.
The budget, which Gov. Jeb Bush still needs to sign, set aside $20 million to bridge funding gaps among the 22 DCF districts child welfare programs. (read more)
Kids Central cuts foster care to meet `15%’
February 28, 2007
The private agency that handles foster care and adoption services in Lake and four surrounding counties forced its subcontractors to eliminate 92 positions on Friday, mostly case managers who directly watch over the most needy and vulnerable of children.
A spokeswoman for Kids Central Inc., the agency that contracts with the state to take care of those youngsters, acted as if she had no idea what the newspaper was talking about when a reporter asked about the cuts in personnel who take care of abused and neglected kids removed from their families
The Festival of the Horse to Return with Second Annual Event
July 2, 2006
OCALA, Fla. – After an initial year that drew thousands of spectators and scores of international-level competitors, Florida Horse Park will once again host the Festival of the Horse, sponsored by the Ocala Star-Banner.
The festivities and spectacle will last from Wednesday, April 18 to Sunday, April 22, yet the competition is known as a “three-day event” in equestrian circles because of the successive challenges of internationally recognized dressage, cross country and show jumping. The festival will feature both one- and two-star competitions on the Concours Complet International (CCI) rating system. (read more)
A safe place that’s badly needed
December 30, 2005
For years, Marion County children who were removed from their homes due to neglect or danger often had to spend a night or two sleeping in the offices of state welfare investigators, until a proper foster home could be lined up. Even then, the lack of decent temporary shelter sometimes forced authorities to rush the child into a situation that maybe wasn’t just right. (read more)
Receiving rewards beyond belief
November 6, 2005
Thank you for your editorial on the Department of Children and Families and Kids Central Inc., which was very perceptive and accurate. It is refreshing to see a voice and vision to hold our state leaders accountable for our voiceless, vulnerable children.
Transferring public services and wealth to the private sector isn’t always the answer; in fact many Marion County foster parents sensed less support than when DCF was administrating the program. (read more)
Child welfare gets strong support
September 30, 2005
OCALA – It was time Thursday for local government officials and social service agencies to deliver their funding wish lists to the Marion County delegation of state lawmakers.
While the full Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush will decide who gets what next spring, the county delegation’s strongest show of support went to the regional office of the Department of Children & Families and Kids Central Inc., which handles child welfare in DCF District 13. (read more)
Kids Central wins DCF OK
August 12, 2005
The consortium will keep its $84 million contract for handling adoptions, foster care and other services.
OCALA — Kids Central Inc., the lead child-welfare agency serving Lake and neighboring counties, has corrected its many problems and will keep its $84 million contract, state officials said Thursday.
The Department of Children & Families’ announcement means the Ocala-based nonprofit agency will continue overseeing adoptions, foster care and other services. (read more)
DCF leader compliments Kids Central on progress
August 11, 2005
WILDWOOD – The future of the troubled private consortium that oversees child welfare in Citrus, Hernando and three neighboring counties seems to have brightened.
Department of Children and Families Secretary Lucy Hadi said Wednesday that Kids Central Inc. of Ocala has shown “a lot of progress. We are very optimistic.” (read more)
Kids Central Has 90 More Days To Improve
April 7, 2005
OCALA — The Department of Children & Families has agreed to give Kids Central Inc. 90 more days to improve its handling of child-welfare services.
Kids Central is a group of five social-service agencies that has an $84 million contract with the state to oversee the protection of abused and abandoned children in the 13th District, which includes Lake, Marion, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando counties. The group recently was chastised by DCF for performance problems and was given 45 days or less to correct them or risk losing the contract. (read more)
Kids Central Inc. hires new CEO
April 1, 2005
OCALA – The Kids Central Inc. board of directors on Thursday hired Cynthia Schuler to be the agency’s chief executive officer replacing Janice Johnson, who resigned last month.
Schuler, who has worked for the past two years as the state Department of Children & Families District 14 administrator in Lakeland, will begin her job with KCI in Ocala on May 9. (read more)
Changes required for Kids Central
February 4, 2005
The state Department of Children & Families issued a cure letter to Kids Central Inc. late Wednesday afternoon requiring the agency to correct its problems within 45 days – and in some instances less – or risk losing its contract to provide child welfare services to the children and families in District 13. (read more)
Kids Central might get financial lifeline
February 2, 2005
Help may be on the way.
The board of directors of Kids Central Inc., the private consortium that oversees child welfare in Hernando and four neighboring counties, explored possible new solutions to its financing crisis during an emergency meeting in Ocala on Tuesday.
“We talked a little bit about the options,” Kids Central chief executive officer Janice Johnson said. (read more)
Kids Central in grip of financial crisis
January 29, 2005
OCALA – Find money fast.
That was the directive given Friday to the staff of Kids Central Inc. by its board of directors.
The private consortium that oversees child welfare in Hernandoand four neighboring counties has been unable to find adequate financing to stay in business.
But at Friday’s board meeting, chairwoman Irene Rickus said there may be new hope. (read more)
Leader Of Kids Central Resigns
January 8, 2005
Janice Johnson Is The 2nd Ceo Of The 10-month-old Group For Abandoned Children.
OCALA — The head of a consortium that oversees child-welfare services in Lake and neighboring counties announced her resignation Friday after five months on the job.
Janice Johnson said she is stepping down as chief executive officer of Kids Central because of personal reasons. Her resignation is effective Feb. 8. (read more)
