Make A Difference Blog Archives by Date Blog
With May being Foster Care Awareness Month, we’re bringing families in our community together to help us raise awareness for foster care all month! We’re partnering with Family First and their programs, All Pro Dad and iMOM to participate in a 5K for Foster Kids, and we want to invite your family to participate!
There’s a desperate need for teen foster families. Unfortunately, many people feel like teens in foster care are a “bigger challenge” than younger kids. Due to many stereotypes and assumptions, people are more willing to take in younger kids, which leads to heartbreaking stories of teens who have no place to go, who get stuck in the system. Learn about what they want you to know.
In the last ten[+] years, Heartland for Children has established strong community partnerships and effective programs that have positively impacted our tri-county area. Under their leadership, child abuse has decreased. This change has been a result of strong commitment to prevention and evidence based programs. Additionally, their focus on trauma focused care has made a tremendous impact on children and families that have experienced abuse, neglect, and out of home placements. Heartland for Children is the model of community based care for our state.
As a social worker who was involved in the transition to this model of care in our state, I fully support and endorse their continued work and leadership in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties.
Mary Jo Plews - Former Executive Director, Healthy Start Coalition