Meet the Hargroves, our Foster Family of the Month!
In 2018, Maria & Daniel began their foster care journey and decided that they only wanted to foster teens (our greatest need)! Since the beginning, they have been very involved in co-parenting, facilitating visits with bioparents and making sure the teens are able to stay connected with family. They champion and advocate for every teen that comes through their home, including the 15 and 16 year olds that are currently with them.
As a foster/adoptive parent, Amanda Cruce has welcomed more than 50 children from Florida’s foster care system into her home. Most have been teenagers. She learned early on that loving foster children as your own kids and then seeing them return to their biological family is a complicated experience, but that’s the goal of fostering.
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Megan & Alex Delfino!
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! We have an amazing network of 250 foster families in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties and we are excited to highlight how they make a difference in the lives of our children & families every day!
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Kassandra & James Fields!
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Cynthia Heiss!
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Lauren and Winston Hackett.
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Corey and Kyla Rogala.
It's Foster Family Appreciation Week! This week we are highlighting just a few of our 250 amazing foster families. Meet Dustin and Beth Ann Prickett.
What started as 3 families that were interested in becoming foster caregivers from Lakeland's Harvest Church has now developed into a ministry that meets the immediate needs of children being removed from their homes for abuse and neglect on a weekly basis. We love to see our community partners, like ECHO (Everyday Christians Helping Orphans) Ministries Florida, being highlighted for the amazing service they provide to our children and families! Thank you, ECHO for being a part of our community that cares!
Meet the Stanton Family! Check out their story on how our community has made a difference in their family through the Rudolph Round-Up Toy Drive!
Lori Wasson was licensed on October 18, 2011 for one child, but when she was asked if she could take two in order to keep sisters together, she quickly agreed.
"It’s not just about helping the children, the children impact our lives as well. My family is multi-cultured..."
When Larry and Brenda Wenning decided to become foster parents in 2007, they intended on being licensed for teens and were willing to help with up to five youth. Since their own children had grown up and moved away, they wanted their four bedroom house filled again.
Toni and Mike Bauer are an example of going the extra mile for a child. When a four-month-old was placed in their home they immediately began working with the biological father who had almost completed his case plan.
Best friends Maggie Wojtylak and Deanna Johnson have been co-parenting and mentoring biological parents since their home was licensed March 25, 2008. Currently, they are serving as mentors to a birth mother of a child placed in their home and have been supervising visits with her for almost a year.
The Lecza family had a child placed in their home on a Monday morning in February of 2012. That same evening, the child experienced an accident and broke his femur...
Theresa Mixon has been fostering since 1998 and is currently fostering two children. She has a 17 year old male that has been residing in her home for two years. Ms. Mixon believes in ensuring the children are actively involved in community activities and athletics...
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