Foster Care Support & Resources

 

Heartland for Children strives to provide a multitude of resources and supports to foster parents, as they continue to temporarily provide safe and loving homes for children in need. Our resources and links below are some of the recommended material for foster parents.

Foster Caregiver Trainings

Foster Caregiver Trainings

This is a collection of on-going trainings to help educate and equip our foster caregivers to best serve our youth in care. 

Co-Parenting: What Foster Parents Need to Know Part 1 & Part 2 | Quiz

QPI: Excellent Parenting and Respectful Partnerships Quiz

Simple Steps to Child Passenger Safety Quiz

Community Resources

Community Resources

ECHO Ministries | Providing for the spiritual and tangible needs of children in care.

ECHO is a local nonprofit designed to help provide for the tangible needs of children in foster care through their ECHO shops which allow children and families to get the items they need such as clothing, diapers, wipes, backpacks, hygiene products and more for free. 


 

Hope Florida - A Pathway to Prosperity

Uniting communities through Hope Navigators to guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity, economic self-sufficiency and hope. If you need to connect with a Hope Navigator, call 850-300-HOPE.


 

Looking for resources or programs near you?

Visit heartland.findhelp.com for a searchable database–simply enter your zip code to find programs and services near YOU!

 

 


United Way Children’s Resource Center is a community-based learning and resource center that provides classes, playgroups, workshops, developmental checkups, community activities, and support for parents and caregivers of children aged 0-6, as well as for expectant moms and dads. They strive to make childhood a happy, healthy, and wholesome experience for every child and parent in Polk County.


The Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) is one of Florida's approaches to strengthening foster care, including kinship care, using branding and marketing principles. It is a process designed to help a site develop new strategies and practices, rather than imposing upon it a predetermined set of "best practices." Our core premise is that the primary goal of the child welfare system is to ensure that children have effective, loving parenting. The best way to achieve this goal is to enable the child's own parents to care for him or her. If that isn't possible, the system must ensure that the foster or relative family caring for the child provides the loving, committed, skilled care that the child needs, while working effectively with the system to reach the child's long term goals.


The mission of the Early Learning Coalition of Polk County is to provide leadership, direction, and integrated resource management for quality services that support our vision of success for children. Their vision is that all children enter school healthy, ready and eager for lifelong learning with the collaborative support of parents, families, educators, and the community.


The Early Learning Coalition of Florida's Heartland's goal is to ensure young children in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands counties have access to high quality early care and education programs. A high quality early care and education program is one that is filled with rich and creative experiences, a developmentally appropriate environment and caring teachers who sincerely connect with young children. Such a program can truly help a young child prepare for school success!


211 is a vital service that connects millions of people to help every year. To get expert, caring help, simply call 211 or visit 211.org

 

 

 

Charlie Health offers Free Parent Support Groups for parents, grandparents or guardians of teens, young adults, LGBTQIA+, Parent Support for Families of Color, El Grupo de Cuidores en Espanol and Neurodivergent youth.

Foster Care Support Groups

Foster Care Support Groups

TLC (Tender Loving Caregivers) is an association of Foster, Adoptive, Relative/Non-Relative Careigvers, and Independent Living Children that gather together for monthly training and support meetings and events. They offer a wide range of services to our families. 

Visit their website: www.tlcfamilies.org for more information, to join, and meeting schedules.

Check out their Facebook Group: TLC Association, Inc

Medical and Dental

Medical and Dental

Log in, find doctors and dentists/providers/hospitals, learn about Healthy Kids and more at sunshinehealth.com.  Contact Member Services at (866) 796-0530 or TDD/TTY: (800) 955-8770. Business hours are Monday - Friday 8AM - 8PM.

If you are needing assistance with medical and dental care coordination services please contact Heartland for Children Case Management Support 863 519 8900 x 230.

Be sure to check out the latest Sunshine Health Newsletter.

Documents:

Helpful Links

Helpful Links

Payment Calendar

Payment Calendar
  • 2023 Payment Calendar - Foster Parent Board Rate (download)
  • 2024 Payment Calendar - Foster Parent Board Rate (download)