At this time so often associated with family and friends,  we wish you and yours all the best.
May the holidays shine with light and love wherever you may be.
Monthly Update - December 2016  
The Children's Trust Backs New Florida Foster Care Review Program to Help Homeless Youth
Florida Foster Care Review is thrilled to announce the launch of a new and innovative pilot initiative. With a $70,000 grant from The Children's Trust   Innovation Fund, Florida Foster Care Review will collaboratively develop and implement a new program aimed at creating stable adult connections for unaccompanied homeless youth in Miami-Dade County. Research has shown that creating permanent connections can reduce the risk of ongoing or future homelessness for young people. Through the PCRT Program's specialized case consultations, teams of trained community stakeholders will work to identify potential permanent connections for these youth and ensure they have actionable plans for safety, well-being and self-sufficiency.

The PCRT Program concept is the brainchild of the Permanent Connections Subcommittee of the Miami-Dade Youth Homelessness Initiative (YHI). The YHI is a countywide, cross-sector collaboration of nearly 50 agencies focused on preventing and addressing youth homelessness. FFCR will partner with six YHI member agencies - Miami Homes for All, The Alliance for GLBTQ Youth, Educate Tomorrow, Project UP-START of Miami-Dade Public Schools, Miami Bridge, and The Alternative Programs, Inc.- to develop and implement the PCRT pilot program. The new program's design will build on FFCR's two and a half years serving youth through Permanency Roundtables, which are based on a model pioneered nationally by Casey Family Programs.

We are very grateful to The Children's Trust for making this new venture possible and we look forward to working closely with Casey Family Programs and our community partners to meet the needs of unaccompanied homeless youth in our community.

The Permanent Connections Roundtable (PCRT) Program  is funded by The Children's Trust. The Children's Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.
Florida Foster Care Review Welcomes Richard Pulido

Florida Foster Care Review is pleased to announce that Richard Pulido has recently joined our team as Community Outreach Director. Richard has dedicated his professional life to working with children in the South Florida community - as a high school teacher, an appointed member of various child advocacy boards and committees, and as a local municipal elected official. For over 15 years, Richard has worked as a public relations, marketing and development professional for schools and other nonprofits. Presently, he is completing his doctorate degree with a special research concentration in philanthropy and the nonprofit community. Richard will help Florida Foster Care Review build a base of support for FFCR's current programs and new initiatives. Welcome Richard!
FFCR staff and volunteers at the training event.
Training Aims to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Among Foster Youth

On Friday, December 2nd, Florida Foster Care Review took part in a training held by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and OurKids of Miami-Dade/Monroe to help judges and child welfare experts guide foster youth toward healthy long-term decisions regarding sex and reproduction. The training built upon Florida Foster Care Review's past work to embed  nine reproductive health-related questions, adapted from a nationally-developed Pregnancy Prevention Benchcard, into the Citizen Review Panel (CRP) hearing process. Depending on responses to the questions, the CRP recommends specific services and tasks to ensure that the teen's sexual/reproductive health needs are addressed. The  toolkit and report from this December's training, When You Decide: A Judge's Guide to Pregnancy Prevention Among Foster Youth, can be found  here.

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FFCR volunteer Lisa Pittman receives the
2016 CBC Alliance Award.
CBC Alliance Award Presented to FFCR Volunteer Lisa Pittman

Florida Foster Care Review Executive Director Candice Maze presented our Citizen Review Panel volunteer Lisa Pittman with the 2016 Community Based Care (CBC) Alliance Award on December 8th. Although she is a busy professional, Lisa has donated more than 1,000 hours as a volunteer Citizen Review Panel member and has served as a panel chair since 2007, leading her panel during the review process at least one day per month. The award was part of the Miami-Dade Community Based Care Alliance Annual Child Welfare Conference at the University of Miami Alumni Center. The conference consisted of a series of workshops covering the most relevant topics affecting the children in our child dependency system as well as a mock trial. Florida Foster Care Review extends warmest congratulations and thanks to Lisa.

Be the Change You Wish to See.
Florida Foster Care Review works to prevent the negative consequences of abuse and neglect that often follow foster children into adulthood. We also strive to ensure that youth exit foster care to a family instead of the streets. A year-end gift will make a real difference in the lives of our community's youth. Be the change you wish to see and give today.
Florida Foster Care Review Board, Staff and Volunteers Welcome the Holidays

FFCR directors Emme Pedinielli, Brett Barfield and Kate Callahan
FFCR board, staff and volunteers converged on
Wynwood Kitchen & Bar last Tuesday, December 13th to bid farewell to 2016 and welcome the holiday season. Generously hosted by outgoing FFCR board president Daniele Lomoriello, the team enjoyed delicious appetizers while celebrating our amazing volunteers and staff who work tirelessly on behalf of our community's vulnerable children, youth and young adults.

Help Foster Youth While You Shop

Did you know you can shop on Amazon and support our programs at the same time? Simply go to smile.amazon.com and  select Florida Foster Care Review as your charity. Be sure to go to  smile.amazon.com  each time you shop to ensure we'll receive a donation. For more info, click here.

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Foster Youth Weekly, FFCR's Online Newspaper 

Like being in the know? FFCR curates Foster Youth Weekly, an online paper focusing on resources useful to and supportive of youth in foster care and young adults recently in care. Check it out for employment info and more. To receive it in your inbox, be sure to subscribe!
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