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Dear Friends and Partners,
I am pleased to report that in an effort to return to the spirit and intent of Community Based Care, communities coming together to care for their own, the Brevard Family Partnership (BFP) Board of Directors has determined it is in the best interest of Brevard's children and families to bring case management under local control. In order to accomplish this, a new BFP 501(c)(3) subsidiary, Family Allies, Inc., will assume case management services effective July 1, 2017.
This decision was made in response to our community's desire to ensure the presence of local leadership and decision making; and to improve integration and adherence to the local System of Care (SOC) principles, priorities and practice. This decision has been met with overwhelming community support. BFP Board chair Eric Smith noted, "The BFP Board rightfully determined that Brevard's children and families will be best served by a case management model that is led and governed by local leadership who live, work and are personally invested in our community."
There are currently seven Community Based Care lead agencies in Florida that operate case management in one form or another. However, Brevard is the first to bring case management under local control after having outsourced it for 13 years. The landscape has changed dramatically since the Brevard child welfare system was first privatized in 2005 and agencies like ours have had to adapt to meet the changing needs of the communities they serve. This includes aligning the SOC with the strategic priorities set by the local community.
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As of July 1, 2017, case management operations will transition to Family Allies, Inc., and will operate under local control within the Brevard Family Partnership (BFP) family of agencies, along with Brevard C.A.R.E.S. and the National Center for Innovation & Excellence. Family Allies will be governed by a local Board of Directors with 100% focus on Brevard's children and families.
Since the transition was announced on April 3:
- Family Allies and BFP facilitated seven open house meetings to discuss the transition with existing case management staff, with over 80% of case management employees attending.
- As of May 5, we have received applications to transition to Family Allies from over 98% of the existing Case Management employees.
- Katie Guemple, currently the DCF Operations Manager for Brevard County, will join Family Allies as the Chief Operating Officer effective May 22. Welcome Katie!
- Osha Goodwin, currently the Executive Assistant for Brevard C.A.R.E.S., will join Family Allies as the Executive Assistant effective July 1. Welcome Osha!
- Executive Director Bill Bucher met with over 50 Guardian ad Litem (GAL) staff and volunteers to discuss the transition during the April 21 GAL Open Forum and received overwhelming support and commitment to strengthen the communication and partnership with case management to improve permanency.
- Weekly transition meetings with the existing case management agency were initiated and will continue through the July 1 transition.
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We hope that all mom's: foster, adoptive, and bio, who love their children endlessly and selflessly, had a very Happy Mother's Day!
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National Child Abuse Prevention Month
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The
Brevard County Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation to The Child Abuse Prevention Task Force (CAPTF)
declaring April 2017 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Brevard County.
To promote awareness, CAPTF hosted several events and activities to spread a community-wide message that everyone can help prevent child abuse and neglect.
CAPTF of Brevard County has been working to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect in our community since 1996 and was developed to facilitate strategies within the community to prevent child abuse and neglect by impacting parents and their parenting practices. CAPTF works collaboratively with its member organizations to coordinate, cooperate, and promote prevention of child abuse and neglect through community awareness and education.
Learn More
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 Representatives from BFP and Brevard C.A.R.E.S. attended Children's Week in Tallahassee in March. Children's Week develops and implements over 200 community events and activities statewide, bringing thousands of parents, children, policy makers, professionals, community leaders and concerned citizens together to share valuable knowledge and information about children's issues in each community across the state and at the State Capitol.
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Would You Consider Fostering a Teen?
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On any given day, there are approximately 10,200 children and youth in foster care in Florida. Brevard Family Partnership cares for an average of 275 children in foster care and of those, 35% are teenagers.
As teens are highly represented within the foster care system, families who are interested and able to parent teens are one of our greatest assets; they make it possible for youth to keep ties to family and friends, and remain in their local community and school.
Youth in your community need your help! Your support, guidance and care can have a lifelong impact.
Would you consider fostering a teen?
Learn More
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Training Corner - BFP Training Opportunities
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Non-Abusive Psychological and Physical Intervention (NAPPI)
NAPPI Traini
 ng is being rolled out as a required training for all foster parents. Relative /Non-Relative caregivers and group home staff are invited to attend as well.
NAPPI training is intended to provide skills to caregivers for managing difficult behaviors. This training will teach Psychological i.e. verbal behavior management techniques.
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Champions for Brevard's Children
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 Brevard Family Partnership will be featuring the "Champions for Brevard's Children" section in each newsletter, highlighting our providers and community partners, and the amazing work they are doing in the community for our children.
2-1-1 Brevard is the lead agency for a state-funded coalition of local agencies committed to promoting healthy development for every child in Florida through the Help Me Grow (HMG) program.
A care coordinator at 2-1-1 Brevard provides free, confidential, screenings and support for families with children up to 8 years old
Parents can reach the HMG coordinator by dialing 2-1-1. The screening and additional information also are available online at www.211brevard.org/help-me-grow.
"Early detection of possible development issues means early connection to services that can make a huge difference for a child's future development. We have seen that firsthand in our family," said Bunny Finney, community volunteer and child advocate. "Programs such as Help Me Grow promote early screenings and interventions that I support wholeheartedly and that can change lives."
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We would like to give a big thank you to the Brevard County School Board for their gracious donation of suitcases for our children in care.
Many foster children going from home to home have nothing but a trash bag to carry their belongings in.
We greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity!
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