History

Communities Connected for Kids was established November 1, 2013, through a contract with the Florida Department of Children and Families. Prior to that, the local child-welfare system was coordinated by United for Families.

Our contract with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) established us as the community-based care agency serving DCF’s Southeast Region. As the community-based care agency, Communities Connected for Kids is responsible for managing child abuse prevention and family preservation programs to help keep children safely in their homes, while also providing quality services to children in foster care and finding adoptive homes for those children in need of forever families.

Communities Connected for Kids is now 1 of 17 lead agencies throughout the state providing community-based care in child welfare. The State of Florida privatized child welfare in 1997, providing for local community ownership of service delivery and design of Florida’s child welfare system. Since the community based care model began, statewide, the average number of children waiting for adoption has decreased 33 percent, the number of children aging out of foster care has decreased 28 percent and the number of adoptions finalized within two years has increased 57 percent.