CCKids Faces Hard Times, But We're Up for the Challenge

March 3, 2023

Carol Deloach, CEO - For the first time since CCKids began serving the community, we are facing a financial deficit.

This deficit has absolutely nothing to do with our performance or our financial stewardship. In fact, CCKids is the state's top performer as reported late last year in the Department of Children and Families' accountability report. We have been fiscally sound as well accumulating a carry-forward (unspent dollars) of $2.5 million to use in case of unexpected costs.

I am incredibly proud of the hard work and resultant outcomes that have been achieved for our children and families in Circuit 19.

Unfortunately, our successes appear to have been a significant contributing factor to our current problem.

Our agency - as well as those that cover Citrus and Broward - was excluded from last year's $150.5 million appropriation of recurring funds - the largest child-welfare funding allocation in recent history.

This happened because an allocation model was used that did not recognize the growing number of children entering our system or give us credit for the excellent job done in reducing the number of children under supervision.

Now the good news.

Our agency has excellent relationships with our legislative delegation, all of whom are aware of our predicament.

We also are working very closely with other Lead Agencies, the Florida Coalition for Children and the Department of Children and Families to make up this year's shortfall through a special process called Back of the Bill funding.

And last week, we had a team in Tallahassee engaging with our entire delegation as well as Sen. Gayle Harrell’s appropriations committee. In fact, Sen. Harrell, who is chair of that committee, requested that a representative from the team – as well as those from other impacted Lead Agencies - testify before the committee on the impacts of the allocation model.

I am very hopeful that we will succeed. We are embraced by legislative champions who understand our issues and by our sister CBCs and by our membership body, the Florida Coalition for Children. The
Department also acknowledges our position and is working to help us find a solution.

In the meantime, I have encouraged our staff to keep up the good work of strengthening families, reuniting children with their parents, securing foster-care placements and finding adoptive homes for children.

I understand our responsibility to you, the community, and will keep you informed as we navigate through these challenges.