CCKids Receives Statewide Recognition for Permanency Success

May 11, 2022

Tallahassee - The Florida Department of Children and Families wanted to better highlight the things its Lead Agencies do well. So when it was time for the department's springtime quarterly event meeting, the spotlight was on CCKids and its superior permanency track record.

In fact, the nonprofit's permanency by 12 months measure - a critical measure used to assess the overall success of local lead agencies like CCKids - doubled from the first quarter of 2020 to the most recent quarter of 2022. It includes children adopted, returned home or those living with a permanent guardian.

"We've done well, so we were asked to share all the things we do here to meet and exceed performance standards," said Rusty Kline, CCKids Quality Management Director. "It's a very positive thing."

CCKids was one of two agencies chosen by the department to present during a special breakout session of the April 21 statewide QM meeting, said CEO Carol Deloach, who presented during the meeting. The meeting is held regularly to review the performance of child-welfare systems throughout Florida. The other presenting agency was Children's Network of Southwest Florida.

The invitation was particularly important because CCKids was in a completely different position in regard to permanency 24 months ago, Deloach said.

"It took about two years to turn the ship, and we did it through a commitment to permanency," she said.

That commitment includes a continuum of projects, services and improved procedures such as the Family Support Team, created to divert removals, and Rapid Family Engagement, which gives families early access to resources.

Another innovation credited with improved permanency includes the Keeping Families Connected program, which reduces the number of children who cross over to dependency from other systems.

And procedural efficiencies resulted in triple the adoptions and a significant decrease in the amount of time it takes to get them finalized.

Monthly out-of-home reviews, permanency round tables and changing philosophies regarding permanent guardianship round things out. In fact, the number of cases closed to permanent guardianship increased 221 percent from 2020 to 2021 - a dramatic improvement brought about in large part by partnerships and regular meetings with the Guardian ad Litem program and Child Legal Services.

All these innovations, efficiencies and close working relationships resulted in an increase in children reaching permanency in 12 months from 25.8 percent in the first quarter of FY 2020 to 54.3 percent in the most recent quarter.