CCKids Sees First Net Increase in Foster Homes in Seven Years

August 13, 2025

Port St. Lucie – Communities Connected for Kids released this month its annual State of Our Children report, highlighting the broad successes and challenges of the local child-welfare community. This year's report shows gains in foster-care recruitment, reflecting the first time in seven years that the number of new foster homes has outpaced the number of those closing.

Other gains include the number of children finding permanent homes, the number of children leaving out-of-home care and returning home, and a decrease in children entering group care.

Meanwhile, the new Early Services Engagement Program ended its first year with considerable success. The program, designed to keep families out of the dependency system, served 132 children and saved more than $900,000 in out-of-home costs - expenses that would have been realized if the children served by the program had entered the system.