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Local child welfare agencies lose funding as Eckerd Kids faces focuses on keeping children out of foster care

 
Eckerd Kids
Eckerd Kids
Published May 28, 2017

When it comes to getting children out of foster care, the nonprofit group Directions for Living has one of the best track records in Florida.

Yet the agency is about to lose the $1 million it uses to help Pinellas families whose children were taken into care because of issues such as substance abuse, domestic violence and extreme poverty.

Directions is one of several local agencies that will lose a combined $2.5 million following a major shake-up of the child welfare system by Eckerd Kids, the nonprofit contracted by the state to care for foster children across Tampa Bay.

The bulk of the cuts are in Pinellas and Pasco counties, where Eckerd is canceling a $674,000 contract with the nonprofit group Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services that will result in layoffs for 10 social workers. Known as PEMHS, the group provides help for substance abuse and other behavioral issues to almost 170 Pinellas families.

Also scrapped are two contracts totalling $820,000 with Camelot Community Care to provide transportation and supervision of children in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The cuts take effect July 1.

Eckerd officials said the cuts will allow them to put more priority on preventing children from entering foster care rather than reunifying families.

But agencies who will lose funding are warning the result will be less help for parents and longer stays in foster care for children.

The money saved through the cuts will be redirected to so-called "front-end services" that provide help to families at risk of having children removed, according to Eckerd Kids. It also plans to hire more social workers or case managers to relieve the burden on existing staff, some of whom frequently juggle heavy caseloads.

The agency made the decision after the number of children in foster care in Pinellas and Pasco rose 22 percent compared to this time last year.

More than 2,000 children in the two counties — which are treated as a single child welfare district — are now either in foster care or staying with relatives after being removed from parents. In neighboring Hillsborough, the number of children in care has risen 19 percent, to almost 2,400 over the same period.

"These were difficult decisions to make," said Adrienne Drew, an Eckerd spokeswoman. "As more children continue to enter the system, we decided to reallocate dollars to directly reduce caseloads."

Eckerd also has cut funding to two programs that provide mentors, school guidance counselors and social workers to Tampa Bay area foster children. It hopes to replace that money with private donations.

Most of the programs that were cut focused on reunifying families as quickly as possible. The agencies that run those programs said it will be tougher for parents to work through issues and get their children back.

"It's sad for these families," said Ashley Johnson, one of the 10 social workers at PEMHS told they would be laid off on June 30. "I think it will take longer for parents to get through their case plan."

Located in Pinellas Park, PEMHS provides services like anger management and substance abuse counseling.

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As a result of Florida's opioid crisis, many of those cases are with parents dealing with drug addiction. Social workers visit the homes twice a week to teach coping skills and other techniques to prevent relapses.

Those services will still be provided with funding coming from either Medicaid or Eckerd directly, Drew said. It's unclear, however, whether the frequency of visits to homes will drop.

At Directions for Living, the cut will mean the end of Project Hope, which aims to "wrap" services around families whose children have been removed. That includes intensive mental and behavioral therapy, help with substance abuse and assistance to find affordable housing.

Director April Lott declined to comment on Eckerd's decision. Her agency is still under contract with Eckerd to provide case managers for children in foster care.

Case managers are responsible for placing children and ensuring they get needed medical and emotional care while in foster care. They also are required to regularly visit foster homes to keep tabs on the children under their watch.

But Eckerd has faced struggles to keep their caseloads at manageable levels. A 2016 Florida Department of Children and Families report found that at least 40 percent of case managers in Hillsborough were responsible for more than 25 children.

The Child Welfare League of America recommends a caseload of 17 as a "best practice'' standard.

With the influx of more children into foster care, it's understandable that Eckerd felt the need to act, said Robin Rosenberg, deputy director of Florida's Children First, a statewide advocacy organization focused on children's rights.

But she stressed that reunifcation is also a critical part of the child welfare system.

"I don't' think front-end services should be at the expense of reunification but it's their responsibility to figure out how to provide all core services," she said. "I don't know anyone who would complain about having more case managers."

Contact Christopher O'Donnell at codonnell@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3446. Follow @codonnell_Times.