The Office of Child and Family Well-Being works in partnership with six regions, 17 community-based care lead agencies and seven sheriff's offices to develop and oversee policy and practice requirements for child protective investigations, prevention services, and case management services in their local communities for children who are at risk of or have been abused, neglected, or abandoned.
The Department contracts for the delivery of child welfare services through community-based care (CBC). CBCs deliver foster care and related services, including family preservation, prevention and diversion, dependency casework, out-of-home care, emergency shelter, independent living services, and adoption. Many CBCs contract with subcontractors for case management and direct care services to children and their families. This system allows local agencies to engage community partners in designing and modifying their local system of care that maximizes resources to meet local needs.
In-Home Protective Services permit the child to remain in the family setting with safety plan services in place. Safety plan services include, but are not limited to, supervision and monitoring, stress reduction, behavior modification, crisis management, and parenting assistance.
Out-of-Home Care is provided to children who are determined to be unsafe at home and need temporary care while services are provided to reunite the family or achieve some other permanency option, including guardianship or placement with relatives, foster homes, and residential group facilities. The most appropriate available out-of-home placement is chosen after analyzing the child's age, sex, sibling status, special physical, educational, emotional and developmental needs, alleged type of abuse, neglect or abandonment, community ties, and school placement.
Adoption occurs when the court determines that it is not in a child's best interest to be reunited with their parents. Services provided through the program include mental health counseling to prepare a child for adoption, legal services to sever parental rights in order for a child to be legally free for adoption, supervision of adoptive placements, adoption subsidies, and post-adoption services such as counseling.
Services for Young Adults are available for young adults 18 to 23 years of age who were residing in licensed foster care when they become 18 years of age. There are three components to the program.
In Fiscal Year 2021-22, there were 21,437 children served in out-of-home care and 8,688 who remained in their homes and received in-home services. For children in out-of-home care during Fiscal Year 2021-22, the department reported that 32% of children were reunified with their families within 12 months of removal from their homes, below the department's standard of 65%. For the same period, the department reported that 9% of children reunified were removed within 12 months of that reunification, above the department's standard of 9.9%. The department also reported that 49% of children had their adoptions finalized within 24 months of being removed from their homes, above the department's standard of 40%.
Fund | Dollars | Positions | |
---|---|---|---|
PROGRAM: FAMILY SAFETY PROGRAM | |||
FAMILY SAFETY AND PRESERVATION SERVICES |
2,045,606,063
|
4,570.00 |
|
TOTAL |
2,045,606,063 |
4,570.00 |
The 2023 Legislature made several changes to child welfare laws.
Implementation of the DCF Accountability Act. The 2020 Legislature established an Office of Quality within the Department of Children and Families to measure and monitor the performance of agency programs provided by the department and contracted entities. The department has a standard outcome measure for the 5% of all open DCF investigations, case management cases, and behavioral health treatment plans to be reviewed by the Quality Office. The baseline for this outcome was 0% in Fiscal Year 2019-20. Actions taken by the Quality Office during Fiscal Year 2021-22 include 7,582 case reviews and 789 cases sent to the field for immediate safety actions.
Adoption of Children in Florida: An Overview, Report 23-15, December 2023 |
A Review of Multidisciplinary Legal Representation for Parents in Dependency Proceedings: Fiscal Year 2022-23, Report 23-11, November 2023 |
Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Florida, 2023, Report 23-08, June 2023 |
Homeless and Foster Youth Services, Report 22-08, December 2022 |
Review of Multidisciplinary Legal Representation of Parents in Dependency Proceedings, Report 22-07, December 2022 |
Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Florida, 2022, Report 22-05, July 2022 |
Literature Review of Studies on the Effectiveness of Advocacy Models for Children in Dependency, Report 21-07, December 2021 |
Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Florida, 2021, Report 21-06, July 2021 |
Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Florida, 2020, Report 20-05, July 2020 |
Placement Options for CSE Victims Have Increased; CSE-Specific Services Remain Limited, Report 19-05, July 2019 |
Other Reports
A complete list of Department of Children and Families welfare reports is on their website
The Auditor General reports on department operations are located on its website
Oversight and Administration of Community-Based Care Lead Agencies and Behavioral Health Managing Entities and Selected Department Administrative Activities, Auditor General Report No. 2019-111, January 2019
Further Assistance from HHS Would be Helpful in Supporting Youth's LGBTQ+ Identities and Religious Beliefs, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-22-104688, April 2022
HHS Should Facilitate Information Sharing Between States to Help Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Residential Facilities, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-22-104670, January 2022
HUD and HHS Could Enhance Coordination to Better Support Communities, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-21-540, September 2021
Better Data and Guidance Could Help States Reinvest Adoption Savings and Improve Federal Oversight, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-22-6, October 2021
Pandemic Posed Challenges, but also Created Opportunities for Agencies to Enhance Future Operations, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-21-483, July 2021
HHS Could Enhance Support for Grandparents and Other Relative Caregivers, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-20-434, July 2020
Education Could Help States Improve Educational Stability for Youth in Foster Care, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-616, September 2019
States with Approval to Extend Care Provide Independent Living Options for Youth up to Age 21, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-411, May 2019
Selected States Report Various Approaches and Challenges to Supporting Children, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-388, April 2019
Websites of Interest
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau
Florida Institute for Child Welfare
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Child Trends
Performance Information
Planning and Performance Measures report the department's performance on external and internal measures for its various programs. The measures allow the user to view performance at both a statewide and geographic region level.
Child and Family Well-Being, 850-488-8762
Website