Some foster group homes are success stories. They’re being swept aside.
Florida’s child welfare system has been heavily criticized in recent years. Whether it’s the lack of oversight, inadequate resources or unthinkable abuse that has happened to children who were supposed to be in a safe foster home, there are many examples of the foster care system falling short. But while these incidents rightfully draw our attention and outrage, positive, life-changing work happens every day within our child welfare system.
An often overlooked bright spot is the role that quality residential group care organizations play in helping children and families in Florida. As the president of Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, I know first-hand that these homes play a vital role in the foster care system. With a shortage of good foster homes — and with our ability to take in large groups of siblings that would otherwise be tragically split apart into multiple homes — group care serves a critical role in the system. But that could end, leaving at-risk children with even fewer paths to a stable adulthood.
The federal Family First Prevention Services Act, which took effect in 2019, severely restricts states from placing children in residential group homes by only providing federal funds for group home placements up to two weeks. For many states, including Florida, a significant portion of their child welfare budgets are federally funded, making it nearly impossible to continue using residential group homes on their own without federal dollars.
Taking quality residential care homes out of the child welfare system means fewer options for children, as there is a shortage of traditional foster homes around the country to serve the number of youth in need. We’re already seeing unfortunate situations where caseworkers can’t find places for children to go — resorting to housing youth in hotels, offices or, in some cases, locked in psychiatric facilities even though the child has no mental health issues. Without quality residential care homes in the system, this problem can only be expected to get worse in the coming years.
For many years, organizations such as ours, as well as St. Augustine Youth Services, Florida United Methodist Homes, Boys Town and other residential care providers have stepped up to provide safe and loving homes for children in need. These organizations, which often receive the majority of their funding through private donations, are equipped with services and care that can be difficult for a state-run system to efficiently provide. Services such as in-house education and tutoring, mentoring, mental-health treatment and career counseling are commonly offered by our quality residential care organizations. And our ability to take in large sibling groups cannot be overstated. There are countless stories of brothers and sisters who have been able to stay together because a residential group home was there to take them in when others would not.
Unfortunately, we have seen persistent attacks against residential group homes in recent years, especially in Washington, D.C. Critics point to examples of poorly run group home facilities where abuse has occurred and conclude the entire model of care is flawed. Similar to traditional foster homes, the image of residential group homes has been tarnished at times by a few organizations that have hurt the children in their care. There have been cases of group homes with very little oversight and accountability that should have never been allowed to operate.
In Florida in 2015, before the federal Family First law was passed, the Department of Children and Families, Florida Coalition for Children and various representatives from the child welfare arena developed and implemented quality standards for residential group homes to help ensure that the residential care homes serving our children are being held accountable, offering quality care and following best practices in child welfare. Florida was the first state in the nation to develop quality standards for group homes, a critical step to making sure residential care across the state provides a safe and positive environment for foster youth. Other states have looked to Florida’s model to create their own quality standards for group homes.
As we examine the future of our nation’s child welfare system, it would be a mistake to keep pushing quality residential group care out of the picture. Together, the quality residential care organizations in Florida have deep records of success and countless stories of lives changed in the middle of seemingly hopeless situations. For the boys and girls who need the services these homes provide, it’s essential that quality residential care remains a strong part of our foster care system.