Due to unfavorable family conditions in life, there are many kids left with no homes, while some are in homes where they aren’t secure or at peace. These kids are innocent, and they have the right to be protected at all costs. That’s where the agency steps in and helps the kids obtain basic needs up to a point where they will be able to provide for themselves upon getting a job. Some of the reasons these children grow up in foster care are neglect, abuse by some guardians, or even abandonment. One of the foster homes known in the world is A Kid’s Place (Samantha, 2017).
Name and Mission
As discussed above, the name is A Kid’s Place. It is a 60-bed home where abandoned and abused children are taken care of. The largest population is kids below the age of five. Their mission is to help children who undergo abuse and neglect grow under medical and social assistance until they are old enough to take care of themselves. The foster home is located in Brandon, Florida. Since its establishment, the home has provided shelter to over 1,300 children from over 550 families. The home offers great services to the children, including family settings, love and cohesion, therapy services, education, dental services, and toddler programs for small children. All these services are provided in one place. After the children are nurtured in all areas, they can be placed with their families and relatives, be adopted, or live in private homes after they are 18 years old. The home’s main goal is to make sure the children feel at home and to be their bridge toward a great future.
Funding Sources
Foster homes are nonprofit organizations, and A Kid’s Place is no exception. This means they have no source of income of their own. They rely on outside sources, including the government and well-wishers. In such a facility, there are a lot of people who are employed and paid to provide certain services. There are professionals who provide therapy services, workers who clean, teachers, and expenses for food and clothes, among others. The employees all expect a pay slip at the end of the month. The home needs capital to run. According to the latest interview, their total budget for the current period was 3.5 million. The government provided 2 million; hence, there is another 1.5 million, which is still a lot. That’s where well-wishers, religious groups, communities, and investors come in. There are many well-wishers who are always there to support the facility. They include founding sponsors like the Bank of Florida, corporate sponsors represented by The Bank of Tampa, community sponsors like the Tijuana Flats Foundation, and in-kind partners like Ricoh.
Social Programs and Related Services
Foster children undergo a lot of hardship before being brought to the agencies (Linares, 2015). They undergo emotional trauma because they see fights and other occurrences they should not have to endure. The agency must offer social services to the children. The home offers therapy services and professional mental health services. The most affected part is always the mind. The agency has professionals who provide excellent services to the kids to help them process bad memories, accept themselves, and address depression issues.
Eligibility for the Social Program Services
Eligibility for the services varies in this agency. They serve children who are up to 18 years old. On almost all occasions, when children undergo domestic violence, parental imprisonment, drug abuse, or neglect, child protection services are called, and they are responsible for allocating the affected children to the foster home program.
Gaps in Services Related to the Social Program
There are many gaps and problems that need to be solved in these social programs. The services are less than sufficient. First, there are fewer foster homes compared to the number of foster children. According to the statistics, over 3,000 children need foster care, but there are only 264 foster homes (Barth, 2017). The number of homes is far too low. The other gap is in the services. Professional services like therapy and mental health services are not possible in some homes due to a lack of funding. Some foster homes have problems providing basic needs like shelter and enough food. Unless all these gaps are filled, the social program has yet to bring the required impact.
The Idea to Solve the Gaps
All these problems can be solved through two things: love and care. When the government develops concern for innocent children, it can set aside some amount in the treasury to help build more foster homes countrywide. The main problem aside from the availability of foster homes is finances. Everybody, from the community to private investors, should practice care and love and at least put some cash and resources aside to help foster homes. If every citizen participates by first having healthy family relationships and then by being humane enough to understand that foster children are like other children, then all these gaps can be solved.
In conclusion, this is a grave matter, and foster homes should be taken seriously. The agency A Kid’s Place has done its best over the years to accommodate and help as many kids as possible. Both the government and the private sector should be at the forefront of foster home improvements.
References
Barth, R. P., Barth, R. P., & Barth, R. P. (2017). The child welfare challenge: Policy, practice, and research. Routledge.
Linares, L. O., Jimenez, J., Nesci, C., Pearson, E., Beller, S., Edwards, N., & Levin-Rector, A. (2015). Reducing sibling conflict in maltreated children placed in foster homes. Prevention Science, 16(2), 211-221.
Samantha Mellen. (2017). https://www.akidsplacetb.org/
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