TAMPA, Fla. — An agency hired by Florida Department of Children and Families to help place children in foster homes throughout Hillsborough County has put together an action plan to address concerns that some children were not properly serviced.
- Plan revealed during meeting Wednesday
- Reports some teenagers not going to assigned placements
- Agency struggling with high staff turnover
Eckerd Connects fired a subcontractor and hired a new agency to assist with those placements. Officials then put together an action plan which focuses on foster parent recruitment, collaborative decision-making and governance.
The move comes amid reports some teenagers in the foster care system were not going to their assigned placements, choosing instead to hang out at gas stations and vacant offices. About ten children were involved, officials said.
Eckerd officials revealed details of the plan to foster parents, child care advocates and stakeholders at a peer review meeting Wednesday morning.
“I see that they are working diligently to make changes,” said Kimberly Hernandez, a foster parent for 18 years. “But it is a community. It's a village issue, not an Eckerd issue.”
DCF says the agency is struggling with high staff turnover and an increase in children within the foster care system.