SWFL foster care organization to expand to Hillsborough County

A Southwest Florida group is taking over a foster care system in another county in bad shape.

Children’s Network of Southwest Florida wants to get kids in Hillsborough County out of deplorable living conditions.

The kids that the Children’s Network of Southwest Florida interacts with have lived tough lives. They’ve gone from foster care to forever homes, thanks to the organization.

The non-profit’s mission is simple; protect children and families.

“One of our top priorities is ensuring that we create a healthy work-life balance for our case managers,” said Nadereh Salim, CEO of Children’s Network of Southwest Florida.

Salim said that balance helps case managers resolve conflicts and keep families together when possible, and when it’s not, they do everything to help children cope.

That track record prompted state leaders to ask the children’s network to get involved with kids in Hillsborough County.

Children’s Network of Southwest Florida already covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry counties.

Eckerd Connects was the organization in charge of helping foster kids in Hillsborough County until a scandal rocked the agency.

A criminal investigation is underway after the sheriff in neighboring Pinellas County found kids being housed in office buildings.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Hillsborough County has 2,500 children in foster care. That is the most in the state.

“Our primary goal is to find foster homes and find other settings, you know, group homes if necessary. So, kids can have a place to find normalcy, even if it’s short term until we get them back to the appropriate families, whether it’s their biological parents or find permanency to adoption,” said Salim.

The children’s network plans to spend $250,000 to recruit new foster parents and to increase pay and benefits for case managers and other staffers.

“If we create an environment where the young people that come to us professionals that want to be case managers feel valued. Then we can retain them,” Salim said.

The challenge in Hillsborough County will not impact the children’s network’s work in Southwest Florida.

“We are part of children’s network, but we’re a different entity, meaning we’re going to be Children’s Network of Hillsborough. We’ll have our own staff here. What they’re doing is just teaching us what they’re doing, and then we’ll be implementing it here,” said Kymberlye Smith, licensing supervisor for Children’s Network of Hillsborough County.

The children’s network expects it will take a couple of years to restore the faith in the system in Hillsborough County.

Locally, the agency is always looking for foster parents. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, you can find more information on what you need to do on the Children’s Network of Southwest Florida website.