Governor Names Kapusta DCF Interim Secretary

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday named Rebecca Kapusta to serve as interim secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Kapusta has been at the department for 12 years, most recently working as assistant secretary for operations, according to a news release from Scott’s office. She previously worked in the legal department, including as the department’s general counsel. Kapusta will replace Secretary Mike Carroll, who announced recently he is leaving the agency effective Sept. 6. She earns $125,000 annually, according to a state website. Among other things, the Department of Children and Families administers mental-health, homeless and foster-care programs. The department also determines Medicaid eligibility and administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Report by News Service of Florida

Foster Parent Information Deserves Protection

FloridaFAPA wants to make its members aware that there has been a public records request for all foster parent names and their county of residence. The request was made by a reputable newspaper under Florida’s broad public records laws (Florida Statute Chapter 119).We are working with the Department of Children and Families, the Office of the Governor and Florida Coalition for Children to ensure that the scope of the disclosure by the state is limited to only what is required under current law. Most foster parent records — including address information — is protected from disclosure by DCF under FS Ch. 409.175 At this time it appears that the requested county information will not be disclosed Foster parent names are not protected records and will likely have to be disclosed DCF will be contacting all foster parents soon with additional information FloridaFAPA strongly believes that foster parents records deserve strong protection — to shield Florida’s most vulnerable children and the foster parents that care for them. Therefore, FloridaFAPA and our partners intend to work with the legislature to ensure increased protection in the future. We are here to protect and support foster and adoptive parents throughout the state and this is just one of the items we will be taking on this year. Thank you for all that you do!

Officer Nominations Are In

The following were nominated for President at the June Quarterly Membership Meeting Harriett Wynn Christopher Johnson Kara Elliott-Jordan Saralyn Grass Amanda Williams The sole nominee for Treasurer is Paul Vernon. More information on the nominees to come! Nominations are now closed.

Logo

Below is the new logo for FloridaFAPA To download, click here. Additional version (single color, stacked, etc) available upon request.

New Video Calls Out Need for GALs, Foster Parents

https://www.facebook.com/FloridaFAPA/videos/1799398100152564/ From Alan F. Abramowitz, Executive Director Statewide GAL office: Just wanted to share a new video created from the “Friends of Abused Children, Inc.” in Seminole County to highlight how important it is for youth to trust their foster parent and GAL. It highlights the need for foster parents and GAL’s. It discussed from youth’s view the need for trust and highlights the parenting for children in foster care. It always seems to have a bigger impact when its youth that explain how important GAL’s and foster parents are for youth. Special thanks to the Johnson Family (Editor’s NoteChris Johnson is FloridaFAPA’s Executive Vice President) and the Yancey Family and Friends of Abused Children, Inc. Our amazing narrator and volunteer GAL in the video is Michelle Brightman.

FSFAPA is now FloridaFAPA

  The Florida State Foster/Adoptive parent Association is now “FloridaFAPA.”  That name has represented us online and on social media for years, and even served as shorthand got those that didn’t want to stumble through our formal name or spew a string of letters. Earlier this year we embarked on a mission to streamline our organization and ensure we are spending our resources responsibly, and on things that support our members and mission. At that point, it became clear: We’re going to be doing things a little different — to better represent our members.  So it was time to break with the past, and unveil a new identity and a new brand. The five principles of FloridaFAPA’s new strategic planning. There are workgroups for each, if you are interested in working with any of these groups, let us know! Structure Establish the direction of the organization, implement clear expectations for leaders and provide for accountability. Sustainability Ensure sufficient financial resources exist to fulfil the missions, goals and sustainability of the organization. Resources Build a clearinghouse of resources to support the needs of foster and adoptive families statewide. Advocacy Influence legislation that impacts our families and ensure that it is implemented appropriately Partnerships Develop and maintain strong partnerships within the child welfare community.

DCF Releases Memo on Caregiver Notice for Court Hearings

See the Memo here DCF Memo on Caregiver Notice of Court Hearings (& Info Sheet JPG) DCF’s Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare released the memo above on May 30.  Below are excerpts from the accompanying email: Florida completed its Child and Family Service Review (CFSR) in September 2016 and the Children’s Bureau issued the final report on December 28, 2016.  One of the findings in the report was that Florida did not have a systematic method to notify caregivers of court hearings and their right to be heard in court.  Florida has two years to implement the key activities and achieve the sustained level of performance as negotiated with the Children’s Bureau in Florida’s Program Improvement Plan (PIP).  As part of the PIP, a statewide workgroup was created to address a systematic method to ensure that caregivers were notified of court hearings and their right to be heard at those hearings.  The workgroup developed a one-page document that can be posted in offices and distributed to caregivers during ongoing home-visits conducted by case managers or child protective investigators prior to case transfer.  The workgroup also recommended that the case manager or child protective investigator prior to case transfer provide written notice of the next court hearing to caregivers which could be a copy of the home visit form, or on the back of the business card of the child welfare professional providing the notice. ACTION NEEDED:  In order to effect practice improvement, it is critical for the regions and Community-based Care lead agencies (CBCs) to ensure that each caregiver is notified of court hearings and their right to be heard at those hearings.

Nominations Open for Fall Elections

The President and Treasurer positions are up for election this fall. The nomination form and position requirements/descriptions can be downloaded here (PDF). Check the elections page on this site for updates! (Note: Only paid members can vote in FSFAPA elections.  To become a member or renew, please click here.)