Partnership for Strong Families

Partnership for Strong Families was notified today that they will receive a $30,000 grant from Starbucks to further their local mission.
 

Starbucks selected PSF to participate in their Vote. Give. Grow. campaign after a nationwide search of thousands of non-profit organizations.  They chose PSF because they felt the organization made a whole-community impact with particular attention to under-served populations.  They also noted PSF’s innovative practices as one of their reasons for selecting the agency, which was the only non-profit with headquarters in Florida selected to participate in the region.

Starbucks’ Vote. Give. Grow. program was the first of its kind, awarding $4 million to 124 non-profit organizations nationwide who work to improve their local communities.  The campaign centered on an online competition during the month of April where registered Starbucks cardholders could vote once a week for their favorite of four participating organizations.  PSF ranked second place in the competition, garnering more than 1,500 votes.

“In today’s budget climate, $30,000 will go a long way to help us improve our services to children and families,” said Jenn Petion, community and government relations manager for PSF.  “We were really honored to be chosen by Starbucks to participate in this program because it means our agency is being recognized on a national level for the quality of services we provide to our community.”

Petion said the agency plans to use the money for things their state contract to provide child welfare services through the Department of Children and Families does not cover, such as education incentives for teenagers in licensed care who do well or make significant improvement academically.

“We’re looking forward to being able to use this grant funding to motivate our teens residing in out-of-home care to excel,” said Shawn Salamida, CEO of PSF.  “Just because they are in foster care does not mean they can’t do well in school.”

Improving education outcomes for children receiving protective services is one of the priorities set forth by Secretary Wilkins of the Department of Children and Families.

To see other recipients of the Vote. Give. Grow. grant awards, visit www.votegivegrow.com.

Partnership for Strong Families will be hosting “A Partner’s Rally for Children” on May 5 at Olustee Park from 4:00-6:00pm. The rally is designed to raise awareness, build relationships and provide a network of connections in the Lake City area.

“A Partner’s Rally for Children” will host booths from child-serving organizations in the Lake City area such as Children’s Home Society, the Guardian ad Litem program and Devereux Florida.  Information about foster and adoptive services and activities for children will be available. The event will also feature a “cake walk” where cakes donated from PSF’s faith partners will be raffled off to the public. PSF hopes to raise awareness for foster parenting, adoption and volunteer opportunities with the event as part of our celebration of National Foster Care month, recognized nationally each May.

“National Foster Care month is a time to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of our partner families while raising awareness for the need for foster and adoptive families in Columbia County,” stated Shawn Salamida, President and CEO of Partnership for Strong Families. “A Partner’s Rally for Children will be both a celebration of those who work to better the lives of children and an opportunity to build a strong community network for children in the Lake City area.”

To find out more about “A Partner’s Rally for Children” or to learn more about foster and adoptive services, please contact Tatianna Kelaita at 352-244-1534 or Tatianna.Kelaita@pfsf.org.
 

Partnership for Strong Families (PSF), the lead community-based care agency for Florida Judicial Circuits Three and Eight, has been selected to participate in the Starbucks^® Community Card: Vote. Give. Grow. program with the chance to receive up to $50,000. PSF is one of 124 nonprofit organizations in the nation selected for the program and one of only four in the region.

Starbucks^® Community Card: Vote. Give. Grow. program is the first of its kind, promising to give $4 million to 124 nonprofit organizations who work to improve their local communities. The program recognized PSF for its innovative and impactful work in the community that provides special attention to the under-served populations. With the support and votes of the public, PSF is guaranteed to win a grant between $20,000 and $50,000.

“PSF is honored to be selected by Starbucks^® as a deserving non-profit organization for this grant,” stated Shawn Salamida, president and CEO of Partnership for Strong Families. “The grant recognizes our efforts with abused and neglected children in North Central Florida and will allow us to make an even stronger impact with your support.”

The program relies on votes from the public to determine the amount of the grant for each organization. Voters can log onto www.votegivegrow.com using their registered Starbucks^® card, or can obtain a card directly on the website. Participants can then vote for their favorite organization once each week during the month of April. Partnership for Strong Families encourages all supporters to contribute their votes for PSF each week.

“Strong support from the community will help us win a larger grant and will enable us to impact more children,” stated Shawn Salamida. “Your vote for PSF will make a very real difference in our local community.  We’re very grateful for our business partners like Starbucks^® who recognize the importance of corporate social responsibility and giving back to their communities.”

To learn more about Starbucks^® Community Card and to vote visit www.votegivegrow.com.   

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Alachua County Child Abuse Prevention Task Force has placed pinwheels at North Florida Regional Medical Center in honor of this distinction.  At the task force and at PSF, we believe that child abuse is preventable.  Child abuse affects thousands of children in our community every year, but there are many agencies joining arms to strengthen families and ensure better outcomes for the next generation.  Strong families lead to strong communities!  We invite you to wear a blue ribbon or wear blue every Friday during April in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month.  Take a look at the tips below to help identify signs of child abuse and neglect, and visit www.ounce.org for more information on prevention.

The Alachua County Commission, the Southwest Advocacy Group (SWAG), and the Partnership for Strong Families (PSF) are pleased to announce the Renovation Kick-Off for the SWAG Family Resource Center. The kick-off ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 9, 2012, at 1 p.m., at the Center (807 SW 64th Terrace, Gainesville). The public is invited and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.

"This is a great example of partners and stakeholders joining with government to address the needs of citizens," commented County Manager Rick Drummond. "It is amazing and heartening to see what a single minded group of people can accomplish when they have the determination and patience to pursue the collaboration necessary to make this kind of project a reality."

The Alachua County Commission allocated $225,000 to purchase and renovate two buildings in the Southwest community. One will serve as a neighborhood based resource center, and the second as a public health clinic. The Rotary Clubs of Gainesville Foundation awarded the project $57,000 for furnishings, appliances, and computers.

After the purchase, the Partnership for Strong Families, the community-based care provider of child protective services in North Central Florida, offered to provide a full-time manager to run the facility.

"I am so proud and fortunate to be part of the SWAG movement," said Katie Fields, SWAG Family Resource Center manager. "It is so rewarding to see the efforts of people from the neighborhoods, advocates from neighboring communities and community leaders coming together to create SWAG Family Resource Center. It will no doubt serve as an emblem of power, commitment, trust, and collaboration."

"We are excited to see the renovation begin on the SWAG Family Resource Center and look forward to the day when the doors open," said Shawn Salamida, President/CEO of Partnership for Strong Families. "We are glad for the opportunity to partner with SWAG and the County on this important project and look forward to seeing the impact that meeting this community's needs has on improving outcomes for our most vulnerable children."

For more information, contact the Alachua County Communications Office at 352-264-6979.

PSF announced today that the Library Partnership resource center is offering a new program, “My First Nest Egg,” which gives participants the opportunity to start a savings account for their children’s future educated-related expenses. The Nest Egg program promises to educate parents through parenting classes, financial literacy courses and the help of a life coach who mentors the parent for five years.

Through the success of the Library Partnerships’ FIRST program (Families Involved in Reaching Success Together) and Fight for Your Money, the resource center has been able to reach out to the local community, proving that education is the first step toward preventing child abuse and neglect. Now, thanks to generous funding from the Gainesville Community Foundation (GCF), the Library Partnership is able to provide participants of these programs with a savings account for their children.

The program asks that parents commit to contributing $10 each month to their child’s savings account which will be matched by $20 monthly from the GCF for 5 years. Additional contributions are provided upon completion of the FIRST Program, Fight for Your Money and meetings with a life coach. All together, a possible $1,060 can be earned for a $120 contribution in the first year alone.

“The ‘Nest Egg’ program is the next step in our commitment to providing opportunities and resources to the children in our community,” stated Carressa Hutchinson, resource center manager at the Library Partnership. “The program allows parents to provide a future for their children that may not otherwise be possible. It allows the children to reach their full potential.”

The “My First Nest Egg” program is still looking for participants who would benefit from this opportunity. If you have a low to moderate income and are interested in finding out more, please contact Angelica Suarez by phone at 352-334-0164 or email at angelica.suarez@pfsf.org.

PSF will be travelling with more than 50 board members, partner families, staff and community partners to Tallahassee on Tuesday, January 31 for Children’s Capitol for a Day, part of United Way’s 17th Annual Children’s Week, to advocate on behalf of the children and families in their care.

Last year, PSF had great success at Children’s Week, where foster and adoptive families and board members joined the legislative process by meeting with local legislators in their Tallahassee offices and participating in advocacy and awareness events. This year, PSF hopes to have the same success as proposed legislative changes, including budget cuts to each community-based care agency and significant changes to the Independent Living Program, challenge the continued success of Florida’s child welfare system.  Children’s Week will provide an opportunity to educate and inform legislators about these issues, ensuring our delegates understand the impact they will make.

Since 1995, thousands of children, parents, advocates, community leaders and policy makers from around the state have gathered in Tallahassee on the Capitol Courtyard for Children’s Week. The event offers youth advocacy workshops, a “Teens Only” Town Hall Meeting, guided tours of the Capitol, youth success stories, press conferences, a Reading Corner for young children with state legislators and much more. More than 80 non-profit organizations from around the state of Florida, including Partnership for Strong Families, attend the event annually.

“Our board members and partner families look forward to this event every year.” stated Shawn Salamida, President/CEO of Partnership for Strong Families.  “Not only is it an opportunity for us to participate in the legislative process and thank our local delegates for their support, it’s a great opportunity to come together as a state and raise awareness about Florida’s future – our children.”

PSF received a ranking of 13 out of 20 agencies on a scorecard released by the Department of Children and Families on Thursday.

PSF is in support of the use of scorecards to drive performance and assure transparency in Florida’s privatized child welfare system as long as there is valid and reliable data to support the scores provided.  Community-based care agencies already track performance measures released by DCF on a quarterly and annual basis and utilize these measures as a benchmark of success. 

For example, PSF successfully completed 171 adoptions during the 2010-2011 fiscal year.  The percentage of children who were adopted within 24 months of entering the system was 66.27% - significantly higher than the goal of 36.6% established by DCF. 

Another key indicator of systemic strength that addresses child well-being is the performance measure that looks at the percentage of children who are removed from their homes who experience not more than two placement changes during a 12 month period, which for PSF was 87.10%, again exceeding the state goal set by DCF.

DCF has informed the agencies that the scorecard is a work in progress and will be updated monthly.  PSF is in the process of assessing the data utilized in this measure and looks forward to an ongoing conversation with the Department as the process is refined and any data errors are corrected. 

“We embrace the transparency that Secretary Wilkins is promoting,” said Shawn Salamida, president and CEO of PSF.  “This scorecard system is new, but these are not new priorities for us. PSF and our community partners have been heavily focused on the areas of child safety and well being, and we have continued to improve over time. We’re confident that DCF’s new scorecard system will reflect this, especially as we refine the tool together.”
 

PSF celebrated Adoption Day on November 21, 2011 by finalizing the adoptions of six children at a special event at the Alachua County Courthouse.

November is National Adoption Month and Children’s Home Society, whom PSF contracts with to provide adoption services, hosted the event during the week of Thanksgiving with a theme of “Thankful for a Forever Family.”  All of the children whose adoptions finalized had previously been removed from the homes of their biological families due to abuse or neglect that threatened their safety to the extent a judge determined they could not return home.

“Today, six of our children were adopted by their forever families,” said LaTanya Wynn-Hall, program director with Children’s Home Society.

Families lined the hallway of the Honorable Judge William Davis’ chambers long before the proceedings began.  All of the parents waived their right to confidential proceedings in order to participate as a group and celebrate one another’s adoptions.  Each time the judge announced he was signing the finalization paperwork, the courtroom erupted with applause, cheers and a few tears of joy.

The children called their new parents by “mommy” and “daddy” before any orders were signed.  Today made legal what they already knew to be true: that they were finally home.

One small girl, too young to fully understand the significance of the event, instinctively reached up and hugged the judge when he came around the bench to be a part of the family photo.  She then proceeded to a pile of stuffed animals and selected her own memento of the day.

Among the adoptive parents were Pastor Claude and Gigi Williams.  Pastor Williams is pastor of United Covenant House of Prayer in Gainesville and Gigi works as Special Programs Coordinator at PSF.  They adopted 11-month-old Summer Ruby, who is the biological sister to their two other children, Alishia, 13, and Elijah, 9, who were both adopted by the Williams as infants.
“She can now grow up knowing that she has a family that’s going to love her,” said Pastor Williams.  “It’s complete.”

Williams also said that to him, adoption day meant a day of oneness and security because they now know Summer Ruby is officially and legally theirs forever.

A total of 31 adoptions were finalized by PSF and Children’s Home Society during the month of November, with more planned for December as part of their Home for the Holidays efforts.  There are approximately 35 children in the local area whom adoptive families are still being recruited for.

PSF will be holding a Ribbon Cutting event to celebrate the opening of their new Lake City office at 1211 SW Bascom Norris Drive in Lake City, Florida. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will signal another step in providing an improved environment for both clients and employees.

The Ribbon Cutting Event will be held Tuesday, November 1, from 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM. The event is sponsored by Concept Construction and the Lake City Chamber of Commerce. Those in attendance will enjoy refreshments while they are given a tour of the new office and hear a brief message from the agency’s President and CEO. The ceremony will provide PSF the opportunity to personally thank local partners and welcome the community to the new office building.

“The new Lake City office is in a great location, provides functional space for employees and will provide our agency with much needed savings. The staff is excited to commemorate the improved office building alongside our many devoted partners during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony,” said Shawn Salamida, President and CEO. “We are grateful for Concept Construction’s diligence in creating for us a functional space that fit within our budgetary means and will allow us to put the savings back into services for families.”

The new office can be reached by phone at (386) 243-8800 and by fax at (386) 243-8700.
 

PSF will be hosting the Library Partnership Partner Appreciation event, “Thank You for Helping Us Establish Our Roots” on October 13, 2011 to honor those agencies that helped form the Library Partnership and have seen it through its early years.

Since the opening of the Library Partnership in 2009, many community members and local organizations have lent valuable time and services to ensure its success. This event is to honor those who have partnered with PSF to provide valuable resources to the local community through the resource center. After two years of service, the impact the Library Partnership has had in Gainesville has been dramatic, welcoming more than 20,000 patrons through its doors.

The Partner Appreciation event will be held as part of the quarterly partners meeting from 2:00-4:00pm at the Library Partnership, located at 1130 NW 16th Avenue in Gainesville. Guests will be given a special presentation and gift to recognize their commitment and dedication to the development of the center.  Additionally, there will be a brief presentation highlighting the accomplishments of the Library Partnership, success rates and recognitions it has received.  The Library Partnership was named a “Bright Idea” by Harvard University’s School of Government and was instrumental in Alachua County being named a 100 Best Community for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance two years in a row.

“Without our partners, the Library Partnership would not be where we are today,” said Carressa Hutchinson, Resource Center Manager at the Library Partnership. “It is with their help that we have been able to provide much needed resources to our patrons that have in turn strengthened our community and served as a powerful child abuse prevention tool.”

Alachua County achieved national recognition as one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING for its initiatives to help young people. The competition recognizes communities across the country that focus on reducing high school dropout rates and providing service and support to their youth.

Alachua County, a two-time 100 Best winner, has been recognized nationally for its outstanding high schools and accessible library. For example, the Library Partnership neighborhood resource center is a full service library and family resource center that serves low-income neighborhoods in Alachua County and has been recognized by Harvard University’s School of Government as a Bright Idea program.

Alachua is also dedicated to supporting young people with additional challenges. Its Independent Living Program devotes resources to assisting teens transitioning out of the foster care system so they can become self-sufficient while its Aquabilities program offers adapted aquatics lessons and activities for youth with developmental and physical disabilities. Health is another top priority in Alachua County—the CHOICES County Health Educators program focuses on education about preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, through an exercise and education series for at-risk youth. CHOICES also sponsors a weekly summer program for youth that targets nutrition, physical activity and tobacco use.

“We couldn’t be more excited about being named a 100 Best Community for Young People again this year,” said Shawn Salamida, CEO of Partnership for Strong Families and chairman of the Alachua County Children’s Alliance. “It shows that the hard work and collaboration of so many agencies really is having a lasting impact on the children and families in our community.”

“We are proud of Alachua County for being named one of the America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best,” added Morgan Rockey, Community Relations Consultant for the Northeast Region (Circuits 3 & 8) with the Department of Children & Families.

Alachua County will receive a $2,500 grant, signage identifying the community as one of the nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People, and access to America’s Promise Alliance’s community development resources.

“In a nation where 7,000 students drop out of high school every day, we hope Alachua County’s initiatives inspire other communities across the nation to take action to solve the challenges facing their young people,” said Marguerite W. Kondracke, America’s Promise Alliance president and CEO.  “Alachua County is especially deserving of this recognition due to their efforts to ensure that their young people graduate high school and go on to lead healthy, productive lives. Alachua County refuses to let the challenges they face determine the future for their young people. Instead, they are helping their youth prosper and become contributing members of society.”

“The issues surrounding youth education and success are of vital importance to ING,” said Mims. “Our ongoing support for 100 Best underscores our commitment to the cause and the value we place on recognizing communities that produce measurable results for youth.”

First held in 2005, the 100 Best competition is one of the Alliance’s signature initiatives and is part of its Grad Nation campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce.  The 100 Best honors communities large and small, rural and urban, that are making progress to help young people achieve their potential, which includes earning a high school diploma, securing a good job and playing an active, productive role in America’s economic vitality.

All communities entering the 100 Best competition completed a rigorous application where they provided details on how their existing programs and initiatives help deliver the Five Promises—resources identified by the Alliance as being critical to the development of healthy, successful children: caring adults; safe places; healthy start; effective education; and opportunities to help others. Applicants were also asked to describe how different sectors of their community work together to help children and families overcome challenges. Most importantly, communities were judged on the strength and innovation of their efforts and programs to help young people graduate from high school prepared for college and the 21st century workforce.

This year, more than 300 communities from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were nominated for the 100 Best distinction.  Winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of 20 judges that included: Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League, Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Michelle Shearer, Chemistry Teacher, Urbana High School, 2011 National Teacher of the Year.

The winners are a diverse group, ranging from small communities to large cities. A list of all 2011 winners can be found at www.americaspromise.org/100best.

Being a 100 Best community not only demonstrates commitment to local young people; the award fosters local pride, bolsters economic development and shines the spotlight on the people and programs that are building better communities. The competition also facilitates the sharing of best practices among communities nationwide regarding education, access to health care, reading score improvement, youth service and pre-school enrollment, among many other areas.

PSF announced today that the Library Partnership resource center will begin hosting an “Open Closet” two days a week in Gainesville, FL. The clothing closet will provide free clothes to members of the community in need, serving both adults and children.

The “Open Closet” will occur every Thursday and Friday through the end of the year, open between the hours of 11:00 AM – and 3:00 PM. All items are free and open to anyone in the community.  The clothing closet will be a valuable asset to the Gainesville community, supplying free clothing to those who may otherwise not be able to access and financially obtain needed apparel.

Due to the popularity of the semi-annual Library Partnership Clothing Drive, the “Open Closet” will now be held twice weekly.  One of the most recent clothing drive events, held on August 18 and 19, served a total of 73 adults and 66 children in the community. The “Open Closet” will serve as another addition within the Library Partnership’s realm of services, which exist to assist patrons by meeting needs and strengthening families with a goal of preventing child abuse.

Those wishing to donate to the clothing closet can drop of new or used clothing that is in good condition at the Library Partnership during normal business hours.“We are delighted to be able to offer this much needed service to the community,” said Carressa Hutchinson, Library Partnership resource center manager.  “Families come to us in need of clothing, employment skills and much more.  It’s just one of the many ways the community is coming together to meet local needs.” 

PSF announced today that their Lake City office has moved to 1211 SW Bascom Norris Drive in Lake City, Florida from its previous location where it was housed with the Department of Children and Families. This move promises to provide an improved environment for both clients and employees.

The 9,000 square foot office is located on the first floor of a two-story building. The newly renovated building offers an economic efficiency that will save PSF thousands of dollars in electricity and utility costs as well as provide a smaller impact on the environment. The improvements will ultimately be reflected in the enhanced quality of service to the Lake City community.

“The new Lake City office is in a great location, has ample space for employees and will provide our company with much needed savings. The staff is excited to move into this new and improved office building,” said PSF CEO, Shawn Salamida. “This change comes at a great time for our organization and for the children and families we serve.”

The new office can be reached by phone at (386) 243-8800 and by fax at (386) 243-8700.
 

PSF announced today that one of their employees, Kim Johnson, has been awarded the 2011 Adoption Excellence Award by the Children’s Bureau and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Johnson serves PSF as the Adoption Program Manager.

This award is given in recognition of Johnson’s outstanding accomplishments in achieving permanency for America’s children waiting in foster care. The award honors states, child welfare agencies, organizations, courts, businesses, individuals and families that achieve this goal. This year, it will be given to 18 recipients nationwide.
Johnson not only demonstrates a professional dedication to this goal, but a personal one as well. Last year, Johnson and her family adopted a 17-year-old teenager who had been in foster care and other placements for more than 10 years. Expanding upon her passion for adoption, Johnson now acts as an advocate for adopting teens in foster care by speaking around the state of Florida, encouraging other families to change a child’s life through adoption. She also spoke at the Department of Children and Families’ 2011 Family Accountability Summit earlier this month and was joined by her adopted son, Robert, to promote permanency for children in foster care.

The Adoption Excellence Awards will be presented on October 12, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City in Washington D.C. during the Children’s Bureau’s “Policy to Practice Dialogue: Making it Work in Child Welfare” meeting. Johnson, along with each recipient, will be presented with an engraved award in recognition of her efforts and accomplishments.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Kim,” said Shawn Salamida, President/CEO of Partnership for Strong Families. “This award recognizes the efforts that our staff has witnessed for years. Her dedication and commitment to achieving permanency for the children we serve has truly been an asset to our agency and community.”

To learn more about the Adoption Excellence Awards, please visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/current_initiatives/aeawards.htm.

PSF’s Back to School Drive was a tremendous success!  150 backpacks went out to children in our care, ensuring they had the tools necessary to succeed this academic year.  Some of our kids were so excited to receive these fully-stuff backpacks that they did not even leave the lobby before tearing them open like Christmas presents.

Much thanks goes to our faith-based partner, Mission 9:37, who collected 91 new backpacks on our behalf.  We are also grateful for the support of Regions Bank, Publix, the local libraries and other community partners who collected donations.  We even had a youth in our community who accepted school supplies instead of presents for his birthday party!  Staff got in on the fun by having a competition as to which unit could bring in the most bags.  The prize went to PSF's Finance Department, who received a homemade cake by our very own Catherine Rice.

Thanks to everyone who made this year our most successful drive yet!

Recently, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) held their Strengthening Families 2011 Leadership Summit. The summit, held in Washington D.C., focused on promoting public policies that produce equal opportunities and better futures for all families and children, especially those are educationally or economically challenged. The Library Partnership’s Carressa Hutchinson and Anita Jenkins as well as Mona Gil de Gibaja, a consultant for PSF, attended and presented at the conference. The three spoke on their outreach to community partners and service providers by using the 5 Protective Factors as a base: increase parental resilience, increase social connections, increase knowledge of parenting and child development, increase support in times of need and increase children’s social and emotional development.