There is due diligence for increased awareness and intervention upon the mental and emotional needs of children and adolescents in the foster care system, particularly so in Florida. Alachua County specifically has anywhere between 300 and 600 children and adolescents in the system on any given year, with more than half being removed from their unit on the basis of maltreatment (FL Child Welfare Measures, 2022); thus the overall trends for an increased overall need of mental and emotional intervention remains specifically true for this population.
We will use our grant funding to support individuals aged 0 to 17, who are enrolled in Alachua County’s foster care system by providing them with increased emotional support.
This organization, which we call The Happy Foster Kid Project, is dedicated to bettering the needs of children and adolescents in the custody of the Alachua County foster care system. With our mission being trifold, we will work closely with existing organizations aligning at our one common interest. All staff are prepared with trauma-informed support tactics to ensure our vulnerable populations are receiving utmost care.
We will work closely with The Guest House of Ocala to provide individualized plans of care, with both one-on-one and group therapy outpatient options. We will also work closely with the Children’s Trust branch of Alachua County Social Services. This department will provide us with the caseworkers and personnel who will ensure this goal is upheld among our sample of individuals in the foster care system.
By working closely with clinicians from The Guest House of Ocala trauma facility, as well as case workers and personnel from Alachua County Social Services, it is our intention that individuals in the foster care system who are living with trauma will be better supported in their emotional needs and be identified for the mental diagnosis being swept under the rug.
We will monitor our 150 foster individuals entering the system on the basis of neglect, and presumed continued emotional neglect by administering pretest and posttest assessments of their presumed PTSD. The project will ideally target and intervene on individualized levels to support individuals in their personal needs, leading to improved mental and physical health and outlook on life.
As a result of our intervention, we hope to see a greater emphasis on the quality of living spaces for individuals in the foster care system, and screenings of foster parents. We will see movements towards requiring mental health counseling for all individuals in the foster care system, and training for foster parents on identifying indicators that their children are living with trauma.
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