In December 2021, The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation gave a gift to 4Kids of South Florida. It was our first ever grant. We chose 4Kids because we believe in their mission to help children in crisis.
But we also have a strong belief in the team at 4Kids. These wonderful people have a heart for children, and they deliver a wide array of services with a large dose of love. We are honored to help provide hope, homes and healing to our children.
We recently got an update from 4Kids on the results of our investment.
Here are some highlights:
- 4Kids Palm Beach EPIC therapy department has seen significant growth in the number of families they serve. During fiscal year 2021, 4Kids provided therapy services to 48 families. In December 2021, this number increased to 73 families. The number of children placed in a 4KIDS home in Palm Beach during fiscal year 2021 saw dramatic growth as traditional foster placements increased from 51 kids to 77 children and youth. Currently, EPIC employs 3 licensed master level clinicians in Palm Beach and 8 licensed master level clinicians in Broward.
- Therapy services are provided to children, youth, and families year-round. Between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, EPIC provided 1,446 therapy hours to 54 clients in Palm Beach and 8,405 therapy hours to 486 clients in Broward. Our grant has been used to provide 500 hours of therapeutic services to the children and families in Broward and Palm Beach not covered by insurance. While numbers are important measures, it’s hard to measure the healing this therapy provides.
There have been results!
When 4Kids submitted their original grant request, they committed to reporting on the success of their program by providing statistics using the Children’s Functional Assessment Rating scale (CFARS) which measures cognitive, social and role functioning in children as well as the Functional Assessment Rating Scale (FARS), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) which assesses depression in children, as well as other emotional and behavioral challenges, and the Brief Problem Monitor (BPM) which measures behavioral changes through skills development and activities. They were confident that 60% of families would show at least a three-point improvement in their post-treatment assessments. Assessments are completed every six months with clients receiving a pre-treatment assessment and subsequent post-treatment assessments. It is expected that each client would show a three-point improvement on their Children’s Functional Assessment Rating Scale. We are excited to report that the clients receiving EPIC therapeutic services between December 2021 and June 2022 in Palm Beach showed an 8.17-point improvement, while clients in Broward showed an average 8.91-point improvement according to the CFARS and FARS assessments. Clients in Palm Beach and Broward showed a 100% improvement as demonstrated on the CBCL and BPM assessments.
We like that!
The Foundation also contributed to efforts to help 4Kids recruit and train foster families.
The goal was to train 56 families by June 30, 2022.
We fell a little short, (46 families were licensed) but volunteer recruitment exceeded expectations. Volunteers are needed to support foster families and that number went from 672 to 742. Impressive!
While numbers tell the impact of a program they cannot fully capture the humanity that is behind each of the client therapy hours provided or show the love a foster family can provide to a child in crisis.
We share the following stories to illustrate the impact that 4Kids has on the lives of children: (Names have been changed to preserve privacy.)
EPIC Story
Two years ago, “James” was removed from his biological mother’s care due to issues of abuse and neglect. Originally, the state placed “James” with a relative who was in contact with the boy’s biological father. “James” was later placed with his father, where he stayed for a time. When “James’” father was unable to follow-through with his case plan, “James” was removed from his care and placed in a 4KIDS foster home. Before his placement, “James’” foster parents had participated in EPIC training and were able to come alongside their foster son with empathy and understanding. Though the trauma “James” experienced before his placement with a 4KIDS foster family was substantial, he still loved his parents and struggled to process the emotions caused by separation from his birth mother. These feelings manifested in alarming symptoms triggered by depression and anxiety. While with his 4KIDS foster family, “James” began to receive EPIC therapy. It has been a little over a year and “James’” therapist is very pleased with the progress he has made. He has learned how to cope with his symptoms, eventually conquering them altogether, and has begun to truly heal from his trauma. Recently, “James” turned 12, and requested to be adopted by his 4KIDS foster family. “James” remained in therapy throughout the adoption process and officially found his forever home on July 8, 2022.
Foster Care Story
4KIDS’ mission is to do their utmost to support the best interest of the children who come into our care. While reunification is always the ultimate hope, for some children, it is not always an option. In other instances, helping a child or children reunify with their parents or relative caregiver is the course determined best by the court.
The Wright family’s journey as foster parents began in 2021. When their first foster placement transitioned from a goal of reunification to adoption, they decided to pursue the adoption of their one-year-old foster daughter, “Emily” and at the same time, open their home to a second child. Shortly after this decision, they received a call requesting placement for a 5-month-old baby girl suffering from broken bones in her legs and arms due to unexplained injuries. When she came to them, little “Sarah” was in a cast from the chest down. While the Wrights weren’t trained as medical foster parents, their hearts broke for this little girl, and they told the placement coordinator they were willing to provide “Sarah” a home. They quickly learned how to care for “Sarah” while she was in her cast, how to use her special car seat, and other various aspects related to her specialized care. “Sarah” adjusted well to her foster parents and all the love they poured out on her. She thrived from the healthy attachment rituals and love her foster family gave her. After several months in the Wright’s home, “Sarah’s” uncle, who was caring for “Sarah’s” other biological siblings, communicated to the court that he was now able to take in his niece. The Wright family collected food, clothing, and other items for “Sarah” to bring with her to her uncle’s home and continued to maintain contact with her uncle, helping him with transporting her during the transition period and communicating with him to ensure he had everything he needed. “Sarah” is now fully transitioned, and her former foster family remains open to helping her uncle maintain permanency. The Wright family officially adopted their first foster daughter “Emily”, July 14, 2022.
These stories touch our hearts.
We are proud to support 4Kids of South Florida.
