The Power of Prevention

By Valerie Holmes, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Family Partnerships

Challenges demand innovation and innovation create a new dimension of performance. Purposeful, systematic innovation begins with the analysis of opportunities. Since our inception in Brevard in 2005, our challenge was evident; How can we reduce the likelihood of children entering the child welfare system? This realization led to the creation of Coordination, Advocacy, Resources, Education and Support (C.A.R.E.S.), a front-end prevention and diversion model for at-risk children, enhancing and expanding traditional child-welfare service delivery. The classic approach to responding to maltreatment involves child removals. It was evident that a powerful paradoxical shift to change that narrative was critical. The vigorous support of DCF child-protective investigators and strong partnership with FPOCF prevention and diversion teams, has resulted in CARES model expansion in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties where we are safely maintaining children in their homes, whenever possible, increasing early intervention, resulting in less removals.