Each New Year brings new opportunities for Florida children and families.

But the best opportunities come with thoughtful preparation. And Children’s Home Society of Florida has been actively preparing – preparing to build more bridges to success for Miami’s children and families.

As a recognized national leader when it comes to serving children, CHS thought long and hard about the critical changes that must happen in 2018 to end the need for foster care as we know it — to ensure more families are safe and successful.

That requires careful, intentional shifts in direction. Proactive changes in the way we empower children and families on their path to a brighter future. An understanding that “the way it’s been” isn’t necessarily the way it should be.

Our 115-year legacy at CHS started with an orphanage in Jacksonville. Our children – our community – shouldn’t rely on a system of care developed in 1902. That belief – one that’s been held for more than a century –has propelled CHS to quickly evolve as children, families and society evolved. To change as needs change. To deliver the right solutions at the right time.

Miami’s children deserve an organization as dedicated to innovation and advancement as the rest of the market. They deserve 21^st-century opportunities to reach their full potential.

That’s why we’re directing our focus to offer faster, more accessible solutions to families earlier in life. And we’re starting by investing in some of our most valuable partners: parents.

A strong believer in the building upon the strengths of families, CHS offers in-home parenting coaches to turn odds into opportunities before families enter the child welfare system. In areas of high crime and low income, these coaches are a critical support system for struggling parents. Some parents we partner with are overwhelmed by the constant demands of raising children in an environment subject to violence and despair. Others are desperate to escape violent situations so their kids can grow up in safe, stable homes. And some simply have no other support system as they try to navigate the journey of parenthood.

So we work together to empower them to reach goals for themselves and their families … goals that can often mean the difference between survival and success.

From our Healthy Families program, which serves families raising children ages 0 to 5 to our Family Preservation program, which empowers families raising children up to age 17, we build upon families’ strengths and support them as they work to reach their full potential.

This year, we’re excited to expand our Family Preservation program to include a kinship component, which provides valuable support to family members who take a primary guardian role for children who are unable to live safely with their biological parents.

And if a relative isn’t able to provide this care, we partner with local foster families who’ve opened their homes to children during a period of uncertainty. But just as important, we partner with the parents who are working incredibly hard to overcome the challenges that brought their families into the foster care system. We want to shorten kids’ stays in foster care and bring families safely together as quickly as possible.

As much as we will continue to work to keep families together, we understand that some children who have entered foster care will never be able to safely return to their biological families.  And for these kids, we do all we can to find the right forever family; that’s why, in 2018, we will double our efforts dedicated to adoption.

At CHS, everything we do is centered around children … preparing and empowering children to reach their full potential. We know families are key to this success – that’s why we’re taking such an active role in doing all we can to keep families safely together, to build strong families, to build a stronger Miami. In doing so, we’re not giving hand-outs … instead, we’re offering a hand-up.

Each family and every child has unique challenges, needs and potential. That’s why our approach needs to be just as diverse.

In partnership with our donors, partners and funders, Children’s Home Society of Florida is delivering effective, innovative solutions in our community. We’re making these bold moves for South Florida families because we believe in their potential. We believe in their success.