1-1-1 Project FLORIDA
The 1-1-1 Project was started in Oklahoma in 2010 as a result of a conversation between a local church and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. The mission spread to Georgia and Florida in 2012. 1-1-1 Project: Florida will be launching locally on July 24, 2016, for the Manatee-Sarasota-DeSoto Tri-County area, working through The Safe Children Coalition.
The Safe Children Coalition serves Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties and holds the contract with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to provide welfare oversight and services in the tri-county area. The lead agency of the Safe Children Coalition is the Sarasota YMCA. The responsibility to care for our community's children in foster care rests with the Safe Children Coalition. They utilize a variety of providers, including the Florida Baptist Children's Homes, in order to meet growing needs.
The Statistics for our Tri-County area as of 2015:
- The Coalition serves in excess of 1,200 children
- 657 children have been removed from their parent/caregiver(s) and are living away from their home
- 50 children are waiting to be adopted
- There is a need for 100 new, quality foster families
- In 2016, 17 children will "age out" of foster care without an adoptive family
Why does this all matter?
Children who age out of the foster system without being adopted by a family are most likely to:
- Experience homeless (1 in 5)
- Experience repeated incarceration (1 in 4)
- Experience pregnancy before their 21st birthday (60% of young women)
All of these issues are likely to start the cycle all over again without the intervention of a loving family for these at-risk children.
And the King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40 NASB
Are you, or someone you know, interested in learning more about serving through a family ministry opportunity? If you are interested in caring "for the least of these," check out the links and agencies below.
- Fostering a child or sibling group
- Adopting a child or sibling group
- See the profiles of children who are waiting to be adopted in our area
- Standing up for children and protecting their rights through the Guardian Ad Litem Program
- Florida United Methodist Children's Home
- Florida Baptist Children's Home
- Bridge A Life
- Guardian Angels of Southwest Florida