BETTER BACK TOGETHER

Family Reunification In

Our Community Daytona Beach, Fla. - There is a widespread myth that the child welfare system wants to separate children from their families. But the reality is that everyone involved works very hard to reunify families so they can live safely and happily together.

The non-profit organization Community Partnership for Children (CPC) leads the local child welfare system. Together with a network of community partners, CPC provides a comprehensive system of care for abused and neglected children in Flagler, Putnam, and Volusia Counties. CPC always strives to prevent abuse and neglect before they start. The organization employs prevention programs that connect at-risk families with the local resources they need to thrive. Strengthening families in this way allows children to avoid entering the formal foster care system.

When prevention is not possible, children are removed for their own safety following a judicial hearing. In these cases, the children are placed temporarily with relatives, kinship caregivers, or foster parents. The youth receive love, care, and services while their parents follow a case plan approved by the court.

The family’s case plan includes a variety of components designed to address the underlying factors that led to their children’s removal. CPC and its partners work closely with the parent to help them through the process. Meanwhile, the court continues to monitor the case, including a judicial review every six months.

“Compassion for those parents who have had their children removed is critical,” said Karin Flositz, CEO of Community

Partnership for Children. “Many people face great personal struggles like addiction or generational violence and deserve an opportunity to be supported and receive the help they need to overcome the challenges they have experienced.” communitypartnershipforchildren.org

After the parents complete the case plan, the happy day arrives when children and families are reunified. Over 6,700 Florida children have been reunified with their families this past year. The final reunification represents a victory won by child welfare professionals, service providers, the judiciary, guardians ad litem, foster parents - and of course, the biological parents themselves.

There are many ways that everyone in our community can help strengthen families, from donating to abuse prevention efforts, to volunteering with CPC, to becoming a foster parent. More information is available at CommunityPartnershipforChildren. org.

(386) 238-4900

135 Executive Circle, 2nd Floor, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 the definition,” Cooley said. The proposed site plan consists of two buildings — one with 27 apartment units, and the other with 12 — and 79 parking spaces. It has 12.3 units per acre, which is below the city’s cap

Cooley said he would like to see Joyce Street paved to reduce traffic on Leslie Street. The developer is not planning to pave the road, but has agreed to help stabilize it as an access road.

City planner Larry Torino said the applicant has addressed every concern that city staff members have raised, including adding a second fire hydrant.

The development includes a

“You’re providing the potential for active recreation,” Torino said. “That’s the intention.”

Mayor Suzie Johnston suggested adjusting the sidewalk design to make its recreational purpose more explicit — for instance, by adding an area for hopscotch.

The commission approved the plan on the condition that the developer make the recreation areas more defined.