Office of Child and Family Well-Being

The Florida Department of Children and Families is committed to the well-being of children and their families. Our responsibilities encompass a wide-range of services, including - among other things - assistance to families working to stay safely together or be reunited, foster care, youth and young adults transitioning from foster care to independence, and adoption.

The statewide Office of Child & Family Well-Being and regional Family Safety program offices work in partnership with local communities, courts, and tribes to ensure the safety, timely permanency, and well-being of children. The people who work in child welfare conduct, supervise and administer programs for dependent children and their families.

Child welfare services are directed toward these goals:

• The prevention of separation of children from their families.
• The protection of children alleged to be abuse, neglected, or abandoned including provision of emergency and long-term alternate living arrangements.
• The reunification of families who have had children placed with relatives or in foster homes or institutions.
• The establishment of permanent living arrangements for children who cannot be reunited with their families or when reunification would not be in the best interest of the child.
• The transition to self-sufficiency for older children who continue to be in foster care as adolescents.
• The preparation of young adults that exit foster care at age 18 to make the transition to self-sufficiency as adults.