The measure of a foster care system should be how well it succeeds in safely keeping children with family, reunifying them with family, or helping them find a permanent home. By these measures, Northwest Florida is making real progress.
When NWF Health Network assumed responsibility for foster care in Circuit 1 in November 2022, more than 1,200 children were living in out-of-home care across Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties. We went to work developing safety management services, filling case management positions, supporting foster parents, and surging adoption resources. The result was more reunifications, record adoptions and fewer children in foster care. By July 2026, the census had fallen to 936, a reduction of 311 children, or approximately 25 percent.
That progress matters. But it is not the finish line…