Kiara Sanchez

Florida Foster Care Review

Florida Foster Care Review is an independent, non-profit organization that helps the Juvenile Court of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit monitor the cases of abused, neglected and abandoned children who have been placed in foster care. In a system that is overburdened, Foster Care Review makes sure that children and youth living in our community's foster care system have adults they can count on to look out for their best interests and basic needs such as healthcare, stable schooling and safe, permanent homes. To accomplish this, we rely on our greatest strength – concerned citizens who volunteer to serve one full weekday per month on citizen review panels that conduct case review hearings. At each review, volunteers interview and evaluate updates from social workers, foster parents and children; monitor the well-being of each child; and make recommendations to the court regarding services the child needs and future actions that need to be taken to ensure the child's safety, well-being and progress towards placement in a permanent home. With each panel's recommendations, a juvenile court judge gains the insight of committed adults who have heard the facts, considered the options and serve as advocates for each child.