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Hibiscus Children's Center — HOPE Prograrn (Healthy Opportunities for Parenting Excellence) <br /> Indian River County Children's Services Advisory Committee - <br /> B. PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page.) <br /> 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need? <br /> c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference <br /> source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. <br /> 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? <br /> The abuse, neglect, or abandonment of children. Sadly, the devastating effects of child abuse go <br /> far beyond its immediate physical and emotional impact on the child. The impact permeates <br /> throughout the child' s entire life cycle. Abused children show higher rates of school <br /> delinquency and failure, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, early entry into the criminal <br /> justice system, and domestic violence. <br /> b) Who has the need? <br /> Families who have children, birth - 17, removed from their home due to child abuse and/or <br /> neglect and are identified as high risk in the process of reuniting children with their families of <br /> origin. <br /> c) Where do they live? <br /> Services are provided to children and families in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee <br /> counties. The program works with families from all demographic backgrounds. <br /> d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that <br /> this is an area of need. <br /> ➢ The numbers of children in the care of the child-welfare system has continued to grow, from <br /> 260,000 children in out-of-home care in the 1980s to more than 500,000 in recent years. <br /> (Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data Book 2006) <br /> ➢ Of the children exiting out-of-home care in the United States in 2003 , 54% were reunited <br /> with their parents or other family members. (Child Welfare League of America, National <br /> Fact Sheet 2006) <br /> ➢ Overall, Florida ranks 33rd in the nation in terms of child well-being. (Annie E. Casey Kids <br /> Count Data Book 2006) <br /> ➢ There are currently 1 ,944 children under the supervision of United For Families on the <br /> Treasure Coast; 296 of these children are from Indian River County of which 172 are in out <br /> of home placements . The out of home average length of stay is 11 .2 months. (UFF Report to <br /> the Alliance, January 2007). <br /> ➢ According to the Florida' s Children Needs Assessment 2003 /2004, Indian River County <br /> ranked higher than the state average in substance exposed newborns rate, lower percent of <br /> two-parent households and higher percent of adults using alcohol. <br /> ➢ Since February 1993 , Hibiscus HOPE Program has served 1 ,947 families in Martin, St. <br /> Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties with an average success rate of 90%. <br /> 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted <br /> population ; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted <br /> population of your program. <br /> There are no other programs in the district whose primary goal is to provide services to expedite <br /> the process of high risk family reunification for children. <br /> 4 <br />