Hillsborough Kids - helping kids and families

Hillsborough Kids, Inc. (HKI) oversees the care of approximately 2,800 children and teens in Hillsborough County due to abuse or neglect. HKI’s mission is to keep kids safe while strengthening families.

Funded primarily through Florida’s Department of Children and Families, HKI is the lead agency managing child welfare in Hillsborough County. HKI’s Community-Based Care network of partner agencies provide:

• Child abuse prevention
• Family crisis intervention and preservation – providing short-term services for families to assist with keeping families intact.
• Diversion services – in coordination with Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Child Protection Investigation Department – to avoid unnecessarily removing children from their home and helping to preserve families.
• Independent living guidance for teens in foster care and those aging-out of child welfare.
• Supervision, keeping children in a safe and stable environment.
• Case management – Dependency court supervision.
• Foster and residential care management.
• Adoption placement.
• Foster parent and adoption recruitment and training.

Recent Successes
(from June 2006 to June 2009)

• 42% reduction of children in the System of Care from 4863 to 2802
• 45% reduction of children in Residential Facility Care from 343 to 189.
• 31% reduction of children in Licensed Foster Care from 1415 to 980.
• 40% increase in adoptions from 314 to 441 annually.

Among 22 Community Based Care organizations in the state of Florida, Hillsborough Kids led the way with 441 adoptions for fiscal year 08/09.