Thanks to the collaboration of several area churches and nonprofit organizations, Walton County teens in foster care have a newly updated space to enjoy visitation time with their families.

FamiliesFirst Network provides child welfare, foster care and adoption services, helping abused and neglected children from Walton to Escambia County. Seeing an increased need for supporting teens in foster care, FamiliesFirst Network alerted partners with CarePortal – a nationwide platform that connects supporters to meet the needs of kids and families in crisis. Crosspoint Church in Niceville along with Heart of the Bride and Family Mission Field collaborated on transforming a visitation room at FamiliesFirst Network’s DeFuniak Springs office to serve families of teens.

Crosspoint selected the program as their Community Service Day project, purchasing and collecting items, then coordinating delivery and setup to help make the space more comfortable and welcoming for families.

We are honored and touched by the generous support of our community partners, who gave so thoughtfully in support of teens impacted by abuse. Our team members have seen a tremendous need for supporting teens in the child welfare system, and our faith community has truly been a light to families during a challenging time.

When a child is removed from the biological home in cases of suspected abuse, visitation times are crucial in the effort to help maintain a strong bond with family members while working through barriers to reunification. FamiliesFirst Network’s specially trained case managers support children and families with a wide range of needs – including prevention services inside the biological home, working to keep families together.

FamiliesFirst Network offers multiple service centers from Escambia to Walton County to conveniently meet the needs of families we serve. To help our service centers with amenities like these community partners have provided, please donate to our programs.