TAMPA BAY ROUNDTABLE
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Mission Statement
To offer a collaborative supportive platform that empowers children, families, and professionals of our community. Just as the strength of a circle relies on the connection of all its points, the power of our roundtable method fosters an environment where all voices are heard and valued equally, promoting meaningful discourse and actionable solutions. Our commitment is to build resilient, healthy relationships and support for positive changes that benefit the broader community. By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, including foster parents, caregivers, case managers, advocates, attorneys, and judges, the Tampa Bay Roundtable is dedicated to raising awareness and reinforcing community ties, ensuring that every individual and family receives the encouragement and resources needed to succeed.
About This Cause
Support Our Home-Like Visitation Center: A Space for Healing, Connection, and Stronger Futures Our home-like visitation center is a thoughtfully designed space where families can engage authentically in meaningful, everyday activities that mirror real-life experiences. Unlike traditional visitation settings—such as parks, case management offices, libraries, or malls—which are not conducive to the day-to-day parenting tasks that naturally occur in the home, our center provides a nurturing and supportive environment where families can practice practical parenting skills in a private setting. This supportive space plays a fundamental role in facilitating the repair and strengthening of parent-child relationships, particularly in situations where bonds have been strained or disrupted due to removal for safety concerns. Visitation in child welfare is more than just time spent together; it is a structured and secure opportunity for parents and children to reconnect, strengthen their attachment, and rebuild trust. Under the guidance of trained professionals, parents are provided real-time support and feedback as they practice parenting skills, refine communication strategies, and engage in nurturing, positive interactions. This hands-on, supervised approach ensures that the skills parents learn in therapy or parenting classes are not merely theoretical but are effectively integrated into their day-to-day interactions, fostering healthier and more secure relationships. The Impact: Reducing Length of Cases, Foster Care Placements, Recidivism, and Costs to the Community Having a home-like visitation center does far more than support individual families—it creates broader systemic benefits for the juvenile dependency system and the community at large: 1. Shortens the Length of Juvenile Dependency Cases Providing a structured, therapeutic environment where parents can quickly demonstrate readiness for reunification helps expedite the permanency process. Parents who receive real-time coaching and opportunities to practice new skills often show progress sooner. Research has shown that frequent, quality visitation significantly reduces the time children spend in out-of-home care by supporting earlier reunification or other permanency goals. This prevents prolonged legal proceedings, reducing strain on the courts and case management systems. 2. Reduces the Need for Foster Homes When families are provided with the tools, guidance, and environment needed to rebuild relationships and demonstrate readiness for reunification, fewer children remain in foster care. Offering a space that allows families to demonstrate day-to-day life changes they need to be granted options for reunification more quickly directly contributes to a decreased need for foster care placements. This alleviates pressure on an already overwhelmed foster care system, ensuring that resources are reserved for cases where placement remains necessary. 3. Prevents Recidivism One of the most significant benefits of a home-like visitation center is its ability to prevent recidivism—re-entry into the juvenile dependency system. By providing parents with a supportive, hands-on learning environment, the center ensures that parents not only learn new skills but also practice and refine them with professional feedback. This leads to long-term behavior change, stronger parenting practices, and healthier parent-child relationships. Successful reunification reduces the likelihood of future removals, breaking the cycle of disruption and trauma that often impacts families involved in the child welfare system. 4. Decreases Costs to Taxpayers and the Community Juvenile dependency cases, foster care placements, and extended legal proceedings place a significant financial burden on taxpayers. According to national data, the average annual cost of foster care per child can range from $25,000 to $50,000, depending on state resources and services provided. When children remain in the system for extended periods, these costs multiply. Additionally, recidivism places further strain on resources, leading to repeated expenses for courts, foster care placements, and case management services. By reducing the time children spend in care and preventing re-entry into the system, our center provides a cost-effective solution that saves taxpayer dollars while promoting healthier family outcomes. 5. Promotes Long-Term Community Stability Successful reunification, supported through therapeutic visitation, reduces the risk of long-term challenges for families, such as mental health issues, behavioral disruptions, or involvement in the juvenile justice system. Children who return to stable, loving homes experience fewer developmental and emotional setbacks, contributing to stronger educational outcomes, improved well-being, and healthier adult relationships. These benefits ripple through the community, creating lasting stability and breaking generational cycles of trauma and involvement in child welfare systems. In addition to supporting reunification efforts, our center provides opportunities for families to build community connections. By sharing experiences and fostering understanding, families can establish supportive networks that help sustain their healing and growth. This sense of connection reduces isolation, promotes resilience, and reinforces the stability needed for long-term success.