Bay Area non-profit helps foster families stay together

TAMPA, Fla. - A Bay Area organization helps keep thousands of foster children with relatives instead of in foster care.  

Life has taken an unexpected turn for Kelly Dube and her grandchildren Avery and Wyatt. 

"It was a big change," said Kelly. "My husband and I have four children and our youngest son had gone to college and we thought we were empty nesters and life totally changed." 

They'd already been grandparents, but all of a sudden they were raising their grandchildren.

"Their parents went through a turbulent time and they came to live with me with their mother when they were about two and three and she ended up having more trauma and difficulties in life," explained Dube. Over the past six years, their grandchildren's needs were expensive, especially health insurance. Then they found out about the Children's Home Network Kinship Navigator Program. It connects caregivers raising family members' children with services and resources to support family stability.  "Getting them the resources that they needed, and providing them the emotional support, you know, to make sure that, you know, they could manage all the changes that they were experiencing," 

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Larry Cooper, executive vice president of innovation at the Children's Home Network said. 

Cooper, knows all about the support the families need. He's been a social worker for more than 20 years with the Children's Home network. His team and volunteers have served more than 10,000 children.  

"We were pretty adept at finding resources, making those connections, trying to smooth the path for those grandparents to make that job hopefully a little bit easier for them so we can make sure that those kids are going to thrive with those relatives," he said. 

READ: Florida program aimed at keeping kids out of foster care, helping families stay together

Cooper was recently recognized for his great work by being named a Tampa Bay Lighting Community Hero, and given $50,000 for the kinship program. It honors his work helping grandparents and relatives who take in abused, abandoned, and neglected children instead of sending them to foster homes.  

"We've invested a lot of energy and it's translated into a lot of success for grandparents and relatives and kids who've been thriving with and staying with their families and really outside of foster care," Cooper stated. 

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The resources it provided have helped the Dube family create a loving and nurturing home for their grandchildren. 

"My granddaughter, she just comes up with the funniest thing sometimes. Like she's like, ‘Oh, Mimi, when you're old and you can't drive anymore, I'll make sure I take you and your friends out for lunch.’ And it just warms your heart. I can't imagine them not living with us anymore. They totally make our days," Kelly said. The Children's Home Network was founded in 1992 and social service programs for at-risk children and families across Florida. 

For more information, visit www.childrenshomenetwork.org.