WFSU: Florida foster kids go home for the holidays (2011-12-22)

The song, "Home for the Holidays" will have a special meaning for hundreds of foster care children this year. As Sascha Cordner reports, about 2-thousand children in Florida's foster care system will be with their loved ones this holiday season.

About 1100 kids are visiting with relatives or family friends in Florida or another state. Others will be moved into permanent homes through adoption, permanent guardianship, or will reunite with their parents. Florida Department of Children and Families Spokesman Joe Follick says it's all thanks to the help of their community partners:

"We try to make sure year round that kids in foster care have the opportunity to enjoy things that so many of us take for granted and during the holidays, we work closely with judges, local agencies to make sure that we can located family members so they can experience just the simple experience of being with family members during the holidays."

The state's community-based care agencies are helping with the costs of travel expenses for children who are unable to pay their own way.

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