Agenda 05/28/2024 Item # 4A (Proclamation designating May 2024 as National Foster Care Awareness Month)05/28/2024
P R O C L A M A T I O N
WHEREAS, the family is the indispensable foundation of society; at its best, it performs
tasks that no other entity can hope to duplicate. The family has the primary
responsibility for nurturing children, transmitting our culture, and building the
character traits that make for healthy adults and good citizens. Upon the
strength of the family rests the future of our Nation; and
WHEREAS, for a variety of reasons, however, some parents are unable to provide a
minimally acceptable level of care for their children, and temporary or
permanent alternative placement is necessary. National Foster Care Month
presents an appropriate opportunity for all of us (public officials, business,
religious, and community leaders, and parents alike) to reflect on the pressures
facing families today and on the need for increased efforts to ensure that
abandoned or abused children have the opportunity to live in healthy, loving
homes; and
WHEREAS, the emphasis in foster care must be on the well-being of the child, and public
policy must serve to promote alternative placement that represents actual care
and not mere custody. Because the tasks facing foster parents often include
special challenges, such as care of a child who is physically or mentally
handicapped or who has been emotionally or physically abused, the mothers and
fathers whom society qualifies to accept this added responsibility must be held
to a high standard. To accomplish this goal, many more happy and successful
families must be willing to step forward and to offer to share heart and home
with children desperately longing for both. The aim of all foster care must be
the establishment for the child of a sense of permanence and belonging; and
WHEREAS, National Foster Care Month also provides an opportunity to offer public thanks
for the sacrifices and dedication of the many foster parents and concerned
professionals working in the field of foster care. Their jobs require
extraordinary patience and love, and their rewards are often reaped only years
after their primary labor is done -- when the child is grown and fully
appreciates what has been done for him or her, or when society pauses from
its hectic rush forward to recognize the good they have accomplished;
NOW THEREFORE, be it proclaimed by the Board of County Commissioners of Collier County,
Florida, that May 2024 be designated as
NATIONAL FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH
DONE AND ORDERED THIS 28TH Day of May 2024.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
_____________________
CHRIS HALL, CHAIRMAN
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05/28/2024
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 4.A
Doc ID: 28952
Item Summary: *** This Item continued from the May 14, 2024 BCC Meeting. *** Proclamation designating
May 2024 as National Foster Care Awareness Month. To be accepted by Rick Jacobs, 4KIDS Southwest Florida
Executive Director, and Karole Davis, 4KIDS Southwest Florida Partner Engagement Officer.
Meeting Date: 05/28/2024
Prepared by:
Title: Management Analyst II – County Manager's Office
Name: Geoffrey Willig
05/16/2024 3:28 PM
Submitted by:
Title: Deputy County Manager – County Manager's Office
Name: Amy Patterson
05/16/2024 3:28 PM
Approved By:
Review:
County Manager's Office Geoffrey Willig Policy & Proclamation Review Completed 05/16/2024 4:20 PM
County Manager's Office Amy Patterson County Manager Review Completed 05/17/2024 12:57 PM
Board of County Commissioners Geoffrey Willig Meeting Pending 05/28/2024 9:00 AM
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