PORT ST LUCIE — Communities Connected for Kids released its 2024 State of Our Children, and, despite the threat of a looming deficit, the kids are alright.

In fact, the number of children entering care slowed significantly during the past 12 months, bringing the total number of children in care down by 18 percent, while another significant decrease was realized in the number of children sheltered (generally speaking, the first step to being removed from home.)

Numbers continued to go in the right direction regarding children leaving care. CCKids saw a 15 percent increase in the number of those children who left foster or group care to return home or who were adopted.

And because a $2.4 million deficit is expected by 2025, the new Early Services Engagement Program was set up through a special legislative appropriation - a move that means the program could be launched outside CCKids’ existing budget. The program will help prevent children from entering deeper-end services and is expected to pay for itself within two years, potentially lowering costs throughout the system.

CCKids’ financial challenges are due to the way state funds are distributed among Florida’s child-welfare lead agencies. The model is designed in a way that financially punishes agencies that are successful in key indicators, such as the number of children moved to permanency or who are prevented from entering deep-end services.

Currently, the state Department of Children and Families is working with CCKids and the state’s other lead agencies to design a different funding model.