Today, the Florida Department of Children and Families spotlights milestones and celebrates outcomes achieved as a result of Governor Ron DeSantis’ leadership and the collective impact of many to protect, support, and empower Floridians and their families.

“The results we are seeing for children and families across Florida are not by happenstance,” said Department Secretary Taylor N. Hatch. “They reflect years of intentional leadership by Governor DeSantis and First Lady DeSantis, strong partnerships in the Florida Legislature and local organizations, and a commitment to serving families as if they were our own. Every accomplishment achieved in 2025 represents a moment that mattered—a child kept safely at home, a family stabilized, or a life saved. We look forward to another year of building a legacy that is continually informed by the voices of those we serve.”

Since 2019, Florida has sustained measurable improvements across child and family well-being, homelessness, behavioral health, and economic self-sufficiency. Florida’s deliberate and unrelenting focus on prevention, early intervention and targeted supports have contributed to the following outcomes:

• A 47 percent reduction in children entering out-of-home care since 2019, reflecting strong family stabilization efforts and proactive supports.
• Strategic investments in housing supports provided through a multitude of partners like the Managing Entities and the Continuums of Care, which saw a 308% increase in state funding since Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23, leading to a decrease of 35% in homelessness in Florida, the largest decrease in homelessness of any state in 2024.
• Nearly one third reduction in opioid-related deaths for the most recent reporting period, calendar year 2023-2024, driven by expanded treatments and supports.
• A 20 percent decrease in involuntary Baker Act examinations statewide from FY 2019-2020 to FY 2024-2025.
• Reductions in Floridians’ reliance on government assistance, including a decrease of 6 percent for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or food assistance, 43 percent for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or cash assistance, and 16 percent for Medicaid during calendar year 2025.
• More than 33,000 participants of Hope Florida reduced or no longer needed public 
  assistance, generating an estimated $128 million in annual savings.

Protecting Florida’s Most Vulnerable and Supporting Strong, Resilient Families

Child Protection and Wellbeing

• More than 240 missing and endangered youth were safely recovered and provided with support and placement coordination through four major multi-agency missing youth recovery operations—Operations Dragon Eye, Home for the Holidays, Northern Lights, and the Northeast Florida Child Rescue Mission.
  • The Department’s Human Trafficking Team, Missing Child Unit, Regional Criminal Justice Coordinators, Child Protective Investigators, Community Based Care organizations, 
    Managing Entities, and providers from across the state partnered with the U.S. Marshals, the Office of the Attorney General, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and the National Child Protection Task Force.
• Florida continued to see major improvements in child safety and permanency throughout 2025:
  • Children entering out-of-home care decreased to 7,575, down from 8,072 in 
    FY 2023-2024.
  • The number of children currently in out-of-home care decreased from 17,012 to 14,567.
  • Over 93 percent of children did not re-enter care within 12 months of achieving 
    permanency and permanency achieved within 12 months increased from 
    8 percent to 31.8 percent.
  • This progress reflects more children growing up in stable environments and families receiving the right supports at the right time.  

Advancements Informed, Created and Guided by Those with Lived Experience

• In 2025, the Department launched the Statewide Youth Advisory Board, a new youth-led group made up of youth and young adults, created to elevate and honor the voices of those with lived experience in Florida’s child welfare system. 
• This year, the Department launched a new Adopt Florida website, enhancing the adoption journey by streamlining the adoption process and connecting more children with permanent families by utilizing and optimizing available resources. 

Homelessness Reduction

In 2025, Florida made important progress in reducing homelessness even as the state’s population continued to grow. Overall homelessness dropped by more than 9 percent, and the number of people living without shelter, such as on the streets or in cars, fell by nearly 19 percent. Homelessness among Florida’s veterans also decreased by nearly 19 percent. Despite the ongoing population growth, these declines in homelessness demonstrate that targeted housing programs and support services are helping more people find stable places to live.

Fortifying Crisis Prevention and Behavioral Health Supports 

• Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) Network Currently operating in 47 counties, the CORE Network, an innovative, holistic recovery network launched under Governor Desantis’ leadership in 2022, continues to expand its reach and impact.
• In FY 2024-2025, the CORE Network:
  • Served 28,470 individuals with Opioid Use Disorder.
  • Provided 17,555 individuals with Medication-Assisted Treatment.
  • Responded to more than 55,900 overdose-related calls, with more than 17,000 
    specifically tied to Opioid Use Disorder and reversing an overdose with 
    naloxone on 16,988 of those calls.
• Since 2022, 133 student The Facts. Your Future. assemblies have been held, reaching 61,080 students in partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, providing an interactive and engaging approach to ensure our next generation is informed about the risks and challenges they may face.
  • In June 2025, more than $5 million, was awarded to five local non-profit entities across 50 counties to expand prevention initiatives.
  • From 2019 to 2025, nicotine vaping and marijuana vaping declined by 4 and 4.6 
    percentage points, respectively.
  • The number of students reporting that they felt “depressed or sad most days”, decreased from 47.3 percent in 2022 to 37.3 percent in 2025.
• During FY 2024-2025, Florida’s 988 Lifeline received 181,056 contacts, a 17 percent 
  increase from the prior fiscal year. More than 1,374 in-progress suicide attempts were de-escalated, with 100 percent of individuals reaching care safely.
• During FY 2024-2025, Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams served more than 4,100 individuals, with more than 525,200 encounters having occurred, maintaining 3 percent housing stability, with 45.3 percent continuing to live independently and 81 percent of individuals served maintained or improved their level of functioning.
• Family Intensive Treatment (FIT) teams served more than 1,700 families at risk for out of home care, and after receiving FIT services, 79 percent of families did not need out of home care. 

Modernizing Technology Systems and Innovation

• The Department deployed a new automated call center initiative, responding to more than 200,000 inquiries and allowing staff to prioritize urgent, complex cases during the recent federal shutdown to assist Floridians with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
• The Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System modernization project advanced toward full implementation, strengthening data integration and modernizing the statewide child welfare information system. 

The Department is grateful for the leadership of Governor DeSantis, valuable partners, and the incredible families we work to serve each day. As we look towards 2026, we are encouraged by progress made and motivated by the opportunities that lie ahead

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