The UF IFAS Center for Public Issues Education (PIE Center) is helping evaluate the implementation of a new statewide program that offers benefits to foster children in Florida and provides support to their caregivers
The Florida Department of Children and Families implemented the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) to provide support and resources to caregivers (relatives and fictive kin) of children who were removed from their primary caregiver due to abuse or neglect. Benefits of the GAP include financial support, health care, college tuition, parenting resources and community support.
Martie Gillen, University of Florida associate professor of family, youth and community sciences leads the project and partnered with the PIE Center to analyze the GAP communication materials and host listening sessions with program participants.
“The GAP implementation evaluation is a Florida legislative mandate,” Gillen said. “At my request, the PIE Center examined the GAP communication materials and made recommendations for improvement.”
PIE Center research coordinator Sandra Anderson has been working closely with Gillen on this project.
“The GAP is a relatively new program that is being implemented,” Anderson said. “Martie was approached to evaluate the program’s implementation, and we are partnering with Martie to offer research on the implementation.”
The PIE Center completed a communication audit of materials used by local and state agencies to communicate about the GAP and hosted listening sessions to learn about participants’ perceptions of the program.
“We knew it would be important to hear directly from people who were participating in the program to learn how the program was communicated to the participants and what communication opportunities might exist,” Anderson said.
This project is funded by the Florida Institute of Child Welfare. The evaluation is still ongoing, and results will be incorporated into a final report that is due to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office in January 2021.
