Selfless Love Foundation Inc

Adoptions: slf provides child welfare agencies & families from across the state of florida support, advocacy, and education to help families on their adoption journey and post-adoption. Slf spearheads the statewide national adoption month campaign and hosts an online private password-protected portal showcasing children eligible for adoption as well as families ready to adopt, and provides adoption connection events. Adoptions impact: completed 167 home studies, hosted 15 support groups and learning sessions for pre- and post-adoptive families, finalized 117 adoptions with 24 sibling groups kept together, served 231 families, hosted the art of adoption recruitment event with artwork by youth eligible for adoption showcasing a recruitment method not reliant on photos of children in line with hb 1083, led national adoption month, provided 2 adoption connection events to connect youth eligible for adoption with pre-adoptive families.

Advocacy: slf supports the development of youth leaders to advocate for changes to the child welfare system. Provides youth and young adults with lived experience training in self, local and legislative advocacy, develops annual policy priorities, coordinates meetings with state leaders and legislators to improve policies and practices, leads national foster youth voice month, and leads the national network. Advocacy impact-slfs advocacy efforts led to the creation of a national network comprising of organizations and young adults impacted by foster care across 40 states. This network meets quarterly to coordinate education, advocacy, share best practices, and empower young people, fostering nationwide collaboration for and by youth.slf expanded the statewide foster youth voice month campaign nationwide with 36 states participating to shift the perception of youth being seen as service recipients to being seen as organizational assets. Slf, together with young adults in slfs ovi network, created a bill that received bi-partisan support and was passed unanimously in the 2024 legislative session. Hb 1083 requires the states adoption photo listing public-facing website to be private and password-protected to be viewed only by adults on the adoption journey, allows for youth to have choice in the photo used and be consulted on their description, providing dignity and protection to youth eligible for adoption in the child welfare system. Slf engaged youth leaders in listening sessions and group community cafes with child welfare professionals at the florida coalition for children conference, creating policy priorities and next steps for enacting recommendations from 2023 think tank on permanent connections.