Child Welfare Programs Become Fully Privatized

Florida has become the first state in the nation to fully privatize its child welfare programs, after signing a $75-million contract to hand over those responsibilities in its last two counties.

The deal Friday with Our Kids Inc. gives the group the right to handle all foster care, adoption and child welfare licensing operations in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, where about 5,000 children are now under state care.

The effort has been a cornerstone of Gov. Jeb Bush’s plan to improve the state’s troubled child protection system, which has been rocked by a series of high-profile child-abuse incidents in recent years.