Our History

St. Francis Foundation, Inc. (a 501 (c) (3) not for profit corporation) is the parent agency of Everyday Blessings.   Everyday Blessings was founded in August of 1997 as a non-denominational, cooperative adoption agency and was licensed by the State of Florida as a Child Placing Agency in July 1998. At this same point in time, Everyday Blessings began offering foster parent recruitment, training and support. In November of 2008 Everyday Blessings ended its foster care program to focus more fully on adoptions and group care. On January 25, 2003, Everyday Blessings received a second license through the State of Florida as a Child Caring Agency, adding residential group care as a program of St. Francis Foundation, Inc. This program houses and provides for the needs of 30 children at any given time.

Our Mission

Everyday Blessings stands as a nondenominational, faith-based “not for profit” child welfare agency whose mission is to provide services to abused, abandoned and neglected children with the ultimate goal of placing them into safe, stable and permanent homes.

Our Purpose

The purpose of Everyday Blessings is to ensure stability and permanency not only in the lives of children whose biological parent(s) recognize their inability to care for them, but also for children who have been permanently removed from their families due to neglect and abuse - children who otherwise would likely spend their childhood moving from home to home within the foster care system.

Everyday Blessings serves children without regard to race, gender or religious affiliation.

Who we Serve

Children who are in need of a permanent placement with a caring family.

While there is always a primary goal of returning children to their biological family, this is not always possible. When children cannot return home then they must wait patiently for a new permanent adoptive family. Study after study has shown that the less time children have to spend in foster or institutional care, the better. Children languishing in foster care for long periods of time are known to develop a range of physical, emotional, social and spiritual problems that often perpetuate themselves over future generations of children. Families interested in adopting these children can qualify for State funding and support that make the cost of adoption virtually cost-free to the parents.

Our Services

Child Services: Everyday Blessings offers group care, clinical counseling, tutoring, educational, social and leisure activities, medical oversight, daycare and nursery programming, crisis intervention, case management, transportation and ongoing social/emotional supports.

A Glossary

Termination of Parental Rights:
A court decision that is made as a result of abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment of the child. Termination of Parental Rights can occur if a parent:

- voluntarily surrenders his/her rights to parent the child

- fails to comply with the conditions necessary for regaining custody of the child

- is defaulted, because of his/her failure to be present at court hearings after having been subpoenaed to appear

- cannot be found even after a diligent search (specified by the laws of the State of Florida) has been conducted.

Special Needs Child:
- A child who has formed an emotional attachment to his/her caregiver and for whom a move would be traumatic.

- A Caucasian child who is 8 years of age or older.

- A minority child of any age.

- A sibling group of any race, any age.

- A child with mild, moderate, or severe physical, mental, or emotional handicaps.

Everyday Blessings
P.O. Box 1264, Thonotosassa, Florida 33592
Phone 813-982-9226 - Fax 813-986-0298 - Email everydayblessings@everybless.org

This initial website was produced with the generous assistance of the Children's Board of Hillsborough County.

Everyday Blessings is a Florida licensed child placing agency providing services to birth parents, adoptive parents and, especially to children involved in the adoption process. It has complied with the standards set by the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families, for a child placing agency. As such it is licensed to operate as a child placing agency and this license shall continue in force and be renewed on the 25th day of July of each year. Our services are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families. Other sponsors include the Children's Board of Hillsborough County as well as numerous foundations, corporations and individuals. Everyday Blessings is a program of St. Francis Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit Florida corporation. All donations are tax deductible.