{"id":154870,"date":"2026-02-13T22:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154870\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T22:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:06:06","slug":"jafco-childrens-village-keeps-siblings-together-in-trying-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154870\/","title":{"rendered":"JAFCO Children’s Village keeps siblings together in trying times"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 On the day she turned 18, Keira sat down with Forever Family<\/a> to talk about growing up in care alongside her two brothers \u2014 and why having a steady support system made all the difference. Now, with college acceptance letters arriving, Keira says JAFCO Children\u2019s Village <\/a>has given her the foundation to dream big and a place to call home while she\u2019s away at school.<\/p>\n

Keira and her brothers moved to JAFCO a few years ago. For Keira, the ability to stay with her siblings was life-changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving people listen to what you need just coming here, it raises a lot of support,\u201d Keira told us.<\/p>\n

Justin Kohlhagen, Psy.D., CEO of JAFCO, says keeping siblings together is a priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s already such a trauma if a child is being removed from home; then to get separated from siblings is such a tragedy. One of the most special things about JAFCO is our commitment to keep those groups together,\u201d Kohlhagen said.<\/p>\n

See also: New housing complex offers stability for young adults aging out of foster care<\/a><\/p>\n

Keira says that support has meant everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really important for me because most places don\u2019t really give you the ability to stay with them. It\u2019s pretty great \u2014 we all have our own room.\u201d<\/p>\n

JAFCO provides more than just housing. Residents receive therapy, educational support, and help pursuing extracurricular interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s their form of self-expression that they may not have had the luxury of having,\u201d said Christina Abanto, BSSW, Educational Navigator at JAFCO.<\/p>\n

Keira says the organization has supported her goals in countless ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, they provide anything I need \u2014 if I have a debate competition, if I need something to wear, or help paying for photography because that\u2019s one of my interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abanto says she\u2019s watched Keira grow into a leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so incredible to see all the things she\u2019s been able to do since she\u2019s joined us here. She has really been able to grow as a leader. I think JAFCO is the perfect testament of what happens when a child has the love and attention they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

That support has also included help navigating the college application process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things I have to fill out for financial aid and things I really don\u2019t know the answer to,\u201d Keira said.<\/p>\n

As her social worker and educational navigator, Abanto is there to answer those questions and provide guidance every step of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think their situation shouldn\u2019t be something that stops them from living the life of their dreams,\u201d Abanto said.<\/p>\n

As Keira prepares to head off to college, JAFCO will continue to offer her a place to return during breaks and whenever she needs support \u2014 a safety net that allows her to focus on building her future.<\/p>\n

To learn more about JAFCO and how you can get involved, visit jafco.org.<\/p>\n

For more Forever Family stories, visit ForeverFamily.org<\/a>, in partnership with ChildNet<\/a> and The Boca Raton<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 On the day she turned 18, Keira sat down with Forever Family…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-154870","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}