Eckerd Connects will lay off 176 employees at the end of June after the company’s contract to manage foster care services in Hillsborough County was not renewed.
The company notified the state last week that its facility on North Florida Avenue in Tampa will permanently close on June 30 and all employees will be affected.
The Florida Department of Children and Families announced last month that it was contracting with Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, a Fort Myers nonprofit, to take over foster care services in Hillsborough at the end of June.
Last year, Eckerd lost its contract to manage foster care services in Pinellas and Pasco counties and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office launched a criminal investigation into how the company treated children in its care.
More than 230 employees at facilities in Largo, Dade City and Trinity lost their jobs at the end of 2021.
The state selected Jacksonville-based agency Family Support Services of North Florida to take control of child welfare in Pasco and Pinellas in January.
Eckerd had announced it would not seek renewal of its Hillsborough contract, where the agency has also struggled.
