Ohio | CHAMPS

Governor DeWine Launches Effort To Recruit Foster Families

Governor Mike DeWine wants to increase the number of foster families available to meet the growing need, and has launched a recruiting effort. The state has a new foster care and adoption website that gives Ohioans information on requirements and responsibilities for would-be foster parents. But Bret Crow with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says it is part of a larger public awareness campaign. “That involves display ads, it involves social media hits, it involves key word searches.”

The number of kids in foster care has soared 28 percent in the last five years, in nearly all cases because of the opioid crisis. One of DeWine’s first executive orders was to elevate foster care priorities within the job and family services agency.

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Facts & Data

13,174 Children 0-17 in foster care

14% Youth who are not with a family (in group/institution)

17 Average length of stay for children in FC (months)

1,244 Number of children at risk for aging out

48% Youth with 1 placement

24% Youth with 2 placements

11% Youth with 3 placements

17% Youth with 4 or more placements

Contact

Web jfs.ohio.gov/ocf/index.stm

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What Works in Foster Care: Presentation by Rita Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

published: Jan 31, 2018

author: CHAMPS

type: Blog Post

state: Ohio

Rita Soronen, the President and CEO of the Ohio-based Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, spoke at the CHAMPS 2018 Kick-off Event on January 31, 2018 in Washington, D.C. She has been at the helm of the Dave Thomas Foundation for…

"How Do You Find a Home for a Foster Child at a Time Like This?" (The Atlantic, October 11, 2020)

published: Jan 14, 2021

author: CHAMPS

topics: foster parenting

type: News Article

state: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 47 more

This article in the Atlantic by Kate Cray provides a close up look at the difficult challenges of foster parenting during the pandemic and highlights struggles agencies face in continuing to recruit, support and retain families. Foster families from New…

State-based foster and kinship families write to Congress about COVID-19 pandemic

published: May 12, 2020

author: CHAMPS

topics: COVID-19

type: Blog Post

state: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 47 more

In May 2020, state-based organizations of foster families and kinship caregivers from across the country wrote to Congress to share their unique point of view about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of children and youth…

Foster family recruitment, development and support: During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond (Part 3 of 3)

published: May 11, 2020

author: CHAMPS

topics: COVID-19, foster parenting, Recruitment, Retention

type: Blog Post

state: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 47 more

Foster family recruitment, development and support: During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond A Three-Part Conversation with Denise Goodman, PhD In this three-part series, Denise Goodman, a national expert in foster family recruitment, development and support, shared with CHAMPS her perspective…

Foster family recruitment, development and support: During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond (Part 2 of 3)

published: May 11, 2020

author: CHAMPS

topics: COVID-19, foster parenting, Recruitment, Retention

type: Blog Post

state: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 47 more

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CHAMPS is an exciting new policy campaign with dozens of partner organizations working together to highlight the vital importance of foster parents to the health and well-being of children in foster care. Check out what’s going on nationally and in the states.