Hard-to-place children in Hamilton Co. languish in group homes, foster care

County way behind in adoptions
Report calls 'abysmal' results 'case of public negligence'
Horn, Dan and Sharon Coolidge. Cincinnati Enquirer, March 17, 2007, pg. A1.

Hamilton County lags behind every other large Ohio county in finding parents to adopt children, despite almost five years of federal oversight intended to improve the program.

A scathing report issued this month found that children languish in foster care for months or years because the county does not aggressively recruit parents or match children to good homes.

The county's track record is especially poor for hard-to-place children, such as blacks, children over 10 years of age and kids who have been in the county's custody for more than two years.

"The Hamilton County program has had abysmal results," the report states. "It is not that the agency is ignorant of what it needs to do. What appears lacking is the will and/or resources to seriously undertake this essential work."

The findings are part of a semi-annual report that is required under a federal court settlement in 2002.

The criticism comes as the county's Department of Job and Family Services, which runs the adoption program, is under fire for its oversight of the foster care program. A recent review found that 11 percent of the parents checked had criminal records.

"This is another example of the problems we're finding at JFS," County Commissioner Pat DeWine said. "There is no reason Hamilton County should be so far behind every other county in the state.

"It's deeply, deeply disturbing."

According to the report, 36 percent of eligible children in Hamilton County were adopted in 2005, compared with 52 percent for all other large Ohio counties.

Between 2003 and mid-2006, Hamilton County finalized adoptions for 325 children.

Cuyahoga County, which is home to Cleveland, finalized 2,056 adoptions, while Franklin County, home to Columbus, finalized 991. Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton rank 1-2-3 in population among Ohio counties.

Hamilton County also trailed several smaller counties, including Montgomery, Lucas and Stark.

Job and Family Services officials said they know they can do better and plan to make changes, including expanded recruitment of parents. Currently, 291 children are awaiting adoption.

"This is a persistent problem for us, as it is for all counties," spokesman Brian Gregg said. "Many of our children are difficult to place. They have serious medical and behavioral issues. They are older.

"It is tough finding families."

Cincinnati attorney Frank Wasserman, who wrote the report, was assigned to monitor the county's program as part of the settlement of a 2002 lawsuit over discrimination in the adoption process.

Wasserman said the county now is in compliance with the rules on discrimination, but his report alleges neglect and misplaced priorities throughout the adoption program.

"Unless Hamilton County's commitment on these issues changes, it is hard to see how any progress will be made," Wasserman wrote. "The failure to undertake a diligent search for a permanent home for all children is simply a case of public negligence."

He said the greatest problem involves the handling of hard-to-place kids.

The county found homes for 18 percent of children aged 10 or older in 2005, compared with 26 percent for the rest of the state. Black children were placed in homes 34 percent of the time in Hamilton County, compared with 45 percent in other counties.

Wasserman's report said county officials must develop individualized "action plans" to match hard-to-place kids with parents.

But he said the department's bureaucracy creates delays and other problems that make it difficult to attract and retain potential adoptive parents.

Cathy Lanter, of Green Township, said she's experienced that bureaucracy firsthand. Lanter, 56, said she's been trying for months to get custody of her three grandchildren after her daughter's custody rights were revoked.

She said she is in the process of becoming a licensed foster parent and took parenting classes. But after several delays, she was told someone else would adopt two of the children.

"I've been failed by the county," Lanter said. The children "could be in familiar surroundings. They know me. They love me."

Al Gerhardstein, who filed the lawsuit that led to court oversight, said Wasserman's report reveals a problem much broader than the one targeted by the lawsuit in 2002.

He said children who are not placed through adoption typically remain in the foster care system or in group homes. He said the risk to society is that kids without parents are more likely to get into trouble, use drugs and commit crimes.

"They just don't get the nurturing they need," Gerhardstein said. "It is a critical problem."

Although the federal court oversight is scheduled to end in July, DeWine said commissioners will put the adoption program under more scrutiny.

Gregg said the county is committed to doing better.

"This is a tough task," he said. "But we have taken steps to improve, and we will improve."