The child mortality rate in Cuyahoga County is 25% higher than for Ohio overall, and 41% higher than the United States.

Cuyahoga County Health and Child Experts Discuss Rise in Child Deaths and Prevention Efforts: New data shows increase in infant deaths, abuse and neglect deaths and homicides. 
December 10 2024

Newly released data for 2023 shows a concerning increase in deaths of children ages 0-18. The data from the Cuyahoga County Child Fatality Review Board highlights trends in child deaths and raises awareness of preventable child fatalities.

Most notably, child deaths increased by 25% from data collected in 2022. There were increases in infant deaths, abuse and neglect deaths, and homicides. The Child Mortality Rate in Cuyahoga County of 75.9 is 25% higher than the State of Ohio and 41% higher than the United States.

Leaders from across the County gathered at the University Hospitals Rainbow Ahuja Center for Women and Children in Cleveland to bring attention to this concerning data, highlight efforts underway to prevent future deaths, and ask for the community’s help to address underlying issues leading to child deaths.

Cuyahoga County’s Child Fatality Review Board brings together professionals from various fields, including healthcare, law enforcement, social services, and public health, to review the causes and circumstances surrounding a child’s death. By learning the story of the child’s life, and circumstances of their death, the Child Fatality Review Board aims to uncover any challenges faced by the child, any systems they interacted with, and the risk factors that may have contributed to their death. Central to this is the attempt to spot where interventions and risk reduction could have combined to prevent the death.

View the full data dashboard on the Cuyahoga County Board of Health website.

Read an Executive Summary of the data on the Invest in Children website.

Montgomery County has more group homes than any other Ohio county; it has one third of the group homes in the state.

More than one-third of juvenile group homes in Ohio in Montgomery County
Frolik, Cornelius. Dayton Daily News, July 7, 2024.

A Dayton Daily News investigation found that the number of juvenile group homes in Dayton and Montgomery County has grown in recent years so much that Montgomery County now contains more than one-third of them statewide.

Group homes are private or public facilities that provide placement services for children and that are licensed, approved, regulated, certified or operated by a variety of state or local agencies, according to Jodi Norton, chief communications officer with the Ohio Department of Children & Youth.

Ohio has about 235 group homes licensed by the Ohio Department of Children & Youth, and 80 of those are in Montgomery County (34%), the agency said.

Agency data indicate that about 75 of the 80 group homes in Montgomery County are located in Dayton.

By comparison, Hamilton County (home to Cincinnati) has about 36 group homes; Lucas County (home to Toledo) has about 24 group homes; Franklin County (home to Columbus) has about 14; and Cuyahoga County (home to Cleveland) has about 11, according to data that was shared during a recent meeting including officials from Dayton, Montgomery County and local group homes.

There are other types of group homes across Ohio that are not licensed by the Department of Children & Youth because they do not fall the agency’s scope of responsibility.

This includes residential facilities licensed by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities that serve people with developmental disabilities who need long-term care.

Most juvenile group home residents are in the custody of public children services agencies, and most residents are between the ages of 13 and 17, Norton said.

Residential facilities are not allowed to admit any child under the age of 6, except temporarily and under specific conditions, Norton said. Adults are not allowed to be admitted to these homes.

Children end up in protective care for a variety reasons, such as abuse, neglect, dependency and delinquency. They are put there to try to ensure their safety and well-being.

Some children are placed in group homes because they are involved with the Ohio Department of Youth Services, which is the juvenile corrections system. Some kids may be placed in group homes directly by their parents or legal guardians.

Group homes are visited and reviewed at least annually, Norton said, and their staff are required to meet minimum training requirements.

Tivvah Topics Newsletter

 

Fellowship Program Aims to Help With Ohio Caseworker Shortage

Ohio takes aim at child services worker shortage.
Davidson, J. D. The Center Square, December 30, 2024.

Ohio plans to spend $2 million of taxpayer money to encourage more people to work in the children services industry.

Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced the Ohio Child Protective Services Fellowship program that allows college students majoring in human services-related fields to work part-time at county public children services agencies.

“Research shows that when children services caseworkers leave their jobs, the kids they were helping often spend more time in foster care,” DeWine said. “Expanding this program not only provides great learning and working experience for students striving to make a positive difference in our communities, it also ensures that our most vulnerable children and families continue to receive the care and stability they need during a critical time in their lives.”

DeWine said that at the beginning of 2023 20% of children services caseworker positions in the state were vacant. At the end of that year, another 20% resigned. In 21 counties, the turnover reached 40% or more and almost half of all caseworkers in the state had less than two years of experience.

Students in the fellowship program can earn $15 an hour for up to 26 hours a week, offering a chance to work around their current class schedules.

“These are incredibly important jobs that make a difference. Every day, children services professionals work to help keep vulnerable children safe,” Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente said. “We believe the expansion of the Ohio Child Protective Services Fellowship Program will help us energize a new generation of college graduates to enter this critically needed and highly rewarding field.”

Any Ohio college or university student majoring in a relevant human services field can apply. To participate, students must be able to commute to a county PCSA with an available fellowship position.