Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Summit County Connecting the Dots Program

Summit County attempts to smooth transition for foster kids aging out of the system
Armon, Rick. Akron Beacon Journal, July 25, 2013.

Saunja Mayfield, a clothing specialist with Summit County Children Services, talks about her involvement in the pilot program called Connecting the Dots, during an interview in her office on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Akron, Ohio. The program tries to help foster kids who are aging out of the system with real life situations. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

After about eight years living with foster families, Saunja Mayfield wanted to break free of the system and be on her own.

At 19, she thought she knew it all and wanted to live by her own rules, just like any rebellious teen.
Looking back, Mayfield, now 24, admits she was unprepared for life with no family or institutional support. She ended up homeless bouncing from house to house.

“Life hits you hard after you get out,” she said. “You feel like the whole world is against you.”
Her experience is common for the 1,000 to 1,300 young Ohioans — and estimated 24,000 kids nationwide — who age out of the foster care system each year.

To try to improve the oftentimes bumpy transition, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters and eight counties, including Summit, have launched a pilot program called “Connecting the Dots from Foster Care to Employment and Independent Living.”

It’s designed to better prepare foster kids and those recently emancipated for work, vocational training or college, and just plain living on their own.

Summit, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Lake, Montgomery, Preble, Clinton and Greene counties are participating. The state has devoted nearly $6 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) money for the three-year effort, including $537,000 in Summit.

The goal is eventually to roll out the best practices statewide.

Sobering statistics
Without parents pushing and teaching life lessons, the odds are stacked against foster kids. And there’s no safety net for them to fall back on.

Nationally, 81 percent of the boys are arrested by age 24, while 48 percent of the girls become pregnant by age 19.

A third have household incomes below the poverty level, a quarter experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and nearly a quarter end up homeless.

“We know that the statistics nationwide for young adults who leave foster care without being adopted are not good,” said Benjamin Johnson, spokesman with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. “We wanted to develop a program to counteract that.”

Boot camp
The Summit County program involves giving the at-risk teens a job for two years, assigning them mentors, offering tutoring and providing career counseling along the way.

A collaborative effort among the county Department of Job & Family Services, Children Services and agencies such as Goodwill Industries, the program began last month with a “boot camp” at the Job Center in Akron.

Nearly 30 teens gathered to play games and listen to a variety of speakers, including Mayfield.
She now works as a clothing specialist, ironically, at Summit County Children Services, the same agency that she was so desperate to escape.

One of eight children, she ended up in foster care after her parents were busted for drug problems.
The Akron woman, who has a 1-year-old child and is not married, dreams of becoming a social worker or counselor so she can help others.

Her advice for those in the system: Take advantage of all the educational opportunities offered and don’t feel sorry for yourself.

“You’re not the only foster kid in the world,” Mayfield said. “Don’t be bitter about it.”

One day at the boot camp, the topics ranged from building credit to how to dress for a job interview to staying out of trouble to riding the bus.

For foster kids, these are big issues.

“Young men, if I can see your underwear, you won’t even start to be interviewed,” Goodwill Industries Director of Career Services Christine Fontaine told them bluntly.

Meanwhile, Robert Sukel, a program manager at Greenleaf Family Center in Akron, advised them to be careful with their cash.

“There are so many people out there trained to separate you from your money,” he said.

On the job
Ten of the teens are working at the Goodwill facility on Waterloo Road in Akron.

“The important part with these kids is teaching basic work skills,” Fontaine said during a recent tour. “We’re trying to instill a work ethic.”

That, of course, and encourage them to pursue a career. They have grown up with a narrow view of the work world and don’t even consider some careers.

“Why can’t you be a registered nurse?” Fontaine asked. “Why can’t you be a chef?”

Nervous excitement
The Beacon Journal sat down with three teens participating in the Connecting the Dots program at Goodwill.

All three had become emancipated within the last couple of weeks.

They expressed excitement over their newfound freedom and, at the same time, nervousness.

Cortez Brown, 18, of Akron, now lives in his own apartment with financial help from Children Services. He will be training at Stark State College to be an auto technician and also wants to enter the music industry.

His foster parents warned him in advance about the expenses he would face: Rent, utilities and groceries, for example.

“I was kind of worried, kind of scared and it was kind of frightening that I was on my own,” Brown said. “I didn’t have anybody else. I was going to take care of myself. After that [initial feeling], things started to work out for me and I’m starting to get used to it.”

Ashley Hosterman, 18, of Akron, still lives with her foster family. She feels prepared for being on her own.

“I know a lot of things, but maybe not everything,” said Hosterman, who wants to be a massage therapist. “Yes, I am ready. That way I can finally say, ‘This is my home. This is my place.’ ”

But they also questioned whether anyone or any program can truly prepare foster kids for the experience. Sometimes, teens just don’t listen.

“I don’t think anybody can teach you,” said Kara Sweet, 19, who lives at the Highlands shelter because she’s pregnant and is headed to Stark State to study culinary arts and restaurant management. “You have to do it for yourself.”

Ohio ranks 50th -- last -- when it comes to state funding for child welfare

Jenny Konrath interviewed on behalf of the OHIO YAB

Coming of Age: Preparing Ohio's Older Foster Youth for Life
Kuhlman, Mary. Public News Service-OH, June 4, 2013.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The years spent coming of age are a critical time in a youth's life, especially for those who must face this time without the support of a stable home environment. In Ohio, the "Connecting the Dots" initiative is helping teenagers and young adults who have been in foster care make a successful transition into adulthood.

Nearly 1300 youth age out of foster care every year, but according to the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Michael Colbert, many of them just go into another door in the system.

"They either go into a door of incarceration, a door of poverty or a door of despair," he declared. "We are trying to change that. We want those young people to go into college or we want 'em to go into a job, but in order for that to happen, we have to prepare them for life, just like we do our own kids, because they are our kids."

Connecting the Dots partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters to mentor older foster youth and prepare them for work, education and independent living. Meanwhile, Colbert said, they are also focused on finding a family for every child still in care. Through a partnership with the Dave Thomas Foundation, 35 specialized recruiters are working throughout the state with the sole mission of finding adoptive families for older children in foster care.

Colbert said the support of state leaders, including Governor John Kasich, has helped to make these initiatives possible, along with guidance from Ohio's Youth Advisory Board.

Jennifer Konrath is among those on that board, which advises leaders on ways to improve the foster care system. She grew up in foster care and will graduate this year, and said she's grateful to the resources available that have guided her on her path.

"As foster youth, we don't have our parents to teach us how to find a job, what to wear, who to talk to for different things like housing or just everyday needs," Konrath said. "And it's hard as a foster youth because we didn't grow up with having a person to rely on for that."

Ohio currently has close to 12,000 children in foster care.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Overmedication of Foster Care Youth

Use of Meds Among Ohio’s Foster Kids Studied

Public News Service - OH | February 2013 | Download audio

PHOTO: A collaborative in studying the use of psychotropic medication among Ohio's foster children.

February 12, 2013

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Medications that control mood and behavior are increasingly prescribed to children in Ohio and other states, and experts say the practice is even more prevalent for children in foster care. A new collaborative in Ohio is examining the use of these drugs, which address problems such as anxiety, ADHD and depression.

According to the director of Trumbull County Children's Services, Tim Schaffner, sometimes these types of medications are used when they shouldn't be.

"Moms come in with their kids, having had them treated by the pediatrician who's not an expert in behavioral health issues, and we may be treating with medicine things that can be treated through counseling or through behavioral interventions."

Schaffner pointed out that some children do experience extreme trauma and have mental health challenges, and sometimes those children can benefit from psychotropic medications.

The Ohio Psychotropic Medication Quality Improvement Collaborative is working to raise awareness of the issue, develop guidelines for usage, and ensure the use of such medications is minimal and accompanied with alternative strategies. 70 to 80 percent of foster care youth have mental health problems and psychotropics are prescribed for them at two to three times the rate for other Medicaid children who are not in foster care.

As agency director, Schaffner said, he is personally responsible for the health and well-being of children in agency custody. That's why he signs off on any medication for those children.

"I always say I'm not acting like the doctor, I'm acting like the dad," Schaffner declared. "Any responsible parent is going to make informed-consent decisions about the medications that a doctor recommends, no matter what the condition is: medical, physical or emotional."

Schaffner has spent a good deal of his career in behavioral health care and has developed a model within his own agency for how to manage psychotropic medications. He is sharing that information with other agencies in Ohio, to help them create their own systems that work for their counties.

Mary Kuhlman, Public News Service - OH

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ohio Attorney General invests in Ohio Reach

Ohio Helps Make College Dreams a Reality for Foster Youth

Kuhlman, Mary. Public News Service, May 2013.

Download audio

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Liaisons at universities, community colleges and technical schools all over the state are helping former foster youth seeking higher education. As part of the Ohio Reach program, these liaisons are helping guide these young adults through their college years.

State Attorney General Mike DeWine pointed out that getting through college can be a struggle for former foster youths, because they can't simply call mom or dad when they need help.

"They don't really have - many times - the same support, and I don't just mean financial support, but the same emotional support, guidance that children who have not been in foster care have," he said.

DeWine recently announced a million dollars in funding for the Ohio Reach program, which is coming from Ohio's portion of the National Mortgage Settlement. Only about 2 percent of former foster youth earn bachelors' degrees.

At Ohio's fifth annual Ohio Reach Summit on Monday, experts, advisers, community leaders and former foster youths gathered to discuss policy and strategy to address recruitment and retention.

Youngstown State student and former foster youth Jasmine Hardy spoke of how her liaison guided her, just like a parent would.

"It's really helpful because she already knows what I'm talking about. She specializes in this area and she knows exactly what's going on. She's like,'Oh, I can help you with this,' and I'm in and out in five minutes," Hardy said.

According to the assistant vice president for student services at Wright State University, Simone Polk, liaisons go beyond the role of a typical college adviser by meeting with former foster children before they set foot on campus and, she said, they advocate for the student when problems arise.

"There can be some obstacles figuring out financial aid, where to live, finding your way around campus, just understanding process, bureaucracy, policies and procedures," as Polk described things.

Nearly 75 institutions across the state have liaisons involved in the Ohio Reach program.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hooray for Mariah Maxwell -- great job!!

From Foster Care to Forensic Psychology

Ramsey, Krista. Cincinnati Enquirer, April 20, 2013

Mariah Maxwell remembers exactly what she planned to do with her life when she was a high school senior. “Nothing,” she says.

She was well on her way.

Bright enough to get into Walnut Hills High School, she fell behind once she got there and started avoiding the issue by skipping school.

Midway through her senior year, she was failing several classes and hadn’t started on a single college application.

“I hated school. I wanted to drop out. I was like, ‘OK, if I graduate, I graduate,’ ” she says.
Statistically, a high school diploma for Maxwell was only a 50-50 proposition from the start. A foster youth, she had been removed from her home after her mother beat her sister. She spent the next 10 years moving among 11 foster families.

It did not bode well.

At adulthood, a fourth of all former foster youth end up in jail; another fourth eventually become homeless. More than half are unemployed a year after leaving high school.

Only 3 percent will be lucky enough, or plucky enough, to find their way to college and graduate.
Which makes the odds of what Mariah Maxwell has accomplished almost infinitesimal.

On April 27, the 21-year-old will graduate from the University of Cincinnati with two degrees earned in three years.

As a teenager, she had nothing planned for her future. Now she’s waiting to hear if she’s admitted to UC’s graduate program in criminal justice, then hopes to pursue a doctorate in psychology. She plans a career as a forensic psychologist.

A local program called the Higher Education Mentor Initiative is a big part of Maxwell’s success story.

Begun in 2009, it matches foster youth with mentors who help them finish high school and enter college, and provides programming to support them once on campus.

“The mentors are just a godsend,” Maxwell says. “I owe where I am now to my mentor Kate Livingston and the HEMI program.”

A UC graduate student in women’s studies, Livingston took on many of the responsibilities a parent would handle. “She actually listened to me and tried to figure out why I hated high school,” Maxwell says. “I told her the real reason – because the work was too hard for me.”

So Livingston tutored Maxwell, then helped her sign up for college boards, analyze her financial aid package, schedule college classes, tour campus, move into her dorm.

Three years later, the two are celebrating Maxwell’s graduation as the first HEMI student to earn a degree.

Maxwell says her success has, in a sense, brought her life full circle. Her interest in forensic psychology stemmed from trying to understand her mother’s abuse. Her college studies, in turn, helped her make peace with the life she’d lived.

“My going into foster care opened up a lot of doors. Without it, I wouldn’t have met Kate or my foster mother, Sheeila Foster – they pushed me, and encouraged me to finish school,” she says.

“Now I don’t want my siblings or me to be statistics. I don’t want us to be homeless, to be incarcerated. What I want is to see ‘Doctor’ in front of my name.”

The firsthand experiences of Tristina Allen, Jenny Konrath, and Alex McFarland

Ohio moves to protect foster children

Advisory group hopes legislators endorse recommendations to improve foster care system

McCarty, Mary. Dayton Daily News, April 15, 2013

Tristina Allen grew up in the foster care system and aged out of the system without ever being adopted. Her story is one that the Foster Care Advisory Group is trying to prevent. She is part of the Independent Scholars program at WSU which works to help former foster kids to succeed. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

In the wake of a series of sweeping recommendations for overhauling Ohio’s foster care system, State Sen. Peggy Lehner called the reforms “an idea whose time has come.”

Her opinion is being echoed by the true experts: Ohio’s foster children.

Tristina Allen, 18, wishes more of these proposed changes had been in place during the five years she was in foster care in Toledo. Even small injustices can loom large in the life of a child, such as the current requirement for a background check when a child wants to do something as mundane as having a sleepover or riding to the mall with friends.

“It was horrible,” recalled Allen, now a freshman at Wright State University. “Imagine telling your friends, ‘I can come over to your house as long as your parents get a background check.’”

Alex McFarland, now a graduating senior at Miami University, endured a similar experience. “I never got to attend my high school prom. While the issue seems unimportant, this was a big deal for me. All my friends have nice photos and made memorable experiences. It just led to me coming up with another excuse and another hole to fill in my past.”

In an attempt to make childhood more normal for foster children, the advisory group said that Ohio should change its state statute to limit children services agencies’ liability when children participate in normal activities. Allen thinks that’s a great idea: “It’s already awkward enough to be in foster care, and all these rules make it super awkward.” She is attending WSU as part of the Independent Scholars program, which provides educational support for former foster children.

Normalizing childhood is just one of many goals of the Foster Care Advisory Group, which released its recommendations last week. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine convened the 31-member group last fall and charged them with finding solutions to problems identified at seven Child Welfare summits conducted across the state in 2012.

DeWine convened the summits after two high-profile deaths in 2011: 2-year-old DeMarcus Jackson of Cincinnati and 14-year-old Makayla Norman of Dayton, a cerebral palsy patient who weighed 28 pounds at the time of her death. Makayla’s doctor, Margaret Edwards, 51, of Trotwood pleaded no contest to three misdemeanors Friday, becoming the last of five people to be convicted of crimes in connection with her starvation.

Providing opportunities
Some proposals seem daunting, such as eliminating the gross inequities in funding among Ohio’s 88 counties. DeWine lamented the three-to-one discrepancy that can exist between one county and the next in child welfare spending. “That’s a monumental difference,” DeWine said. “All kids who live in Ohio should have the same opportunities, and we have to figure this out.”

That disparity translates into huge gaps in the amount of time it takes for a child to become adopted. In counties with child services levies, the average wait to be adopted is one year, in comparison with seven years in counties without levies. “Someone needs to stand in the gap and say, ‘This is important,’” said Marynell Townsend, executive director of the Ohio Family Care Association Board, who served on the advisory group.

The advisory group recommended the creation of a Shared Child Welfare Incentive Fund, which would reward local communities to raise additional funds for child welfare by creating a statewide fund to match local commitments. “That’s probably tougher than the other parts,” said Lehner, R-Kettering. “Any time you’re trying to raise money it’s more problematic.”

DeWine said the report’s recommendations are achievable: “Nothing is pie in sky. It’s not wishful thinking. All of it is within reach.”

Many of the proposed changes would cost no money, but would require only a tweaking in the language of the law — provisions giving foster children and foster parents greater voice in court. “I was really glad to see that fosters parents will be made more of a part of the decision-making process, because they know these children,” Lehner said.

Townsend believes that legislation would pass easily because of the broad-based, bipartisan nature of the advisory group. “There was a lot of compromise and consensus- building,” Townsend said. “The attorney general brought everyone to the table, so I am hopeful there will be a lot of support.”
Lehner is already drafting legislation for an omnibus bill, incorporating a half-dozen initiatives, she hopes to introduce in the fall. “I have no doubt this will result in some action,” she said.

Legislative action will be aimed at what is known as Planned Permanent Living Arrangements, where agencies are not required to make efforts to reunify the child, but the child is also not eligible for adoption. The PPLA is supposed to be used only in extreme cases, such as a severely disabled child, but DeWine and other experts believe it has been too widely used.

“There are judges who feel strongly that to sever the parental rights is like a death sentence, and they’re reluctant to do that,” Townsend said. “The result is that the child is not available for adoption and there’s no continuing followup. There’s a very good chance they’re going to age out of the system without having a permanent family.”

‘She inspires me’
Jennifer Konrath, a 17-year-old junior at Alter High School, believes it is too hard to sever parental ties. She has lived with her aunt, Susan Elias, since she was 8 years old, but hasn’t been adopted because her father wouldn’t relinquish custody, so she’s still in foster care under the protection of Cook County, Illinois, while living in Dayton. “I am lucky because I have an aunt who spoils me, who is like my mother, who gives me the same love as my mother,” she said. “They give biological parents too many rights, even when it’s not in the kids’ best interests. Everything was about my dad’s best interests.”

Another significant issue identified in the report is the effectiveness of the court-appointed guardian ad litems, who are supposed to look out for the child’s legal interests. The advisory group recommended tighter monitoring of guardian ad litems as well as strengthening the volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, program to ensure that children have effective representation. DeWine announced he is awarding $2 million to the CASA program to fund the expansion of services across the state. “Guardian ad litems not doing their jobs is a big issue,” Lehner said. “We hear all the time that we haven’t seen him or her in a while.”

DeWine also awarded $1 million to Ohio Reach, which connects persons who have aged out of foster care to higher education opportunities. McFarland is thrilled with that decision. “As a soon to be college graduate nothing upsets me more than when I hear other youth acting as if college is out of the question for them,” he said. “I know youth from around the state. These kids are smart, driven and resilient.”

Simone Polk, assistant vice president for student services at Wright State University, is higher education chair for Ohio REACH. “I am so honored that the attorney general chose our program,” she said.

It should benefit students, such as Tristina Allen, an international studies major who is expanding horizons that once looked so bleak. “She is such a rising star,” Polk said. “She inspires me every day.”

Lorain County challenges: More youth in care, less funding and frontline staff

Children needs foster care services up in Lorain County

James, Jessica. Morning Journal, April 11, 2013

LORAIN — Since last summer, the number of children staying in foster homes under the supervision of Lorain County Children Services has increased from 90 to 125, said Executive Director Gary Crow.

The increase is likely due to the poor economy and the high number of drug-related arrests that have occurred in the county over the last year, Crow said.

“Primarily, we think the increase (in drug use) is related to the type of abuse and neglect we’ve been seeing,” he said. “There appears to be a significant increase in drug involved situations with parents; particularly with heroin and prescription drugs.”

Drug use has been on the rise across the county, as the overdose death toll tripled last year to 60, up from 22 in 2011, said Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans.

Crow could not recall the number of drug-related calls the agency received in 2012, but did said those type of situations are more difficult to handle.

“On average, the number of drug situations that come to our attention are more difficult,” he said. “We’re less likely to resolve those situations because custody is sometimes transferred to a relative. Folks get into situations that are bad for them and their children.”

In 2012, Crow said there was a 10 percent increase in the number of child abuse cases reported in Lorain County, but since then, that number has leveled off.

Lorain County Children Services provides assistance to 450 families or 800 children in the county, Crow said.

Their mission statement states, “We are committed to the safety and well-being of abused, neglected, and dependent children and providing the highest quality protection, permanency, and prevention services for children and families.”

The agency receives 300 referrals a month, Crow said.

Of the 300 referrals, two thirds are screened for an investigation.

“We have the right to investigate anyone based on anonymous referral,” Crow said. “So if someone would say the child up the street is underfed, we would go out and knock on the door to see if that was true or not true.”

Children Services employs 120 staff members, 50 of whom are case workers. Case workers sometimes work with local law enforcement to ensure parents who are being investigated are adhering to the proper requirements.

“We work together really well; it’s a very cooperative relationship with agencies throughout the county,” Crow said.

“There are kind of two sides; they get called out on other situations and become aware of matters involving children. They contact us if they want our support or cooperation.”

Future Student Housing for Sinclair Community College Students

New Housing Development to Dramatically Transform Downtown Blocks
Dayton Daily News, April 11, 2013

An $18 million student housing complex will be built in downtown Dayton at the site of the former Dayton Daily News building and adjacent property, Cox Media Group Ohio announced yesterday afternoon.

The complex, which will be located on the corner of Ludlow and Fourth streets, will breathe new life into this portion of the center city while increasing housing options -- a key strategy in the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a blueprint for the future of our center city.

Cox Media Group Ohio plans to sell the property to the nonprofit United Housing and Community Services Corporation of California, which would partner with Missouri-based Student Suites to build the 350-bed housing complex located just a few blocks from Sinclair Community College.
The historic 1908 “bank” building at the corner of Fourth and Ludlow streets would be renovated while the press rooms to the west and the large 1950s newspaper office building attached to the north would be demolished, as would the city-owned Schwind building further north at 25 S. Ludlow St. In their place, Student Suites would construct a five-story, U-shaped, 200-apartment building with a courtyard, also using the existing 93-space parking lot to the west of the building.
“We are delighted with the plan for revitalization of this key segment of downtown Dayton,” said Julia Wallace, market vice president of Cox Media Group Ohio. “The historical legacy of the Dayton Daily News property will be preserved and this could bring hundreds of people downtown 24-7.”

Wallace said Cox will donate $1 million to the project. Aaron Sorrell, director of planning and community development for the city of Dayton, said city commission will consider its own $1 million contribution, aimed at acquiring and demolishing the largely vacant Schwind building. The bulk of the project -- $13.5 million -- would be financed through tax-exempt bonds, according to Sorrell, with the remainder of the money coming from the developer and possibly a federal historic tax credit.

“The market is unquestionably there,” Sorrell said. “The market studies that have been done over the years have shown a huge demand for student housing. ... This project of 350 beds just scratches the surface of the demand.”

“We thank Cox Media Group for its ongoing commitment to downtown Dayton,” said Downtown Dayton Partnership President Sandy Gudorf. “First, the company committed $1 million toward River Run, the next phase of development at RiverScape MetroPark. Now, the company again is helping us transform our center city into the type of vibrant, active place increasingly in demand today.

“We also thank our partners at the City of Dayton,” Gudorf added. “This project is sure to have a striking long-term impact on this entire section of downtown, as new development -- particularly new housing -- tends to lead to additional growth nearby. We are very excited about what this means for the future of our downtown.”

Read the complete Dayton Daily News story about the project here.

Press Release from ODJFS about Connecting the Dots TANF Demonstration Pilot

New Initiative Launched for Teens and Young Adults in Foster Care

COLUMBUS, OHIO − The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Big Brothers Big Sisters are teaming up to launch a new initiative to help teenagers and young adults who have been in foster care transition more successfully to adulthood. “Connecting the Dots from Foster Care to Employment and Independent Living” will break down silos and bring together foster care caseworkers, staff at Ohio’s One-Stop Career Centers, Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors and Ohio employers, with the goal of helping teens in foster care prepare for work, vocational training or college, and independent living.

“For too long, children leaving foster care have had few places to turn and few people to lean on, but that is about to change,” said ODJFS Director Michael Colbert. “We have a unique opportunity to make a very big difference in the lives of teenagers and young adults who greatly need a place to turn, and greatly need positive adult role models to help give them confidence and show them the way to a brighter future.”

For younger teenagers still in foster care, Connecting the Dots will offer mentoring, educational supports and work readiness training, so that if they do turn 18 before finding permanent homes, they will be better prepared for life on their own.

For older teenagers and young adults, it will offer improved independent living and employment services so that they will have more support, more guidance, more connections and more knowledge as they transition to work, vocational training or college, and independent living.

“The statistics are eye-opening,” said Edward N. Cohn, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio. “Foster care youth face some of the most difficult odds in our communities.”
“We are pleased that through Connecting the Dots, our partner Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the pilot communities are teaming up with ODJFS to provide needed support for these at-risk youth,” continued Cohn. “Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s oldest and largest mentoring network, has a track record of positive outcomes in children, and we will be bringing our in-depth mentoring experience and statewide Ohio presence to this relationship with the goal of helping foster care youth prepare for a successful future.”

Connecting the Dots will operate as a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families demonstration project at five pilot locations: Cuyahoga, Lake, Summit and Hamilton counties, and a collaborative including Montgomery, Preble, Clinton and Greene counties. Best practices learned in the pilot counties will be shared with counties across the state.

Approximately 1,000 to 1,300 young people in Ohio age out of foster care each year. Nationally, 81 percent of males formerly in foster care are arrested by age 24, 48 percent of females become pregnant by age 19, 33 percent of former foster youth have household incomes below the poverty level, 25 percent have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (compared to 15 percent of Vietnam War veterans), and 22 percent have experienced homelessness.

In fact, 40 percent of America’s adult homeless population spent some time in foster care. By providing better support to the 24,000 young people nationally who age out of foster care each year, it is estimated that more than $5.7 billion could be saved over their lifetime.

On July 25, ODJFS will sponsor the second annual “Connecting the Dots Conference for Foster Care Teens and Young Adults.” Last year’s inaugural conference brought together 200 young people from across the state and featured seminars on employment, higher education, legal rights and personal health.

Connecting the Dots from Foster Care to Employment and Independent Living

Foster care initiative to ease shift to life on own.

Price, Rita. Columbus Dispatch, April 11, 2013.

A new partnership between the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters is bringing together caseworkers, employment counselors and mentors to help teens and young adults who are moving from foster care to independent living.

The journey is rough for many: Among American males previously in foster care, 81 per-cent are arrested by age 24; 48 percent of the females are pregnant by 19; and 22 percent experience homelessness.

“The statistics for children who leave foster care without being adopted are dire, and that’s putting it mildly,” said Benjamin Johnson, Job and Family Services spokesman. “We know we can do better.”

The initiative, which is to start immediately, will use federal welfare money to serve about 300 young people in eight Ohio counties. This year, $1.8 million is available; about $2.6 million could be spent in 2014, and $2.5 million in 2015. As many as 1,300 young people in Ohio age out of foster care each year, typically at age 18.

The effort is a pilot project that first will operate in Cuyahoga, Lake, Summit and Hamilton counties, and as a collaborative effort in Montgomery, Preble, Clinton and Greene counties. Although Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio will oversee the mentoring, Franklin is not among the pilot counties.

“We’re certainly hoping that we’ll get some really positive results, and we’ll see it expand throughout the state,” said Mary Palkowski, spokeswoman for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio.

The program — Connecting the Dots from Foster Care to Employment and Independent Living — aims to connect vital services that, too often, remain fragmented and out of reach for many current and former foster youths. For those still in care, the initiative is to offer mentoring, educational supports and work-readiness training. Older teens and young adults are to receive improved independent-living and employment services so that they can make the transition to work, vocational training, college and independent living.

Portions of the grants will be used by local Workforce Investment Boards to handle the employment component.

The funding is in addition to the $5.9 million per year in federal money that Ohio budgets for independent-living services for foster youths.

“For too long, children leaving foster care have had few places to turn and few people to lean on, but that is about to change,” said Michael Colbert, director of the state Department of Job and Family Services.

Edward Cohn, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, said statistics about foster youths are eye-opening. “Foster youth face some of the most-difficult odds in our communities,” he said.

Experts estimate providing better support to the 24,000 U.S. youths who age out of foster care each year could save $5.7 billion over their lifetimes.

Ohio Attorney General's Investment in Foster Care

Attorney General DeWine Announces Recommendations to Help Improve Ohio Foster Care

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today released the recommendations of his Foster Care Advisory Group. Convened in December, the group's mission was to recommend solutions to the issues raised at the Attorney General's Child Safety Summits held in eight Ohio cities. Findings released today encourage positive changes to improve the child welfare system with a focus on the safety and well-being of the children in foster care in Ohio.

"We want to do everything possible to get foster kids adopted, to match them with a loving family, and to make sure they have a stable, permanent home," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

In 2012, Attorney General DeWine held eight regional Child Safety Summits and a day-long Foster Youth Symposium to discuss issues related to foster care and child safety. DeWine subsequently released in December 2012 the Child Safety Summit Report of Findings. At the time the report was released, Attorney General Mike DeWine assembled a Foster Care Advisory Group of experts in child welfare to report back their findings in 90 days.

The Foster Care Advisory Group recommended the following:

Permanency and Safety: Ohio should work to lower the number of times a child comes in and out of foster care to give the child the greatest chance of finding a safe, permanent, and loving home.
Foster Parent Participation: Ohio should focus on training for foster parents, child welfare professionals, and judges to highlight the foster parent's right to attend court hearings and present evidence, and emphasize the importance of foster parent input.
Guardians ad Litem: Ohio should address guardians ad litem who fail to meet mandatory minimum expectations and further support the Court Appointed Special Advocate program to ensure that children have effective representation.
Mentoring for Foster Youth: Ohio should support existing foster youth-specific mentoring efforts across the state, and look to see if existing mentoring programs can be used to provide mentors for youth in foster care.
Normalizing the Experience for Youth in Foster Care: Youth who find themselves in foster care are often not permitted to engage in normal activities, like spending the night at a friend's house. Ohio should clarify in statute that agencies are not liable for a child's participation in normal activities.
Funding the Child Welfare System: Ohio should consider creating a state-level fund to ensure that children in the custody of county public children services agencies are provided with minimum services.
Accountability in Child Welfare: Ohio should look at ways of increasing accountability and transparency within the child welfare system.
Planned Permanent Living Arrangements: Ohio should pass a statute to narrow the use of Planned Permanent Living Arrangements, where agencies are not required to make efforts to reunify the child, but the child is also not eligible for adoption.
Foster Youth Voice in Court: Ohio should ensure that youth in foster care are given an age-appropriate guide to explain the foster care process, and public children services agencies should also ensure that youth are invited to their court hearings and facilitate their presence at these hearings when age-appropriate.
Medical Care for Foster Youth: Ohio should create a central registry where pediatricians treating youth in foster care can input and retrieve a foster youth's medical file to provide greater continuity of care.

DeWine was joined at the announcement by State Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) and State Representative Dorothy Pelanda (R-Marysville), who will be introducing bills to enact the legislative changes recommended by the advisory group.
DeWine also announced he is awarding $3 million from Ohio's portion of the National Mortgage Settlement to the following groups:

$2 million to the Ohio Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program to fund the expansion of services across the state
$1 million to Ohio Reach, which connects persons who have aged out of foster care to higher education opportunities.

"Children without permanent homes are especially vulnerable and need targeted services to protect their interests and opportunities," said DeWine. "I am pleased that we can provide program grant funding from the National Mortgage Settlement to help foster youth have the same opportunities as children in permanent homes."

A copy of the recommendations is available on the Ohio Attorney General's website.

Ohio ranks 50th in the nation -- dead last -- when it comes to state funding for child welfare

Welfare funding change proposed: Coalition seeks state aid to balance equity

March 28, 2013

Ohio's reliance on local funds to provide child welfare services ranging from adoption to child abuse investigations creates inequity that a coalition of county children services agencies hopes to solve with a $70 million infusion of state funds.

The Public Children Services Association of Ohio, a coalition of the state's 88 child welfare agencies, asked members of the Ohio House of Representative's Finance Committee last week for an additional $70 million in the next two-year budget to fairly finance child welfare services. Currently, state dollars equal 10 percent of all child welfare funding ...

Kudos to the Dave Thomas Foundation

More hope for more kids: Adoption program adds to legacy of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas

Columbus Dispatch Editorial, Monday April 1, 2013.

Nothing is more heartbreaking than a child without a family. So what if someone had a method that would double or even triple the chances of a child finding an adoptive home?

What if this strategy not only could greatly reduce the chances of a young person becoming homeless, going to prison or living in poverty, but also immediately save taxpayers millions of dollars in foster-care payments?

That is exactly what the Columbus-based Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has accomplished through its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program. Since 2004, the program has provided local adoption agencies with grants to hire recruiters who zero in on one thing: finding the right family for a child lingering in the foster-care system.

Wendy’s program starts with the premise that the label of “unadoptable” is unacceptable. So instead of sorting through a pool of willing adoptive families and trying to match them with available children, these adoption recruiters really get to know a child, then go looking for the right parents, even those who might not have considered adopting. Yet.

Because these recruiters have much smaller caseloads than traditional agency caseworkers, they have the time to pursue every possible lead: Was there a favorite teacher, a great-aunt, a former neighbor who might be able to parent this child?

That this approach works is verified by independent research studies and by a new investment of state dollars that is greatly expanding the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.

Ohio officials last spring announced they would put $2.3 million in state and federal money into the effort. This has allowed the program, which serves 55 of Ohio’s 88 counties, to hire an additional 29 adoption recruiters; it previously had just seven recruiters in the state

This is a great investment, both for the children and for the taxpayers. According to state and foundation data, the foundation invested about $3 million in Ohio between 2005 and 2012 and arranged 197 adoptions. This produced an estimated $30 million in savings in state and federal foster-care money.

These savings will multiply for decades. “Last year, nearly 28,000 youth in foster care aged-out, leaving them without families of their own,” a foundation fact sheet says, “These youth experience staggeringly higher rates of incarceration, homelessness, unintended pregnancy and truncated educations.”

Ohio’s program is changing that for many youngsters. The state’s investment serves as a model for other states, which also are served by the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.

This inspiring program shows the difference one person can make to help others in need. It grew from the extraordinary efforts of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas to call attention to the need for foster-care adoption.

Thomas, born in 1932, was adopted as an infant by a Michigan family. In a 1999 interview on CNN, he said he initially didn’t want to talk about being adopted. “As I talked to people as I grew older... I got really a lot of encouragement. They said, ‘Why don’t you talk about it?’ And I thought, well, I’ll do it if, you know, I could just help one boy or one girl get a home.”

His foundation has helped many more children than that to be adopted: 3,467 as of March. Thomas passed away in 2002, but his good work continues.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Ohio Attorney General DeWine introduces advisory panel aimed at improving state foster care system. Kovac, Marc, Capital Bureau Chief, 12/12/12.

A new panel began its work Dec. 10 on recommendations to improve the state's foster care system, with an eye toward improving the lives of children stuck in legal limbo.

Attorney General Mike DeWine introduced his Foster Care Advisory Group during a press conference at the Statehouse, building on a series of meetings across the state that included comments from individuals involved in the foster care system.

Information gathered during those meetings was compiled into a report with some initial findings about the state's foster care system, which will be used as a foundation for the new advisory group's work.

The ultimate goal is to determine "what could be done to make a real commitment to the more than 12,000 children languishing in foster care in Ohio," according to the report.

"What we have too often is kids who languish in foster care, who go back and forth between different foster homes or go between a foster home and their natural home time and time again...," DeWine said. "I just think at some point we need to say to the crack-addicted mom or to the father who can't control his anger, hey, we'll pray for you, we hope you get your act together, we'll try to help you, but this little kid's got to grow up. And this kid can't wait for you to get your act together."

DeWine said a number of common concerns arose from the meetings across the state. Foster parents said they were not consulted or allowed to participate when legal decisions were made about child placements. Some said court-appointed guardians were not meeting requirements for the children placed in their care.

And foster children voiced frustration about approvals to spend the night at a friend's house, go to the movies or participate in other activities.

The latter made it difficult for foster children like Dauntea Sledge, now a college student in Columbus, to live normal family lives once placed in homes. "If you're that foster child, it's kind of embarrassing," he said. "Now people [have] to know your business."

The new advisory group will issue recommendations for improvements in the next three months.

Panel to target Ohio’s alarming child neglect cases: Newly formed group has 90-day deadline to submit recommendations. McCarty, Mary, Dayton Daily News, 12/10/12.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Monday he has appointed a statewide advisory committee “to come up with bold new ideas” to improve the state’s child welfare and foster care systems.

With more than 58,000 reports of alleged child neglect, physical and sexual abuse and about 12,000 Ohio children in foster care, DeWine has charged the 20-member Foster Care Advisory Group to review the issues and submit recommendations by March 10.

The group will use a 17-page report released by DeWine that highlights a year-long study and eight child safety statewide summits that sought input from victims, families, advocates, law enforcement and elected officials to understand the issues affecting the state’s abused and neglected children.

“Everything in the report was something we heard time and time again and there got to be a pattern,” he said. “The most telling comments came from foster parents and young people who have been in foster care.”

The report identified six major issues that repeatedly came up during the summits: restrictions in foster parent participation; problems with the guardian ad litem program; lack of mentors for foster children; stigmas surrounding foster children; decreasing accountability and funding; and barriers to finding permanent homes.

The bi-partisan advisory group includes legislators, judges, prosecuting attorneys, foster parents and child welfare workers. DeWine said he asked the group to submit concrete recommendations within 90 days. He gave them wide latitude regarding possible solutions that range from potential legislation to changes in court procedures.

“The group’s recommendations are not confined to what we found in these eight hearings,” DeWine said. “It’s a panel I am very proud of, because it’s people with diverse backgrounds who share an attitude that they care about kids. It’s not an easy task, because it’s not an easy area.”

State Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, who was selected to serve on the group, said: “This is an issue I’ve been following for a long time.”

One of the primary issues related to foster care is the lack of participation by foster parents in the court process. “Foster parents see these kids every day, and love these kids, but they are not consulted when it comes time for the courts or Children Services to make a decision whether or not to go back to the parents,” he said. “Many foster children would also say they are not consulted throughout the process.”

DeWine noted while reports of child abuse and neglect have declined in Ohio, that’s no reason for complacency. “We’re doing better in terms of the safety of kids, but we’re not doing better in terms of moving the kids out of legal limbo,” he said.

The reported concluded too many children are aging out of foster care without ever being adopted and face dire futures. For example, 25 percent of the foster care children do not receive a high school diploma, about 30 percent are incarcerated at some point and more than 50 percent will experience homelessness.

“The challenges these children face are immense,” the attorney general said. “They don’t have a home and don’t have someone close to them to be a mentor, they don’t have someone to support them emotionally and to help to guide them during a difficult time.”

Columbus State Community College student Dauntea Sledge welcomes his role as a consultant on the advisory commission. He was in the foster care system and said more mentors are needed to help children: “It’s not just financial help that’s needed, it’s advice on school, jobs and relationships. The only relationships we’ve seen were dysfunctional.”

Sledge recalled the stigma of being in foster care, when even a simple sleepover with friends requires a background check: “Two points in my life were the hardest — when I entered care and exited care,” he said. “I simply didn’t know what I was getting into. I lay down at night with an overwhelming feeling of fear, and I didn’t know what to expect. I had the same feeling when I was emancipated from foster care.”

Sledge said he had nowhere to go when he aged out of the foster care system at 18. He moved in with his mother at first and ended up homeless for a time. “Even when I was homeless I was still working and going to school,” he said.”People assume that if a foster kid ended up homeless, the kid did something wrong, that he wasn’t productive. But that’s not the case. So many kids are in school or working and just had no place to go.”

Sledge said the advisory group is “heaven-sent for youth who want to be adopted. I think there are good people on this board who will make the right decisions.”

The foster care advisory group held its first meeting immediately after the announcement, engaging in a spirited and wide-ranging conversation about everything from problems in the guardian ad litem program to making it easier for foster children to live a normal life.

Marynell Townsend, executive director of the Ohio Family Care Association, said she is pleased the report suggested creating an independent ombudsman’s office for youth, similar to what already exists for Ohio’s aging population.

The report stated, “Families often find themselves without recourse when they feel that a social worker or public children services agency is not acting in the best interest of a foster child in their care.”

“An ombudsman would offer the opportunity for an impartial review if the foster parent feels that something is going wrong,” she said.

Crystal Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, said while the advisory group’s first meeting was productive, she cautioned, however, that the recommendations cannot involve unfunded mandates or spending money that the state does not have.

“Funding is the barrier point around so many discussions,” Allen said. “We can’t just say, ‘Just do more.’ We have to be innovative with funding and explore equity in funding.”

Ohio Attorney General's Foster Care Advisory Group

Attorney General DeWine Releases Report on Ohio Child Welfare System; Announces Formation of New Foster Care Advisory Group

Press release, 12/10/2012

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today released a report outlining several issues surrounding Ohio's child welfare system, specifically the state's foster care system.

The Child Safety Summit Report outlines multiple concerns identified after the Attorney General held eight child safety summits in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron, Dayton, and St. Clairsville.

"We held the child safety summits to hear from the people who know the child welfare system the most: foster parents, foster youth, juvenile judges, and those who work in the child welfare community," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. "They told us about their achievements and their struggles, and now we have a good foundation to build on to suggest changes needed to help protect Ohio's foster children."

The new report issued today contains several of the major issues revealed during the summits, including:

Restrictions in Foster Parent Participation
Guardian ad Litem Noncompliance with Rule 48
Few Mentors for Foster Youth
Stigmas Surrounding Youth in Foster Care
Decreasing Accountability and Funding
Barriers to Permanency

To address these issues, the Attorney General has assembled a group of child welfare experts to form a Foster Care Advisory Group.

The Foster Care Advisory Group is comprised of a diverse number of child welfare experts, members of the juvenile justice system, foster parents, and former foster youth. Members are tasked with issuing specific recommendations to address the concerns identified in the Child Safety Summit Report.

"Now is the time for innovative changes to ensure that every child has a safe, loving, and permanent home," said DeWine.

The group's final recommendations are due 90 days from today..

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Seeking Safety in Athens County

New youth program addresses PTSD and substance abuse.
Boyle, Lindsay. Athens News, Oct. 7, 2012.

In Athens County, a new program funded by Athens County Children Services is working to address and alleviate the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.

The program, called Seeking Safety, consists of 25 weekly group counseling sessions that use a present-focused, evidenced-based treatment model to ease the effects of trauma and substance abuse for individuals suffering from one or both.

The Seeking Safety program, which was developed by Dr. Lisa M. Najavits, began in 1992, and has been conducted for many diverse groups in a wide variety of settings throughout the United States and the world.

Counseling sessions began in Athens in August 2012, after Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling and Integrated Services of Appalachian Ohio collaboratively responded to an Athens County Children Services proposal that sought organizations willing to implement the program as a pilot project. So, while Children Services funds the program, TCMHC and ISAO employees operate it.

Sheila Shafer, deputy director of programs at Children Services, explained that each session — all of which are conducted at TCMHC — is based on a different topic chosen from the Seeking Safety curriculum. Additionally, in between the weekly sessions, assigned case managers follow up with the participants to provide support and reinforce the program material.

"The ultimate goal ACCS (Children Services) is expecting is that parents will become more able to cope and manage their environments, which will lead to family stability and safety for children," she said.

Shafer said organizers anticipated that, ultimately, each group will have eight to 12 members. She explained that the focus for the first series of sessions is on mothers because the Seeking Safety program trainer recommended not to have mixed genders in the groups.

So far, 17 local women have been referred to the program, which is voluntary. Shafer said that most of those women are mothers who have worked or continue to work with Children Services. She explained that ACCS staff members and caseworkers extended invitations to the women whom they felt could particularly benefit from the program. As the sessions continue, she said that some participants may be added, and others may drop out.

Although the situations of participating families and individuals vary, Shafer said that some common issues they experience include poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, lack of outside support, limited parenting knowledge and mental health issues.
Because the Seeking Safety program just began, Shafer explained that a long-term impact has not yet been established. However, she said mothers who have attended the sessions have reported to Children Services staff that they enjoy the counseling sessions and find them to be helpful.

In order to determine the effectiveness of the Seeking Safety services, Shafer said that the providers are taking measurements with pre- and post-test instruments. She said that such measurements will help improve the program in the future.

"This is a pilot project, so there will be lessons learned and the program will be modified as needed," she said.

Athens has a Wendy's Wonderful Kids Program now

Athens Children Services Receives Wendy's Grant

Knight, Fred. Dateline Athens, Oct. 2, 2012.

Athens County Children Services is now participating in a new adoption program.

Executive Director Cathy Hill says the program is called Wendy's Wonderful Kids.

"Wendy's Wonderful Kids is a signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation on Adoption. It's a grant that has allowed us to hire a Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruiter," said Hill.

Wendy's Wonderful Kids will help to identify permanent adoptive homes for children in Athens County and several surrounding counties in Southeast Ohio.

"The goal of Wendy's Wonderful Kids is to find permanent adoptive homes for children who are lingering in foster care. It's a challenge in every county in Ohio and we've had great success here in Athens County but we're always in need of permanent adoptive families for our children," said Hill.

Cathy Hill says Athens County Children Services has hired a recruiter whose only job is to find adoptive homes for waiting children.

"We have been awarded a grant to hire a recruiter who will be trained in the Wendy's Wonderful Kids model. It's a model that was developed by the Dave Thomas Foundation on Adoption, it's a national, evidence-based model and it's child specific. So a recruiter will actually be trained specifically in that model and will work with children in Athens County and our region," explained Hill.

Studies have shown that the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program is very effective in finding homes for children over the age of 15 and for children with mental health disorders.

"They really hone in on the specific needs of the child and look to locate families that are a good match for children with special needs, with large family groups or children who are a little bit older, making them more difficult sometimes to find a permanent family for," said Hill.

The program will serve a seven county area: Athens, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Perry, and Washington.

Recently there were 186 children in foster care in these counties, and of those children, 33 are legally freed for adoption.

Southeast Ohio is the only region in the state without a large metropolitan pool of potential adoptive families from which to draw, which can make recruitment for children difficult.

Additionally, five of the counties participating in the Southeast Ohio arm of the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program currently have no financial support from a levy and have been hit particularly hard by cuts in the state budget.