Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Monday, February 01, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Legislation Introduced to Waive Fees for 18-21 Foster Youth
Rep. Snitchler is an attorney from Uniontown, Ohio who is currently serving his first term in the House of Representatives.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Ohio Reach Radio Interview
In 2010, the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America will continue working towards improving Higher Education Outcomes for foster care youth and alumni.
Below is a radio interview that Lisa Dickson participated in regarding Ohio Reach for WCUE/WOTL/WYTN (radio stations covering Toledo, Cleveland and Youngstown).
FCAA Ohio on NPR
Foster Kids Who Age Out of Care Face Tough Road
Mandie Trimble, WOSU News (2010-01-11).
COLUMBUS, OH (WOSU) - Many rites of passages come along with turning eighteen: high school graduation, voting, entering the work force or college. For most young people it means the first time away from home and parents, an exciting, albeit scary, time for which many teens have been anxiously waiting for years. But for youth who reach the age of majority while in foster care, the rite of passage comes with additional challenges.
Mandie Trimble asked FCAA Ohio Communications Chair, Lisa Dickson, about the resources available and the current challenges for Ohio foster youth "aging out" of foster care.
Lisa Dickson named Volunteer of the Year
Ohio Foster Care Alumna Named Volunteer of the Year
Foster Care Alumni of America names Lisa Dickson Volunteer of the Year
Foster Care Alumni of America names Lisa Dickson Volunteer of the Year
Lisa lived in foster care from ages 12-16, lived in a variety of placements, including group homes and an emergency shelter, and "aged out" of foster care and started college when she was 16 years old. As the Communications Chair for the Ohio Chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA), Lisa has been extremely effective in establishing the chapter and its members as a source of expertise in the state and around the country. Lisa has led efforts to advocate for reinstating state funding for Independent Living services through advocacy visits with members of the state legislature, coordination with other advocates, and numerous opportunities for chapter members to testify before legislative committees.
The chapter has also been involved in Ohio Reach, a statewide effort to increase the recruitment and retention of foster care alumni in high education, and to establish foster care liaisons at Ohio universities, community college and technical schools. Lisa’s commitment to supporting the leadership development of other alumni across the state has led to a very well trained and experienced core membership in the chapter and will serve to make the Ohio chapter sustainable well into the future.
Lisa has led the development of a number of trainings for FCAA including Emotional Resiliency, Purposeful Sharing and Real Life 101 workshops. She is dedicated to teaching professionals to effectively and respectfully engage alumni, to create understanding about how childhood trauma can affect an individual for their entire life, and to support young people and alumni to establish healthy boundaries and expectations in their personal, volunteer and professional relationships.
In addition to her activities at the state level, Lisa is a highly visible and effective national leader. She has a strong presence online as a person who is always willing to ask tough questions about practice and policy in both foster care and adoption. She has provided her technical expertise to numerous other FCAA members as well as the broader child welfare community (leading the establishment of a number of resource websites aimed at people in and from care and the professionals who serve them). Lisa is a gifted trainer and often represents FCAA at state and national events as a keynote speaker and/or workshop presenter.
Lisa has recently been engaged FCAA’s Volunteer Social Media Coordinator. This is a fitting evolution for an individual committed to making her own voice heard through blogs, forums, and social networks that are related to foster care.
Foster Care Alumni of America’s Board of Directors named four Volunteers of the Year in 2009. In addition to Lisa, they celebrated the contributions of Ryan Dollinger (alumnus of foster care from Texas), Eshawn Peterson (alumna from Arizona) and consultant and retired juvenile and family court judge, Stephen Rideout of Virginia.
About Foster Care Alumni of America: In 2004, foster care alumni and advocates created a national non-profit association that brings together the expertise of adults who have experienced foster care. Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) was formed to engage the more than 12 million alumni of foster care and to advocate for the needs of the youth and alumni of foster care.
FCAA has nearly 3, 000 members from all 50 states. Through FCAA, alumni of foster care hope to create the ability to connect with one another in an organized and well-supported community and to use alumni expertise to transform the foster care system.
FCAA's mission seeks to provide innovation in the federal and state child welfare systems and effective and meaningful partnerships with child welfare organizations. FCAA has confidence that it can partner with others to reduce the numbers of children and youth in foster care and can improve the foster care experience through investments of their expertise and energy.
For more information on Foster Care Alumni of America, please visit our website at: www.fostercarealumni.org
# # #
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
FCAA Ohio Thanksgiving 2009
The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America greatly appreciate the sponsoring organizations that made this year's Thanksgiving event possible, and the press representatives who shared our message with the local community:
- Congregation Agudas Achim
- Capital University Student Government
- Kappa Sigma Upsilon
- Jewish Student Organization of Capital
- Catering By Scott
- Franklin County Children Services
- ODJFS
- Columbus Dispatch
- 10-TV
- Fox News
- Columbus Literacy Council
Monday, November 23, 2009
Foster Care Alumni of America Ohio chapter Thanksgiving 2009
Thanksgiving dinner provided for those who have experienced foster care
Crane, Misti. Columbus Dispatch front page, Nov. 23, 2009.
SHARI LEWIS | Dispatch
Riccardo Rushin, 19, of Canton, talks with his Stark County group at a Thanksgiving dinner in Bexley that drew about 100 Ohioans, many of whom are or have been in foster care. Rushin has lived on his own since he turned 18 and "aged out" of foster care.
They might have nowhere to go Thursday, or somewhere that feels safe but is only temporary.
Young people who've known the hardship of living without family and who've been challenged to find strength despite a shaky foundation found communion yesterday at a meal that came four days before the holiday but embodied its spirit.
Thanksgiving is about family. It's about grace and gratitude.
For foster children and young adults who've moved beyond their temporary homes, family in its conventional sense can be elusive.
About 100 people from across the state, many of whom are in foster care or recently "aged out," as they say, gathered yesterday afternoon at Agudas Achim, a Bexley synagogue.
Thanks to the kindnesses of others and the dogged advocacy of former foster child Lisa Dickson, they found camaraderie and Thanksgiving.
Dickson founded the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. She's 36 and has a family of her own, but she remembers the feeling of isolation that could accompany the holidays, particularly when she was a young adult.
"There wasn't a family to come back to; there weren't those roots," Dickson said.
"For a lot of people, the holidays can be the loneliest part."
In and of itself, being a foster child can be lonely, said Alex McFarland, who is 19 and president of the Ohio youth advisory board. He said it's worse when those outside the situation misunderstand.
"A lot of people have the image that we've done something wrong, when more than likely somebody's done something wrong to us," said McFarland, who lives in a suburb of Dayton.
The dinner was the third-annual -- the first in Columbus -- and was made possible because of a $1,000 donation from Capital University's student government that paid for food. The synagogue gave its space free, said Gabriel Koshinsky, vice president of student government and president of the Jewish Student Union.
The meal yesterday offered an opportunity to meet new people and learn about opportunities for foster children. It also gave guests the chance to reclaim the sense of belonging.
Dre Williams, who is 18 and lives in a foster home, and Kadeem Monroe, who is 19 and on his own, came to Columbus with a group from Stark County.
"I don't know how many days I felt like I was the only foster child in the world," Monroe said.
People who aren't part of the system don't understand the challenges or the emotional burdens or even how foster care works, the two said.
Williams said he wishes more good people would embrace children who can no longer live with their families, and that fewer people would invite foster children into their homes primarily for the money.
He's now living with Jodi Wilson, who has been a foster mom to 14 kids over 17 years. She maintains ties with many of them, and has a warm rapport with Williams.
"These kids are alone, or I believe they feel alone," said Wilson, who also works as supervisor of Stark County's independent-living program.
Bringing them together as a family of sorts is important, Wilson said.
"They have a common language, common experiences," she said.
"I'm 52, and I still talk to my mother every day. They don't have that."
SHARI LEWIS | Dispatch
Lisa Dickson, a former foster child who founded Ohio's chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America, snaps a memory of the event she sought.
Crane, Misti. Columbus Dispatch front page, Nov. 23, 2009.
SHARI LEWIS | DispatchRiccardo Rushin, 19, of Canton, talks with his Stark County group at a Thanksgiving dinner in Bexley that drew about 100 Ohioans, many of whom are or have been in foster care. Rushin has lived on his own since he turned 18 and "aged out" of foster care.
They might have nowhere to go Thursday, or somewhere that feels safe but is only temporary.
Young people who've known the hardship of living without family and who've been challenged to find strength despite a shaky foundation found communion yesterday at a meal that came four days before the holiday but embodied its spirit.
Thanksgiving is about family. It's about grace and gratitude.
For foster children and young adults who've moved beyond their temporary homes, family in its conventional sense can be elusive.
About 100 people from across the state, many of whom are in foster care or recently "aged out," as they say, gathered yesterday afternoon at Agudas Achim, a Bexley synagogue.
Thanks to the kindnesses of others and the dogged advocacy of former foster child Lisa Dickson, they found camaraderie and Thanksgiving.
Dickson founded the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. She's 36 and has a family of her own, but she remembers the feeling of isolation that could accompany the holidays, particularly when she was a young adult.
"There wasn't a family to come back to; there weren't those roots," Dickson said.
"For a lot of people, the holidays can be the loneliest part."
In and of itself, being a foster child can be lonely, said Alex McFarland, who is 19 and president of the Ohio youth advisory board. He said it's worse when those outside the situation misunderstand.
"A lot of people have the image that we've done something wrong, when more than likely somebody's done something wrong to us," said McFarland, who lives in a suburb of Dayton.
The dinner was the third-annual -- the first in Columbus -- and was made possible because of a $1,000 donation from Capital University's student government that paid for food. The synagogue gave its space free, said Gabriel Koshinsky, vice president of student government and president of the Jewish Student Union.
The meal yesterday offered an opportunity to meet new people and learn about opportunities for foster children. It also gave guests the chance to reclaim the sense of belonging.
Dre Williams, who is 18 and lives in a foster home, and Kadeem Monroe, who is 19 and on his own, came to Columbus with a group from Stark County.
"I don't know how many days I felt like I was the only foster child in the world," Monroe said.
People who aren't part of the system don't understand the challenges or the emotional burdens or even how foster care works, the two said.
Williams said he wishes more good people would embrace children who can no longer live with their families, and that fewer people would invite foster children into their homes primarily for the money.
He's now living with Jodi Wilson, who has been a foster mom to 14 kids over 17 years. She maintains ties with many of them, and has a warm rapport with Williams.
"These kids are alone, or I believe they feel alone," said Wilson, who also works as supervisor of Stark County's independent-living program.
Bringing them together as a family of sorts is important, Wilson said.
"They have a common language, common experiences," she said.
"I'm 52, and I still talk to my mother every day. They don't have that."
SHARI LEWIS | DispatchLisa Dickson, a former foster child who founded Ohio's chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America, snaps a memory of the event she sought.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
We can do BETTER for Ohio's 3,000 waiting children
"I aged out of foster care in 1989 - but it wasn't until over a decade later, in the year 2000, that my picture frame was finally filled." (At this point Lisa held up her wedding photo). "I was 27 years old when I married my husband, and finally became a legal member of a forever family.”
“Our children shouldn't have to wait that long. We can do so much better for the young people in and from foster care today. Every year, over a thousand Ohio youth "age out" of the foster care system without being connected with forever families.”
"When I married my husband, I became a stepmother to his two beautiful daughters. We've been married for ten years now, and I learn more every day about what it's like to love two children who are not biologically my daughters - but whom I love more than anything.”
"As I watch my stepdaughters enter their teenage years, and young adulthood, I know that my husband and I will be there for them no matter what. They won't face the uncertainty that I faced as a child.”
"They will know that they are loved. They will know that they are safe. They will know that they have a place to belong to.”
"If they make a mistake while budgeting in college, they won't be homeless. If the road is difficult, I won't pull over the car, and tell them to get out. They will know that, even during the hard times, my love will still be there.”
"There are more than 3,000 children in Ohio who are waiting for that kind of assurance and certainty today.”
"Right now, at this moment, is an opportunity to fill their picture frames with our love. Our consistency. Our perseverance.”
"We who are here today have the strength to love, and the confidence to let adoptees tell us their story. We can build pictures of the future, and face pictures of the past. We can open our hearts and our homes, and provide FOREVER.”
Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair of Foster Care Alumni of America's Ohio chapter, speaks from the heart at the Nov. 6th Adoption Rally “Filling Family Portraits” on the Statehouse Steps. OACCA Weekly, Nov. 9, 2009.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
40 percent cut in Ohio adoption program hurts children
Vanishing family faces. Price, Rita. Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 7, 2009.
The Ohio Statehouse steps were covered today with hundreds of photo frames -- many of them empty -- to symbolize the 3,000 Ohio children who wait for a place in a family picture. The state cut $43 million for adoption services, about 40 percent of funding.
With a few clicks of his computer mouse, Ray Lees saw the face, read the story and fell a little in love.
"He came home with us in June," said the Worthington resident and adoptive father of 14-month-old Kalis.
The Web site listing Ohio foster children in need of homes is gone now, their smiling faces replaced by a gray directory of county agencies.
State officials had touted the site as efficient and effective, one of the best ways for parents and professionals to search for waiting children.
"It listed photos and stories," said Greg Kapcar of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "And it's one of the casualties."
Slashing of the state budget eliminated the Adopt Ohio program and took away $43 million for adoption services -- about a 40 percent cut -- over the next two years, Kapcar said.
Money for recruiting and training parents is down, one-time assistance for adoption expenses has been cut in half, and the state has reduced its share of subsidies for families who adopt low-income or special-needs children through public systems.
Kapcar said the 3,000 Ohio children waiting to be adopted will pay a price.
He and other advocates covered the Statehouse steps yesterday with hundreds of photo frames -- many of them empty -- to symbolize the children who wait for a place in a family picture.
Christine Johnson told the crowd that she spent four years in foster care and was moved 10 times before she and her two brothers were adopted. She's now 24, but the pain still isn't gone.
"I learned that you had to start over each time with each family to try to earn their love," she said.
Declining subsidies are likely to have a chilling effect on adoption, which costs taxpayers less than foster care, said Ron Browder, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio.
Many of the children who are adopted have expensive needs, while many of the families who take them in have incomes in the middle- to low-middle range, he said. "Why wasn't there some thought to finding ways to hold these families harmless?"
Monthly subsidies vary from less than $250 to more than $1,000 for a child with disabilities. The state has dropped its maximum contribution to $240 a month, down from $300.
The rest of the amount comes from federal or local funds, and county child-welfare agencies are struggling to make up the difference.
"Some counties are asking families to renegotiate their subsidies," Kapcar said.
State Sens. John A. Carey Jr., a Republican from Wellston, and Dale Miller, a Democrat from Cleveland, have sponsored a bill to restore about $8 million that was cut, advocates said.
Marynell Townsend, a mother of five from New Concord who adopted two children, said Ohio can't afford to go backward. Families who want to know about available children might turn to other states with better online resources, she said.
"We're a technological society. There are wonderful families in Ohio who are going to adopt. We want them to know about our children here."
The Ohio Statehouse steps were covered today with hundreds of photo frames -- many of them empty -- to symbolize the 3,000 Ohio children who wait for a place in a family picture. The state cut $43 million for adoption services, about 40 percent of funding.
With a few clicks of his computer mouse, Ray Lees saw the face, read the story and fell a little in love.
"He came home with us in June," said the Worthington resident and adoptive father of 14-month-old Kalis.
The Web site listing Ohio foster children in need of homes is gone now, their smiling faces replaced by a gray directory of county agencies.
State officials had touted the site as efficient and effective, one of the best ways for parents and professionals to search for waiting children.
"It listed photos and stories," said Greg Kapcar of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "And it's one of the casualties."
Slashing of the state budget eliminated the Adopt Ohio program and took away $43 million for adoption services -- about a 40 percent cut -- over the next two years, Kapcar said.
Money for recruiting and training parents is down, one-time assistance for adoption expenses has been cut in half, and the state has reduced its share of subsidies for families who adopt low-income or special-needs children through public systems.
Kapcar said the 3,000 Ohio children waiting to be adopted will pay a price.
He and other advocates covered the Statehouse steps yesterday with hundreds of photo frames -- many of them empty -- to symbolize the children who wait for a place in a family picture.
Christine Johnson told the crowd that she spent four years in foster care and was moved 10 times before she and her two brothers were adopted. She's now 24, but the pain still isn't gone.
"I learned that you had to start over each time with each family to try to earn their love," she said.
Declining subsidies are likely to have a chilling effect on adoption, which costs taxpayers less than foster care, said Ron Browder, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio.
Many of the children who are adopted have expensive needs, while many of the families who take them in have incomes in the middle- to low-middle range, he said. "Why wasn't there some thought to finding ways to hold these families harmless?"
Monthly subsidies vary from less than $250 to more than $1,000 for a child with disabilities. The state has dropped its maximum contribution to $240 a month, down from $300.
The rest of the amount comes from federal or local funds, and county child-welfare agencies are struggling to make up the difference.
"Some counties are asking families to renegotiate their subsidies," Kapcar said.
State Sens. John A. Carey Jr., a Republican from Wellston, and Dale Miller, a Democrat from Cleveland, have sponsored a bill to restore about $8 million that was cut, advocates said.
Marynell Townsend, a mother of five from New Concord who adopted two children, said Ohio can't afford to go backward. Families who want to know about available children might turn to other states with better online resources, she said.
"We're a technological society. There are wonderful families in Ohio who are going to adopt. We want them to know about our children here."
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cuts in human services at a time when families need help more than ever
Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services tries to make do with less money, Dissell, Rachel. Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 19, 2009.
CLEVELAND -- Overwhelmed parents, calling from the last knot on their rope, won't get help from the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.
That's because with a total of at least $19 million in state cuts last year, this year and the next, the department can no longer afford the services.
After years of building preventive programs to keep children out of foster care, the agency is making soul-churning choices.
"We have been all things to all people for a long time," department director Deborah Forkas said. "This will not be the same agency anymore. We will only be able to do what we are mandated to do and nothing more."
That means the agency, which has one of the largest budgets in the county, at $164 million this year, will wait until a baby is born drug-positive to step in. The agency will work with families only when abuse and neglect have been verified or other problems have actually occurred, rather than stepping in early to help.
And it will peel back efforts elsewhere to focus on its core mission: aiding seriously abused and neglected children, especially the youngest and most helpless kids.
So far, projected cuts from 2008 through 2010 amount to more than 10 percent of the agency's budget.
That does not take into consideration cuts to nonprofit and grant-funded agencies the county collaborates with. Many of those have suffered severe cutbacks as well. And more cuts could still come. It's depressing news for any county, which throughout Ohio are grappling with shrinking state aid and growing need.
So state officials are giving counties as much flexibility as possible in deciding what to cut.
"Each county has different priorities, different funding sources," said Brian Harter, a spokesman for Ohio Job and Family Services. "Some counties have levy dollars, some don't. It's up to each individual county to prioritize how they spend their money. They have a better sense of the needs of their county."
In that sense, Cuyahoga County is lucky. Sort of.
In addition to state and federal money for health and human services, the county began collecting money for needy families, elderly programs and MetroHealth Medical Center in 1976 when it passed its first health and human service levy. The county passed a second levy in 1989, and now, the two taxes are replaced or renewed by voters every four or five years, including one tax last year.
In 2004, county commissioners pledged to spend only levy money -- not general fund income -- on health and human services. That way, funding for the agencies remains separate from the pool of money that pays for most county services and offices.
Of course, both streams of money are fueled by taxes, mostly sales tax for the general fund, and property tax for the health and human services fund.
But county officials are not considering mixing the money, even while they bemoan what they call "devastating" state cuts.
The county is even shifting some costs, such as $365,000 for the public defender's social work staff, from the general fund to the health and human services levies.
Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones said they don't believe the county should use general fund money to make up for health and human service losses. But every dollar spent reflects a choice, a point Hagan made at a commissioners' meeting last month.
"We should be investing in our children as quickly as we can," he said.
Still, county officials are independently elected and so, can choose how to spend their allotted budgets.
The county treasurer's staff can attend weekend festivals to share information about subsidized home loans and easy payment programs. The auditor can have three satellite offices.
Auditor Frank Russo spends about $45,000 annually to rent three offices throughout Cleveland, said Destin Ramsey, the auditor's chief of staff. Fourteen office assistants are paid a total of $560,000 to work at the offices, to answer questions and process licenses.
"Every agency has their budget," Ramsey said. "Either you spend it or you don't."
The county budget office calculates the spending for each office. But commissioners really have no control over elected officials' budgets, other than the total dollar amounts.
"It's a conundrum," McCafferty said. "You certainly want services for health and human services. But there are also services for the general population. You can't just cut out all other services to support health and human services."
In the past, Cuyahoga County had a strong reputation statewide for investing money in its children.
Forkas planned to develop a program for older foster-care children, about to "age out," or leave the system. But now the agency cannot afford to make those children a top priority, especially since Forkas said the agency has lost more than 200 positions though a combination of unfilled positions, layoffs and buyouts.
The layoffs included workers who supervised visitation. That work has now been shifted to social workers. The staff of special advocates and workers who assist drug-addicted parents also has been snipped.
Forkas said she's not sure state officials realize the actual impact of their cuts.
"They ought to be out here and see these families and these kids," she said. "Of course this is bad for us, but it is 10 times worse for our clients who are suffering."
Although doing less will save money now, it could end up costing more as untreated problems fester, experts say.
"Whenever we cut the up-front, early preventive services, the cases that come to us later on are further along and more intense," said Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "I do believe it will come back and be more costly, not only financially, but also in terms of child outcomes."
Jon Honeck, director of public policy for the Center for Community Solutions said that a few years ago, a poor family might be able to get help fixing a car so a parent could get to his job.
Now the money isn't available. "Having these prevention, retention and contingency funds, having them go away or be cut down to nothing, it's penny-wise, pound-foolish," he said.
But Honeck doesn't think counties can raid their general funds to pay for preventive programs. That's because of declining sales tax revenue and state budget cuts affecting other county functions.
"All the counties are in a revenue crunch, to one degree or another," he said. "I don't know if there really is anywhere they could do major shifts. You can't fix this just by tinkering around the edges."
Forkas agrees. Resigned to the fact she cannot prevent all the cuts, she has moved on to other strategies.
The agency plans to seek more grants. And it's reaching out to business and community groups.
Earlier this year, on a whim, Forkas wrote a letter to a Lowe's Home Improvement store, explaining that there was no adequate outdoor place for parents and siblings to visit each other at the agency's downtown office.
Parents attempting to reunite with their children often start visiting at the agency under supervision of social workers.
To her surprise, Lowe's donated nearly $4,500 worth of plants and materials for the visitation center and urban garden.
"We just have to get more creative now, I guess," Forkas said.
CLEVELAND -- Overwhelmed parents, calling from the last knot on their rope, won't get help from the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.
That's because with a total of at least $19 million in state cuts last year, this year and the next, the department can no longer afford the services.
After years of building preventive programs to keep children out of foster care, the agency is making soul-churning choices.
"We have been all things to all people for a long time," department director Deborah Forkas said. "This will not be the same agency anymore. We will only be able to do what we are mandated to do and nothing more."
That means the agency, which has one of the largest budgets in the county, at $164 million this year, will wait until a baby is born drug-positive to step in. The agency will work with families only when abuse and neglect have been verified or other problems have actually occurred, rather than stepping in early to help.
And it will peel back efforts elsewhere to focus on its core mission: aiding seriously abused and neglected children, especially the youngest and most helpless kids.
So far, projected cuts from 2008 through 2010 amount to more than 10 percent of the agency's budget.
That does not take into consideration cuts to nonprofit and grant-funded agencies the county collaborates with. Many of those have suffered severe cutbacks as well. And more cuts could still come. It's depressing news for any county, which throughout Ohio are grappling with shrinking state aid and growing need.
So state officials are giving counties as much flexibility as possible in deciding what to cut.
"Each county has different priorities, different funding sources," said Brian Harter, a spokesman for Ohio Job and Family Services. "Some counties have levy dollars, some don't. It's up to each individual county to prioritize how they spend their money. They have a better sense of the needs of their county."
In that sense, Cuyahoga County is lucky. Sort of.
In addition to state and federal money for health and human services, the county began collecting money for needy families, elderly programs and MetroHealth Medical Center in 1976 when it passed its first health and human service levy. The county passed a second levy in 1989, and now, the two taxes are replaced or renewed by voters every four or five years, including one tax last year.
In 2004, county commissioners pledged to spend only levy money -- not general fund income -- on health and human services. That way, funding for the agencies remains separate from the pool of money that pays for most county services and offices.
Of course, both streams of money are fueled by taxes, mostly sales tax for the general fund, and property tax for the health and human services fund.
But county officials are not considering mixing the money, even while they bemoan what they call "devastating" state cuts.
The county is even shifting some costs, such as $365,000 for the public defender's social work staff, from the general fund to the health and human services levies.
Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones said they don't believe the county should use general fund money to make up for health and human service losses. But every dollar spent reflects a choice, a point Hagan made at a commissioners' meeting last month.
"We should be investing in our children as quickly as we can," he said.
Still, county officials are independently elected and so, can choose how to spend their allotted budgets.
The county treasurer's staff can attend weekend festivals to share information about subsidized home loans and easy payment programs. The auditor can have three satellite offices.
Auditor Frank Russo spends about $45,000 annually to rent three offices throughout Cleveland, said Destin Ramsey, the auditor's chief of staff. Fourteen office assistants are paid a total of $560,000 to work at the offices, to answer questions and process licenses.
"Every agency has their budget," Ramsey said. "Either you spend it or you don't."
The county budget office calculates the spending for each office. But commissioners really have no control over elected officials' budgets, other than the total dollar amounts.
"It's a conundrum," McCafferty said. "You certainly want services for health and human services. But there are also services for the general population. You can't just cut out all other services to support health and human services."
In the past, Cuyahoga County had a strong reputation statewide for investing money in its children.
Forkas planned to develop a program for older foster-care children, about to "age out," or leave the system. But now the agency cannot afford to make those children a top priority, especially since Forkas said the agency has lost more than 200 positions though a combination of unfilled positions, layoffs and buyouts.
The layoffs included workers who supervised visitation. That work has now been shifted to social workers. The staff of special advocates and workers who assist drug-addicted parents also has been snipped.
Forkas said she's not sure state officials realize the actual impact of their cuts.
"They ought to be out here and see these families and these kids," she said. "Of course this is bad for us, but it is 10 times worse for our clients who are suffering."
Although doing less will save money now, it could end up costing more as untreated problems fester, experts say.
"Whenever we cut the up-front, early preventive services, the cases that come to us later on are further along and more intense," said Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "I do believe it will come back and be more costly, not only financially, but also in terms of child outcomes."
Jon Honeck, director of public policy for the Center for Community Solutions said that a few years ago, a poor family might be able to get help fixing a car so a parent could get to his job.
Now the money isn't available. "Having these prevention, retention and contingency funds, having them go away or be cut down to nothing, it's penny-wise, pound-foolish," he said.
But Honeck doesn't think counties can raid their general funds to pay for preventive programs. That's because of declining sales tax revenue and state budget cuts affecting other county functions.
"All the counties are in a revenue crunch, to one degree or another," he said. "I don't know if there really is anywhere they could do major shifts. You can't fix this just by tinkering around the edges."
Forkas agrees. Resigned to the fact she cannot prevent all the cuts, she has moved on to other strategies.
The agency plans to seek more grants. And it's reaching out to business and community groups.
Earlier this year, on a whim, Forkas wrote a letter to a Lowe's Home Improvement store, explaining that there was no adequate outdoor place for parents and siblings to visit each other at the agency's downtown office.
Parents attempting to reunite with their children often start visiting at the agency under supervision of social workers.
To her surprise, Lowe's donated nearly $4,500 worth of plants and materials for the visitation center and urban garden.
"We just have to get more creative now, I guess," Forkas said.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Child abuse escalates during a recession
Abuse of children escalating to brutality, experts say
Sullivan, Lucas. Springfield News Sun, Oct. 4, 2009.
Infants and toddlers have become helpless casualties of an economic crisis, suffering severe physical abuse at levels that rival anything local experts have seen in at least 20 years.
Investigations of physical abuse in Montgomery County increased from 817 in 2006 to 1,033 the next year and landed at 981 in 2008, according to county data. The numbers are rising more this year.
Dayton Children’s Medical Center, which handles patients from throughout the Miami Valley, reported an increase from 195 cases of possible abuse between January and August in 2008, to 326 during the same time period this year.
Caseworkers in Clark County also reported an increase in physical abuse, and like their counterparts in Montgomery County, they’ve gone from working about 15 cases at a time, to about 20. But Warren and Greene counties reported no increases in physical abuse.
The increase in physical abuse is concerning, but more alarming, “it’s more severe,” said Carol Griesdorn, a 20-year veteran with Montgomery County Children Services.
County Coroner Dr. James Davis said the abuse has not led to more child fatalities, just more violent deaths. “There needs to be a more appropriate word to what we’re seeing because it’s not abuse,” he said. “What we’re seeing is outrageous brutality.”
The rise in severe abuse mirrors a local unemployment rate that ballooned from 6 percent in 2005 to nearly 12 percent last month, according to data from the state department of Job and Family Services.
Griesdorn and caseworkers from area counties said the recession has stripped social services, leaving parents or caregivers with short fuses without a support system.
That means more helpless children in dangerous situations, Griesdorn said.
Every case of child abuse is disturbing, but images of the injuries that led to 3-year-old Hope Cook’s death won’t leave forensic or homicide investigators anytime soon.
Cook was beaten to death by her half-sister Kimberly Cook, 23, in July 2008. A Montgomery County jury took 90 minutes Thursday, Oct. 1, to find Kimberly Cook guilty of all murder and abuse charges .
Hope Cook’s head injuries were so severe, county Coroner James Davis used phrases like “Oh my gosh,” and “horrific brutality,” when talking about the case.
“Let’s just say there is no doubt Hope Cook was murdered,” Davis said. “I would rather spare the public the extent of the brutality and only say it’s the worse case I’ve seen in my 29 years.”
While Hope Cook’s death is an extreme case, child advocates say the instances of especially harsh abuse appear to be increasing.
“The past year I have noted (that) many infants and younger toddlers presenting physical abuse concerns have more severe injuries,” said Dr. Lori Vavul-Roediger, director for the Department of Child Advocacy at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. “There seems to be a slightly increasing trend (of) abusive head injuries in infants and younger toddlers.”
It’s difficult for medical experts to pinpoint why more children are suffering severe head trauma , but when it comes to head injuries from abuse or accident, the indicators are palpable, Davis said.
“It’s very difficult to fracture a child’s skull,” he said. “Bones in young children are more rubbery and much harder to break than in adults.
“We can see a pattern in the fracture (like a cracked egg) and tell right away. When you see a solid bone that’s fractured like that — they’ve sustained a severe blow.”
While Vavul-Roediger acknowledged the possibility of a link between the increase in violence and the economy, she said that increased awareness among professionals about the signs of abuse also is leading to more reported cases.
But there is still a long way to go, she said.
“A major factor is that family violence is exceedingly common, and sadly, overlooked by our society,” she said. “We as a community and a nation often fail to protect our children and respond appropriately to tragic family violence.”
Disbelief is not uncommon as well, particularly when a parent is confronted with allegations of child abuse by a loved one.
Homicide detectives believe that was the case in the death of 2-year-old Malechi Wilson.
The toddler was beaten severely in early June in the home of his mother’s boyfriend. Police said the boy suffered for hours before his mother, Denise Stinson, called 911.
The coroner said Malechi was beaten so badly his internal organs were severed.
Stinson would not say why she waited so long to call police , and she refused to blame her boyfriend Mark Newberry, whom police said beat the boy.
Without Stinson’s cooperation, the investigation into Malechi’s death stalled ; and to date, no one has been charged for Wilson’s death.
“It’s hard for some parents to accept that their significant other could do something like this,” said Carol Griesdorn, a caseworker with Montgomery County Children’s Services. “But things start piling up on people and they snap. We are seeing more and more heat-of-the-moment incidents.”
At the same time, support services are being cut, said Nancy Mahoney, of Clark County Children’s Services. “We are laying off 33 people here, including me. Families are losing safety nets.”
Mahoney said her agency is relying more on the families they serve to work out solutions.
“We had a mom that had a substance abuse issue, and her children were left in a questionable supervision situation while the mother decided to go out and use drugs,” Mahoney said. “We sat down with (the family) and they were able to work out a system to adequately care for the children.”
It’s not the best solution, she said, “but the children are in a safer environment.”
Sullivan, Lucas. Springfield News Sun, Oct. 4, 2009.
Infants and toddlers have become helpless casualties of an economic crisis, suffering severe physical abuse at levels that rival anything local experts have seen in at least 20 years.
Investigations of physical abuse in Montgomery County increased from 817 in 2006 to 1,033 the next year and landed at 981 in 2008, according to county data. The numbers are rising more this year.
Dayton Children’s Medical Center, which handles patients from throughout the Miami Valley, reported an increase from 195 cases of possible abuse between January and August in 2008, to 326 during the same time period this year.
Caseworkers in Clark County also reported an increase in physical abuse, and like their counterparts in Montgomery County, they’ve gone from working about 15 cases at a time, to about 20. But Warren and Greene counties reported no increases in physical abuse.
The increase in physical abuse is concerning, but more alarming, “it’s more severe,” said Carol Griesdorn, a 20-year veteran with Montgomery County Children Services.
County Coroner Dr. James Davis said the abuse has not led to more child fatalities, just more violent deaths. “There needs to be a more appropriate word to what we’re seeing because it’s not abuse,” he said. “What we’re seeing is outrageous brutality.”
The rise in severe abuse mirrors a local unemployment rate that ballooned from 6 percent in 2005 to nearly 12 percent last month, according to data from the state department of Job and Family Services.
Griesdorn and caseworkers from area counties said the recession has stripped social services, leaving parents or caregivers with short fuses without a support system.
That means more helpless children in dangerous situations, Griesdorn said.
Every case of child abuse is disturbing, but images of the injuries that led to 3-year-old Hope Cook’s death won’t leave forensic or homicide investigators anytime soon.
Cook was beaten to death by her half-sister Kimberly Cook, 23, in July 2008. A Montgomery County jury took 90 minutes Thursday, Oct. 1, to find Kimberly Cook guilty of all murder and abuse charges .
Hope Cook’s head injuries were so severe, county Coroner James Davis used phrases like “Oh my gosh,” and “horrific brutality,” when talking about the case.
“Let’s just say there is no doubt Hope Cook was murdered,” Davis said. “I would rather spare the public the extent of the brutality and only say it’s the worse case I’ve seen in my 29 years.”
While Hope Cook’s death is an extreme case, child advocates say the instances of especially harsh abuse appear to be increasing.
“The past year I have noted (that) many infants and younger toddlers presenting physical abuse concerns have more severe injuries,” said Dr. Lori Vavul-Roediger, director for the Department of Child Advocacy at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. “There seems to be a slightly increasing trend (of) abusive head injuries in infants and younger toddlers.”
It’s difficult for medical experts to pinpoint why more children are suffering severe head trauma , but when it comes to head injuries from abuse or accident, the indicators are palpable, Davis said.
“It’s very difficult to fracture a child’s skull,” he said. “Bones in young children are more rubbery and much harder to break than in adults.
“We can see a pattern in the fracture (like a cracked egg) and tell right away. When you see a solid bone that’s fractured like that — they’ve sustained a severe blow.”
While Vavul-Roediger acknowledged the possibility of a link between the increase in violence and the economy, she said that increased awareness among professionals about the signs of abuse also is leading to more reported cases.
But there is still a long way to go, she said.
“A major factor is that family violence is exceedingly common, and sadly, overlooked by our society,” she said. “We as a community and a nation often fail to protect our children and respond appropriately to tragic family violence.”
Disbelief is not uncommon as well, particularly when a parent is confronted with allegations of child abuse by a loved one.
Homicide detectives believe that was the case in the death of 2-year-old Malechi Wilson.
The toddler was beaten severely in early June in the home of his mother’s boyfriend. Police said the boy suffered for hours before his mother, Denise Stinson, called 911.
The coroner said Malechi was beaten so badly his internal organs were severed.
Stinson would not say why she waited so long to call police , and she refused to blame her boyfriend Mark Newberry, whom police said beat the boy.
Without Stinson’s cooperation, the investigation into Malechi’s death stalled ; and to date, no one has been charged for Wilson’s death.
“It’s hard for some parents to accept that their significant other could do something like this,” said Carol Griesdorn, a caseworker with Montgomery County Children’s Services. “But things start piling up on people and they snap. We are seeing more and more heat-of-the-moment incidents.”
At the same time, support services are being cut, said Nancy Mahoney, of Clark County Children’s Services. “We are laying off 33 people here, including me. Families are losing safety nets.”
Mahoney said her agency is relying more on the families they serve to work out solutions.
“We had a mom that had a substance abuse issue, and her children were left in a questionable supervision situation while the mother decided to go out and use drugs,” Mahoney said. “We sat down with (the family) and they were able to work out a system to adequately care for the children.”
It’s not the best solution, she said, “but the children are in a safer environment.”
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Foster-care cuts will be costly to kids, society
Op Ed: Foster-care cuts will be costly to kids, society
Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 5, 2009.
At a time when the needs of foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are being recognized on the federal level through the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, Ohio has chosen to cut the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families-Independent Living Allocation by 100 percent.
The Independent Living Initiative was the only state program that provides transitional-living services to foster-care youths. These services include drivers' education, life-skills training, job-readiness preparation and food and housing assistance.
Gov. Ted Strickland eliminated this allocation, saying that it constrained county agencies' ability to use the allocated funds in a flexible manner that meets each county's needs to support children.
Approximately 1,300 Ohio teenagers emancipate from the foster-care system each year. Because they have no families to rely upon, these young people are at greater risk of poverty, homelessness, unwed pregnancies and incarceration.
Foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are not a "line item." They are children who rely on the state to be their parents. They are teenagers entering into adulthood during a recession.
Ohio taxpayers will pay for their needs, whether now or later. Research by the Children's Advocacy Institute has shown that early investment leads to foster-care youths being three times more likely to enroll in college, 65 percent less likely to be arrested and 33 percent less likely to become pregnant.
According to Dr. Mark Courtney of the Chapin Hall Center for Children, every dollar invested in continued foster care supports and services results in a return of $2.40.
It makes better economic sense to intervene during their late teens and early 20s, a time when young people have open minds, high levels of energy and are actively engaged in the process of directing their future lives.
Lack of investment in independent-living preparation will lead more foster-care youths into situations of chronic homelessness, unwed pregnancies, unemployment and incarceration.
Left unchecked, the cycle will continue: One in four homeless adults is a former foster child.
Ohio's foster youths are "aging out" of care in the midst of a recession. They deserve far better than this.
LISA DICKSON
Founder, Communications chairman Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America Westerville
Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 5, 2009.
At a time when the needs of foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are being recognized on the federal level through the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, Ohio has chosen to cut the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families-Independent Living Allocation by 100 percent.
The Independent Living Initiative was the only state program that provides transitional-living services to foster-care youths. These services include drivers' education, life-skills training, job-readiness preparation and food and housing assistance.
Gov. Ted Strickland eliminated this allocation, saying that it constrained county agencies' ability to use the allocated funds in a flexible manner that meets each county's needs to support children.
Approximately 1,300 Ohio teenagers emancipate from the foster-care system each year. Because they have no families to rely upon, these young people are at greater risk of poverty, homelessness, unwed pregnancies and incarceration.
Foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are not a "line item." They are children who rely on the state to be their parents. They are teenagers entering into adulthood during a recession.
Ohio taxpayers will pay for their needs, whether now or later. Research by the Children's Advocacy Institute has shown that early investment leads to foster-care youths being three times more likely to enroll in college, 65 percent less likely to be arrested and 33 percent less likely to become pregnant.
According to Dr. Mark Courtney of the Chapin Hall Center for Children, every dollar invested in continued foster care supports and services results in a return of $2.40.
It makes better economic sense to intervene during their late teens and early 20s, a time when young people have open minds, high levels of energy and are actively engaged in the process of directing their future lives.
Lack of investment in independent-living preparation will lead more foster-care youths into situations of chronic homelessness, unwed pregnancies, unemployment and incarceration.
Left unchecked, the cycle will continue: One in four homeless adults is a former foster child.
Ohio's foster youths are "aging out" of care in the midst of a recession. They deserve far better than this.
LISA DICKSON
Founder, Communications chairman Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America Westerville
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ohio's transitioning youth face a scary future in terms of seeking employment
Jobless fund in red, still bleeding
By end of next year, state may owe U.S. government $3 billion
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 15, 2009.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep." -- Andrew E. Doehrel, state Chamber of Commerce
Ohio's ailing unemployment-compensation fund is $1 billion in the hole as of this week, and the shortfall is expected to top $3 billion by the end of 2010 -- six years sooner than projected.
Since Ohio's fund went broke earlier this year as the jobless rate soared, the federal government has been picking up the tab. But the money eventually must be repaid.
While the debt has gotten little attention from state officials, business and labor leaders agree a solution must be found.
"If we put this off until we owe $3 billion, now you're talking about having to jack up (employers') rates very, very high and doing something very questionable with benefits," said Andrew E. Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state's Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council.
Zach Schiller, spokesman for Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based research group, said, "At some point, Ohio will have to pay this back and we'll have to figure out how to do that. Nationwide, states are more than $12 billion in debt, so it's a national problem."
There is no deadline for repaying the money, although interest will begin to accrue on Jan. 1, 2011. By the end of that year, the state's interest payment alone would be $171 million, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
If the debt is not settled by Jan. 1, 2012, federal guidelines require that a tax be imposed on Ohio businesses to repay the money.
Ohio is among 17 states that have depleted their funds for paying unemployment compensation and are now borrowing from the national trust fund to cover jobless benefits. As of Monday, the states owed $12.6 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ohio depleted its unemployment-compensation fund in January. It was drained amid rising unemployment and after years of collecting less in unemployment taxes than the fund paid out in benefits.
At that time, Ohio was among five states borrowing from the federal trust fund.
States operate unemployment-compensation systems under federal guidelines. If funds are depleted, states are required to borrow from the federal government to ensure that unemployed workers continue to receive benefits.
Earlier this year, Congress agreed to waive interest payments on such loans through the end of next year.
Ohio officials have known for years that the fund was in trouble. Since 2001, the fund has collected less in employer taxes than it paid out in jobless benefits in every year but one.
States set their benefit amounts and tax rates. In Ohio, employers pay on the first $9,000 earned by each employee, an amount unchanged since 1995.
The tax and benefits are based on recommendations from the advisory council, subject to approval by the General Assembly. An agreement on how to fix the problem continues to be elusive.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep," Doehrel said. "Now, the changes that will be needed will be more severe on both sides of the equation."
By end of next year, state may owe U.S. government $3 billion
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 15, 2009.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep." -- Andrew E. Doehrel, state Chamber of Commerce
Ohio's ailing unemployment-compensation fund is $1 billion in the hole as of this week, and the shortfall is expected to top $3 billion by the end of 2010 -- six years sooner than projected.
Since Ohio's fund went broke earlier this year as the jobless rate soared, the federal government has been picking up the tab. But the money eventually must be repaid.
While the debt has gotten little attention from state officials, business and labor leaders agree a solution must be found.
"If we put this off until we owe $3 billion, now you're talking about having to jack up (employers') rates very, very high and doing something very questionable with benefits," said Andrew E. Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state's Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council.
Zach Schiller, spokesman for Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based research group, said, "At some point, Ohio will have to pay this back and we'll have to figure out how to do that. Nationwide, states are more than $12 billion in debt, so it's a national problem."
There is no deadline for repaying the money, although interest will begin to accrue on Jan. 1, 2011. By the end of that year, the state's interest payment alone would be $171 million, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
If the debt is not settled by Jan. 1, 2012, federal guidelines require that a tax be imposed on Ohio businesses to repay the money.
Ohio is among 17 states that have depleted their funds for paying unemployment compensation and are now borrowing from the national trust fund to cover jobless benefits. As of Monday, the states owed $12.6 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ohio depleted its unemployment-compensation fund in January. It was drained amid rising unemployment and after years of collecting less in unemployment taxes than the fund paid out in benefits.
At that time, Ohio was among five states borrowing from the federal trust fund.
States operate unemployment-compensation systems under federal guidelines. If funds are depleted, states are required to borrow from the federal government to ensure that unemployed workers continue to receive benefits.
Earlier this year, Congress agreed to waive interest payments on such loans through the end of next year.
Ohio officials have known for years that the fund was in trouble. Since 2001, the fund has collected less in employer taxes than it paid out in jobless benefits in every year but one.
States set their benefit amounts and tax rates. In Ohio, employers pay on the first $9,000 earned by each employee, an amount unchanged since 1995.
The tax and benefits are based on recommendations from the advisory council, subject to approval by the General Assembly. An agreement on how to fix the problem continues to be elusive.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep," Doehrel said. "Now, the changes that will be needed will be more severe on both sides of the equation."
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Governor Strickland's Executive Orders to cut state adoption assistance program
Executive Orders Implement Cuts in Adoption Assistance, Child Care
Hannah News
Gov. Ted Strickland this week issued two Executive Orders (EOs) implementing cuts to the state's adoption assistance programs and child care program that were included in HB1, the FY10-11 budget. The first, EO 2009-15S, which was effective Monday, Aug. 10, addresses reductions in certain adoption expenses while EO 2009-16S, which was effective Wednesday, Aug. 12, deals with the publicly funded child care program. Both put into immediate effect revised rules reducing expenditures in these areas for 90 days. This gives the Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) time to pursue revised rules through the normal rule-making process. Both executive orders are posted on www.hannah.com
The adoption changes center on ODJFS appropriation line item 600-528 Adoption Services which, according to Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO), covers expenditures in four major areas:
- The Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS). Funding and eligibility criteria for this program, which offers eligible families up to $10,000 a year to help pay for the treatment of a physical, developmental, mental or emotional conditions, has been kept the same as in FY09 by ODJFS.
- The State Adoption Maintenance Subsidy (SAMS) program. This is a state program for adoptive children who are not eligible for the federal Title IV-E program but who have special needs. This covers approximately 7 to 8 percent of the special needs adoptions - children who by 2018, Allen explained, will be covered under the federal program.
- State match for the federal Title IV -E. Title IV-E program covers 92 to 93 percent of the special needs adoptive children; it is a federal, state and locally funded program. The feds share in the cost at the same rate as the state's Medicaid reimbursement which is currently at an uncharacteristically high 68.34 percent due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Normally, according to Allen, the federal reimbursement is between 60 and 62 percent.
- Non-Recurring Adoption Expenses. This state/federal program provides a one-time payment for non-ongoing expenses. The cap on this payment had been $2,000; it now goes to $1,000. The federal government covers 50 percent of the amount.
According to the emergency rules, the state's portion for both SAMS and Title IV-E drops from $300/month to $240/month per child beginning with the September payment. This presents a problem for the counties, Allen said, explaining that the average subsidy amount is approximately $550/month. In addition, federal requirements, backed by a couple of court decisions, preclude reducing the IV-E subsidy based on lack of state funds. Allen estimated counties face an $8 million funding gap, which she said they are in the process of "trying to determine how to manage ....
"Some counties have resources and can increase their local share." Others may have to renegotiate the subsidy amount with each of the affected families or adjust other programs. The following summarizes the funding for this line item:
Adoption Services FY09 FY10 FY11
State $43.7 million $22.8 million $24.1 million
Federal 42.8 million 49.3 million 46.3 million
TOTAL $86.5 million $72.2 million $70.4 million
Allen said her association is supporting SB155, sponsored by Sens. John Carey (R-Wellston) and Dale Miller (D-Cleveland), which "makes a slight change to Ohio's tax code" and designates the resulting funds for adoptions and Disability Medical Assistance. She expressed the hope that the bill will be incorporated into the budget correction bill which may done as early as the end of September.
Hannah News
Gov. Ted Strickland this week issued two Executive Orders (EOs) implementing cuts to the state's adoption assistance programs and child care program that were included in HB1, the FY10-11 budget. The first, EO 2009-15S, which was effective Monday, Aug. 10, addresses reductions in certain adoption expenses while EO 2009-16S, which was effective Wednesday, Aug. 12, deals with the publicly funded child care program. Both put into immediate effect revised rules reducing expenditures in these areas for 90 days. This gives the Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) time to pursue revised rules through the normal rule-making process. Both executive orders are posted on www.hannah.com
The adoption changes center on ODJFS appropriation line item 600-528 Adoption Services which, according to Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO), covers expenditures in four major areas:
- The Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS). Funding and eligibility criteria for this program, which offers eligible families up to $10,000 a year to help pay for the treatment of a physical, developmental, mental or emotional conditions, has been kept the same as in FY09 by ODJFS.
- The State Adoption Maintenance Subsidy (SAMS) program. This is a state program for adoptive children who are not eligible for the federal Title IV-E program but who have special needs. This covers approximately 7 to 8 percent of the special needs adoptions - children who by 2018, Allen explained, will be covered under the federal program.
- State match for the federal Title IV -E. Title IV-E program covers 92 to 93 percent of the special needs adoptive children; it is a federal, state and locally funded program. The feds share in the cost at the same rate as the state's Medicaid reimbursement which is currently at an uncharacteristically high 68.34 percent due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Normally, according to Allen, the federal reimbursement is between 60 and 62 percent.
- Non-Recurring Adoption Expenses. This state/federal program provides a one-time payment for non-ongoing expenses. The cap on this payment had been $2,000; it now goes to $1,000. The federal government covers 50 percent of the amount.
According to the emergency rules, the state's portion for both SAMS and Title IV-E drops from $300/month to $240/month per child beginning with the September payment. This presents a problem for the counties, Allen said, explaining that the average subsidy amount is approximately $550/month. In addition, federal requirements, backed by a couple of court decisions, preclude reducing the IV-E subsidy based on lack of state funds. Allen estimated counties face an $8 million funding gap, which she said they are in the process of "trying to determine how to manage ....
"Some counties have resources and can increase their local share." Others may have to renegotiate the subsidy amount with each of the affected families or adjust other programs. The following summarizes the funding for this line item:
Adoption Services FY09 FY10 FY11
State $43.7 million $22.8 million $24.1 million
Federal 42.8 million 49.3 million 46.3 million
TOTAL $86.5 million $72.2 million $70.4 million
Allen said her association is supporting SB155, sponsored by Sens. John Carey (R-Wellston) and Dale Miller (D-Cleveland), which "makes a slight change to Ohio's tax code" and designates the resulting funds for adoptions and Disability Medical Assistance. She expressed the hope that the bill will be incorporated into the budget correction bill which may done as early as the end of September.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Reflections on Strickland's last minute cuts
Ohio finally has budget, but no plan
Dayton Daily News, Sunday, July 19, 2009
After the prolonged dust-up about Ohio's budget, the dust hasn't settled. This is very much an ongoing story.
In some ways, the dust should not be allowed to settle. Take the spending cuts that were made. Rather than just make them and move on, Gov. Ted Strickland should put somebody in charge of measuring their impact, precisely quantifying what's being lost.
Will the actual harm be as intense as spokespeople for safety-net programs predict? Or worse? Will people go hungry, lives be lost, families be devastated?
The cuts were as last-minute as the ridiculous gambling proposal that was enacted. The cuts reflected last-minute revenue projections. Neither legislators nor journalists nor anybody else had time to get an authoritative feel for their impact.
State government makes decisions that affect people in direct, dramatic ways. Often the politicians talk about the potential indirect, subtle impacts of their policies, as in stimulating economic development. They can overstate their influence.
But their impact is clear in determining whether mental health care is available, whether seniors can avoid nursing homes, and whether people who lose their jobs can turn to food banks for sustenance and public libraries for a way back to a job.
Things might get worse from here. Many people believe the Strickland administration and lawmakers are wildly optimistic about future revenue; they worry there will have to be more cuts before the next budget is written in two years.
The projected money from the slot machines that the new budget authorizes at racetracks, for example, might not materialize. The gambling might not even start very soon.
The economy might still worsen. And the next budget won't have this year's $5 billion in federal stimulus funds to fall back on.
One estimate is that the next shortfall will be $8 billion. (The current two-year spending plan is $50.5 billion.)
True, the recent news out of Columbus could be worse. The overwhelmingly Republican Senate did give the Democratic governor enough votes (just barely) to get something enacted. As a party, the Republicans took the opportunity to pin all the bad news on the Democrats, but only to the degree that was consistent with getting the deed done.
Gov. Strickland lost substantial public standing during the ugly fight. But he does get to run for re-election as the governor who resisted a tax increase even when many in his party thought a tax increase — or a delay in planned tax cuts — was necessary. That seemed to be what he wanted.
And the spending cuts could have been worse, if the governor had gotten his original way. The final version of the budget cuts libraries by less than half as much as the governor proposed (but still by an awful lot). Food banks, mental health service and child care were also cut less.
The burden was spread a little to higher education (which also gets to raise tuition, as a tradeoff), hospitals, nursing homes and non-public schools. On balance, that was the right direction.
But to take much comfort in the good news would be to miss the big picture and what's likely yet to come.
Dayton Daily News, Sunday, July 19, 2009
After the prolonged dust-up about Ohio's budget, the dust hasn't settled. This is very much an ongoing story.
In some ways, the dust should not be allowed to settle. Take the spending cuts that were made. Rather than just make them and move on, Gov. Ted Strickland should put somebody in charge of measuring their impact, precisely quantifying what's being lost.
Will the actual harm be as intense as spokespeople for safety-net programs predict? Or worse? Will people go hungry, lives be lost, families be devastated?
The cuts were as last-minute as the ridiculous gambling proposal that was enacted. The cuts reflected last-minute revenue projections. Neither legislators nor journalists nor anybody else had time to get an authoritative feel for their impact.
State government makes decisions that affect people in direct, dramatic ways. Often the politicians talk about the potential indirect, subtle impacts of their policies, as in stimulating economic development. They can overstate their influence.
But their impact is clear in determining whether mental health care is available, whether seniors can avoid nursing homes, and whether people who lose their jobs can turn to food banks for sustenance and public libraries for a way back to a job.
Things might get worse from here. Many people believe the Strickland administration and lawmakers are wildly optimistic about future revenue; they worry there will have to be more cuts before the next budget is written in two years.
The projected money from the slot machines that the new budget authorizes at racetracks, for example, might not materialize. The gambling might not even start very soon.
The economy might still worsen. And the next budget won't have this year's $5 billion in federal stimulus funds to fall back on.
One estimate is that the next shortfall will be $8 billion. (The current two-year spending plan is $50.5 billion.)
True, the recent news out of Columbus could be worse. The overwhelmingly Republican Senate did give the Democratic governor enough votes (just barely) to get something enacted. As a party, the Republicans took the opportunity to pin all the bad news on the Democrats, but only to the degree that was consistent with getting the deed done.
Gov. Strickland lost substantial public standing during the ugly fight. But he does get to run for re-election as the governor who resisted a tax increase even when many in his party thought a tax increase — or a delay in planned tax cuts — was necessary. That seemed to be what he wanted.
And the spending cuts could have been worse, if the governor had gotten his original way. The final version of the budget cuts libraries by less than half as much as the governor proposed (but still by an awful lot). Food banks, mental health service and child care were also cut less.
The burden was spread a little to higher education (which also gets to raise tuition, as a tradeoff), hospitals, nursing homes and non-public schools. On balance, that was the right direction.
But to take much comfort in the good news would be to miss the big picture and what's likely yet to come.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Now is NOT the time to cut Ohio funding for child protection
3 adults accused of letting rats bite baby girl, chew off her toes at messy Ohio mobile home
Star Tribune, July 21, 2009.
WAVERLY, Ohio - Three people have been accused of letting rats bite a 6-week-old girl and chew off her toes at their cluttered Ohio mobile home.
Pike County prosecutor Rob Junk says the baby's toes on one foot were gone when sheriff's deputies went to the home Sunday after receiving an anonymous tip.
The baby is in fair condition at a Columbus hospital.
A married couple and the 18-year-old boyfriend of the baby's mother are charged with felony child endangering. They were in court for an initial hearing Tuesday. They're jailed pending a plea hearing in two weeks.
The prosecutor says they all lived in the mobile home west of Piketon, a village noted for its old uranium enrichment plant.
He says the baby's mother is a juvenile. He won't identify her or say if she'll be charged.
Star Tribune, July 21, 2009.
WAVERLY, Ohio - Three people have been accused of letting rats bite a 6-week-old girl and chew off her toes at their cluttered Ohio mobile home.
Pike County prosecutor Rob Junk says the baby's toes on one foot were gone when sheriff's deputies went to the home Sunday after receiving an anonymous tip.
The baby is in fair condition at a Columbus hospital.
A married couple and the 18-year-old boyfriend of the baby's mother are charged with felony child endangering. They were in court for an initial hearing Tuesday. They're jailed pending a plea hearing in two weeks.
The prosecutor says they all lived in the mobile home west of Piketon, a village noted for its old uranium enrichment plant.
He says the baby's mother is a juvenile. He won't identify her or say if she'll be charged.
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