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Ohio Job & Family Services
May Is Foster
Care and Adoption Recognition and Recruitment Month
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS)
is joining Governor Kasich in recognizing May as Foster Care and
Adoption Recognition and Recruitment Month, and urging all Ohioans to
do something positive to make a difference for children and youth in
foster care.
“On any given day in Ohio, approximately 13,000 children are in foster
care, and more than 3,200 are waiting for adoptive families,” said
ODJFS Director Cynthia Dungey. “Ohio’s foster, kinship and adoptive
parents serve a vital role in our communities. They offer safety,
stability and love to children who need and deserve it. They’ve made a
24/7 commitment, and in return we owe them our sincere respect, support
and gratitude.”
Whenever children can’t safely remain in their own homes, caseworkers
first attempt to place them with a suitable relative. When kinship care
isn’t an option, caseworkers then attempt to find a suitable
non-relative with whom the child or family has a relationship. If
that’s not possible, the child is placed into a licensed foster care
setting, ideally in the child’s own neighborhood or community. Foster
care is designed to be temporary. However, if a court determines that
it is not in a child’s best interest to return home, caseworkers take
steps to find an alternative permanent placement, such as legal
guardianship or adoption.
In recent years, ODJFS has made finding permanent homes for children in
foster care a priority. Through a partnership with the Dave Thomas
Foundation for Adoption, 45 child-focused adoption recruiters have been
trained in the “Wendy’s Wonderful Kids” model, which is almost twice as
likely as traditional methods to result in adoptions. Since the program
started in October 2012, 33 adoptions have been finalized for children
ages 9 to 17 who had been in foster care more than two years.
Ohioans interested in more information about becoming a foster parent
should contact their county public children services agency. A
directory of county agencies is available at
http://jfs.ohio.gov/county/County_Directory.pdf. Ohioans
interested in learning more about adoption should call their county
public children services agency or visit http://jfs.ohio.gov/oapl/.
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