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Attorney General Mike DeWine
Pilot Counties Chosen
for Foster Care Recruitment Program
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that
eight counties hit hard by the opioid epidemic have been chosen to
participate in a family finding and foster family recruitment program
DeWine announced in August.
"Ohio still has a great need for families to help children in foster
care. These can be biological family members or those who feel called
to serve children in need," said Attorney General DeWine. "I am pleased
the grants we announced earlier this year will be used to address this
need in counties that have been greatly impacted by this opioid
epidemic."
The pilot program, which is as part of a $1 million grant that the
Attorney General announced in August, provides for the cost of a
full-time staff member in each county who would be responsible for
family search and engagement and foster family recruitment. The program
will be administered by the Waiting Child Fund, a nonprofit with
expertise in foster care which has pledged to contribute additional
funds to the effort.
“Children are entering foster care throughout the state at an alarming
rate. The Ohio Attorney General is responding to this crisis by
investing in a proven solution which empowers and supports kinship and
foster families. We are honored by the opportunity to grow our
collaborative partnerships and ready to get to work helping more
children and families,” said Mike Kenney, Executive Director of Waiting
Child Fund.
The pilot counties include: Allen, Clark, Cuyahoga, Fairfield,
Highland, Montgomery, Summit, and Stark.
DeWine noted statistics on how the opioid epidemic has impacted Ohio's
child welfare system, including:
An estimated half of all children in foster care are there because of
parental substance abuse.
There are nearly 3,000 more children in the child welfare system today
than when the opioid crisis began seven years ago.
As of September 1st, more than 15,000 children were in foster care in
Ohio.
However, Ohio has less than 7,200 foster families to fill this need.
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