A Closer Look Childrens Services

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• Families in trouble
• Immature, unskilled, and/or overwhelmed parents
• Financial trouble - poverty
• Alcohol/drug abuse
• Domestic violence
• Untreated mental illness
• Poor housing, homeless
• History of abuse in family

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• Children can suffer
• Lack of supervision, guidance, discipline
• Irregular school attendance
• Delayed development
• Anger, aggression
• Running away
• Criminal activity
• Older children parenting siblings
• Drug/alcohol exposure in utero
• Physical/sexual abuse
• Inappropriate sexual behavior

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• What is child abuse and neglect? Examples
• 3-year old home alone
• Adult sexual contact with child
• Non-accidental injuries - bruises, burns,
  fractures
• Infant not fed properly - failure to thrive
• Parent refuses to seek medical treatment for
  child
• Child in squalid, hazardous living conditions

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• Keeping Kids Safe
• Childrens Services is a program required by law.
  It protects abused and neglected children until
  their family problems can be resolved.
• About 1 in 12 local children receives help each
  year - 18,584 children in 2003 (8,862 families)

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• The Safety Net
• 241-KIDS 65,000 70,000 calls a year
• Investigate reports - about 5,000 investigations
  per year
• of active cases - monthly avg. 3,500 cases/
  7,000 children
• Most children remain in own home. (Dec. 2003 -
  6,801 - 82) Services provided. Caseworkers
  monitor.

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The Safety Net - continued

• If necessary for safety, and with permission from
  Juvenile Court - remove children from home.
  Usually place with relatives or foster parents.
• of children who were in substitute care because
  of abuse/neglect (foster care, relatives, etc.)
  at some point in 2003 2,233 (About 1 of all
  children in Ham. Co. )
• How long are children out of own homes? Median -
  17 months in regular foster care to 29 months in
  therapeutic foster care.
• Of custody terminations - 40 are due to child
  reunified with family. Other reasons include
  custody granted to other relative, adoption
  finalized, child reached age of majority.
• Juvenile Court sometimes must terminate parental
  rights. Children become available for adoption.
  About 100 adoptable children any point in time.

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• Who are the children?
• As of December 31, 2003, children in county
  custody and out-of-home care rates are
• Age
• 0-5 -- 22 6-12 -- 27 13-16 -- 30
  17 -- 21
• Race
• African American -- 64 Caucasian -- 29
  Other -- 7
• Gender
• Male -- 52 Female -- 48

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• Services we provide to families
• Examples
• Substance abuse assessment and treatment
• Mental health assessment and treatment
• Emergency housing
• Parenting training
• Domestic violence programs
• Services were unable to provide
• Examples
• Mentoring/tutoring
• Expenses for extracurricular activities - camps
  (summer, church, special interest) sports music
  lessons scouting

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services

• How much does it cost to keep a child in
  placement?
• Relatives minimal
• Foster care 16-37 per day
• Therapeutic foster care 45-185/day Avg rate
  77/day
• Residential treatment 165-225/day Avg. rate
  195/day
• Locked RT facility 200-245/day Avg. rate
  218/day

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services
Fostering the Future Foster children deserve the
extras in life, just like their more fortunate
peers. Hamilton County cannot pay for summer
camps, music lessons, scouting, etc. HCJFS
partners with the Foster Child Enrichment Council
(FCEC)
Former foster child - Rachel
Girl Scouts - supported by FCEC
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• A volunteer community group
• Mission to provide positive experiences that
  enhance the quality of life for abused and
  neglected children.
• Serve children in foster and kinship care
• In existence 20 years
• 501 c 3 tax-exempt organization
• Grants, donations, fundraisers
• Need 8-10,000/yr., plus 8-10,000 for
  scholarship fund

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A Closer Look - Childrens Services
A Celebration of Dreams Annual event for foster
youth who graduate or get GED A milestone - only
1/3 of youth in foster care complete high school
by 18-19 2003 - honored 45 graduates Private
donations support the event, buy gifts for
graduates and scholarships for college-bound
youth
Carrie Jones and foster mom Paulette Anderson at
Celebration of Dreams
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How can you help?

• Continue to vote for the Childrens Services levy
• Counts for 40 of our budget
• Become a foster parent
• Call 632-6366 www.hcfoster.org
• Adopt a child
• Call 632-6366 www.hcadopt.org
• Support the Foster Child Enrichment Council
• - Message line 723-5151
• - www.helpfosterchildren.org
• - PO Box 18283, Cincinnati, OH 45218

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Learn more

• Visit our web site, www.hcjfs.org. Click on
  Clients or Public. Then click on Childrens
  Services.