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Child Welfare

All children deserve to grow up in safe, nurturing and permanent families. Decision-makers must invest in the health and well-being of children by meeting their basic needs so that children feel valued, have a positive anticipation of the future,and grow up to be productive members of society.

Adoption Subsidies for Special Needs Children

Ohio should increase financial support for special needs children and the families that adopt them. The $250 state monthly subsidy, ($8.22 per day) was established in 1986 and has not been raised since.

Our recommendation: Increase the state adoption subsidy from $250 per month to $350 per month to provide meaningful support to families that adopt waiting children with special needs. This increase will improve statewide equity for adoption assistance benefits to adoptive families of special needs children, regardless of county wealth.

Child Protection Funding

The current state investment in Ohio’s abused and neglected children is only $.06 on the dollar to provide community and home-based services, foster care, adoption, kinship care, prevention, and independent living services as compared to the national average investment of $.37 on the dollar by other states.

Our recommendation: Increase the Child Protection Allocation (line item 527) in the state budget by $10 million annually.

Access To Better Care (ABC) Funding

Build upon the successful Access to Better Care (ABC) initiative by increasing funding for prevention, early intervention and treatment for behavioral health services for children, youth and families by at least 10% in each year of the 2008-2009 state budget. ABC is a major initiative enacted in the 2006-2007 state budget in response to the growing realization that shortchanging kids with alcohol, drug and/or mental health services needs results in increased costs in other parts of the system, primarily child welfare and juvenile justice.
Increase the family and children first councils’ allocation (line item 405) in the state budget by $2.64 million annually to support the increased need for local children’s behavioral health service coordination and planning.
Support the Ohio Family and Children First’s Partnerships for Success initiative to provide
individualized community planning to address the behavioral health needs of children and youth.

Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Each year approximately 20,000 youth “age-out” of the foster care system in this country. In 2005, 1,233 youth “aged-out” of foster care in Ohio. Without a permanent family to support them, these youth face multiple challenges that include housing, physical and behavioral health care, education, and employment as they transition independently into adulthood.

Our recommendations:

Maintain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funded independent living services as a priority for the 2008-2009 budget to help prepare youth to become contributing, successful adults.
Provide for better transition from the child welfare system to the adult behavioral health system by cross-training child and adult system professionals on the special behavioral health needs of youth.

Helpful Publications
	Heath Care of Foster Children Brief
	Making the Grade: Helping Our Kids Achieve Community Guide