Jesse Fernandez, right, pets the family cat as he visits his former foster parents Jason and Joyce White. Allen County Children Services is set to meet with Governor Mike DeWine this week to discuss the new pilot program that the state will fund to help 34 public children service agencies support foster families and children with complex behavioral needs.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
ALLEN CO. — Allen County Children Services is set to meet with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth this week to discuss the new pilot program that the state will fund to help 34 public children service agencies support foster families and children with complex behavioral needs.
Sarah Newland, executive director of ACCS, said the agency is excited to be one of three PCSAs in the area, with Auglaize County Job and Family Services and Hardin County Public Children Services Agency, to receive $75,000 in funding.
“What the Treatment Foster Home Pilot Program will do is provide an additional level of support for foster parents who take in high-needs children,” she said. “So we’re excited for this opportunity.”
The three counties will form one of nine regions to copy the Northwest Treatment Foster Care Partnership, a collaboration between the children’s service agencies of Sandusky, Seneca, Ottawa and Wyandot Counties that inspired the pilot program that will provide 24/7 on-call casework and crisis counseling.
“It will also allow families to receive specialized training if they are taking in children with complex behavioral health needs,” Newland said. “We’re talking about children who maybe have difficulty getting to school or are in situations that escalate because they’re told to do something they don’t want to do. It is those types of situations where a foster parent needs to have those skills so that’s what we’re hoping the training and support would provide.”
The governor said the partnership has seen success over its life, in an announcement.
“By offering one-on-one foster family support and tailored treatment, the Northwest Partnership has been able to secure homes for foster children who might have otherwise been placed in group homes or residential facilities,” he said. “We are excited to expand this innovative concept across Ohio to help place more foster children in homes with caring adults to help create a brighter pathway for these children to reach their God-given potential.”
Helping children with these behavioral health needs is something of serious importance to Allen County, where several children have been forced to live in a facility in another county rather than in a family setting.
“For many of these children, they have been placed outside of our community in group homes or residential facilities because of those needs,” Newland said. “We believe children thrive in a family setting instead of congregate care so by bringing them into homes with the right skills, we hope that they can be where they belong.”
Beyond these obvious effects, Newland and the state both believe the program will encourage more residents to become foster parents, something that is always needed.
“Not only will this program create more opportunities to connect foster children with a nurturing and steady home environment, but with several counties working together and combining resources, we will be able to move faster and improve cost-efficiency while accomplishing this important goal,” Ohio Department of Children and Youth director Kara B. Wente said in the announcement.
Newland said the agency will hear from Sandusky County’s agency at this week’s meeting and learn what worked in the original partnership.
“That meeting will share how they implemented the program and how it’s been successful because a lot of times what foster parents will say is they need more support,” she said. “So hopefully this provides that extra layer of support.”
Although the issue might not be as pressing for Allen County’s more than 120 children in the custody of children’s services, more than 1,800 foster children are living in group settings throughout the state of Ohio.
The state expanded the program to 30 new agencies after original plans only called for 15 due to high demand, to bring the total number to 34 in 10 regional partnerships.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
