January 2015

Meet Tyrese

Tyrese is a fan of oldies music and Michael Jackson. Put on some '80s music and he'll add his own moves.

He likes to play sports, including dodge ball, and video games.

He's a responsible guy with his chores, willingly cleaning his room and helping take out the trash.

Tyrese would love to have a mom and a dad. He also would like brothers and sisters - and, if at all possible, a pet.

He hopes one day to take a vacation to Hawaii.

Sibcy Cline Collecting Suitcases for Kids in Foster Care

You may have heard about our suitcase drive on the news - there has been a lot of coverage already.

From Jan. 4-Feb. 14, we're collecting new or gently used suitcases for foster kids, many of whom travel from place to place with their belongings in garbage bags. Imagine how that feels.

That's exactly what Cincinnati PR specialist Julie Phillippi-Whitney did - and she decided to do something about it.

So please bring any new or gently used suitcases to any Sibcy office.

Quick Links

HCJFS.org

Thank You For a Great 2014

What a wonderful holiday season we had here at JFS!

It seems every year we see growth in the number of people who take a special interest in our children this time of year and do all they can to ensure the foster children of Hamilton County have a wonderful holiday.

I continue to be amazed and grateful at the generosity of our community.

We received our annual donation from Toys for Tots. But we also had newcomers - 116 bikes from The Bike Lady, gift cards for our teenagers from the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati and a toy drive at the Cincinnati Health Department.

Lottery Winnings Provide $46k in Support for One Mom

She had waited years for any child support, but got one of our largest lump-sum amounts ever.

The state's lottery intercept program caught one Hamilton County obligor's lottery winnings and loaded $46,341 onto the mom's eQuickPay card. Our child support staff called - just before Christmas - to let her know not only that she'd received a payment, but just how big it was.

The Ohio Lottery and Job and Family Services work together to ensure lottery winners who owe child support pay their back support before keeping any winnings. They check winnings of $600 or more for child support arrearage and winnings of $5,000 or more for other debts, including back taxes and student loans.

The $46,341 is one of the largest amounts Hamilton County Job and Family Services has ever helped recover for a custodial parent, said Michael Patton, section chief for child support enforcement.

Medicaid Renewals Due - Please Renew Online

We have begun to see the first MAGI Medicaid Renewal Applications for renewals due in January.

More than 6,000 MAGI (or Modified Adjusted Gross Income) are due in January, with another 10,000+ due in February. If you have clients who fall into this category, please encourage them to renew their benefits online at benefits.ohio.gov.

Since the system is new and the state is still developing the process, clients also should be encouraged to check their e-mail, regular mail and online account (if they have one) for information about when their renewal will be coming due.

In most cases, MAGI Medicaid cases have 12 months of eligibility from their beginning date of aid. HCJFS has established a dedicated team and developed an electronic workflow to efficiently manage the work.