February 2015

Meet Bobbie

When she feels enchanted, 7-year-old Bobbie dances as if among fairies from another world. She likes to jump, bounce,and twirl. She seems to have an angel on her shoulder because out of nowhere, Bobbie will light up and laugh.

Since her balance has improved, this little sprite is on the go and loves to go up and down steps with a little help. She enjoys learning through touch and exploring new sights and sounds. Playing games that light up and make noise makes her smile.

Currently, Bobbie's favorite toy is a keyboard that she can play on her own. She focuses on the sounds she makes with every key stroke. Bobbie also likes to cuddle with soft stuffed animals and bounce on the bed.

Bobbie will take caregivers by the hand and lead them where she wants to go. Bobbie is non-verbal but has communicated with some awesome sounds like a duck's "quack."

Bobbie needs a family that can appreciate and value those moments when she is happy and comfortable. She also needs a family who is proactive in seeking out resources to expand those wonderful times.

Please contact us if you can provide a loving home for Bobbie and can care for her needs with understanding and support.

The Suitcases Just Keep Rolling In

It started as an idea from Cincinnati public relations specialist Julie Phillippi-Whitney, who saw a story on ABC News about a Virginia community collecting suitcases for foster kids so the kids wouldn't have to carry their belongings in garbage bags.

The response from Greater Cincinnati has just been tremendous. We now have more than 2,800 - far more than the initial goal of 2,000.

We believe we'll have enough pieces of luggage to share with other counties, including Montgomery and Green. We're also sharing with other agencies, including Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach in West Chester.

We cannot thank everyone enough.

If you have a new or gently used suitcase, please take it to any Sibcy Cline office to make a difference in the lives of children in foster care.

The drive runs through Valentine's Day.

Quick Links

HCJFS.org

More Tools for Child Support Collection

While we get far more attention for our efforts in child welfare and public assistance, the largest program we administer is our Child Support program. Recently, we have had a few interesting developments when it comes to collections.

The state is now taking child support money for delinquent accounts from gambling winnings at Ohio casinos. Anyone who wins more than $600 will have their name cross-checked with the Child Support database of delinquent accounts.

While we have yet to make significant collections this way, I think it is an innovative way to ensure children receive the support they need. We have more than 80,000 child support cases and if you consider each case to have one father, one mother and one child, we are dealing with about 250,000 county residents and more than 80,000 children. But, as we all know, many of those cases involve more than one child.

We're Celebrating: 115 Adoptions in 2014

One of the most rewarding things we do at HCJFS is adoption. It's wonderful to see families and kids we've worked with come together and be happy.

So we're thrilled to say we completed 115 finalizations in 2014 - almost a 20 percent increase than the year before. One worker, David Steffen, helped finalize the adoptions of 31 children - that's the most ever for a family caseworker here.

Some details about the adoptions:

Of the 115 kids, 93 were adopted by their foster parents.
31 of the kids were parts of sibling groups, the largest of which was five siblings.
11 were kinship/non-relative kinship adoptions. That means the children were adopted by a relative or by someone known to them who isn't a relative.
10 kids were adopted by six families during our annual National Adoption Day ceremony.

Thank you to all our adoptive families and to everyone who helps support us as we continue to try to find forever families for all of our kids.

OhioMeansJobs: New Priorities

New performance measures set by the federal government will be in effect next year, so OhioMeansJobs Cincinnati-Hamilton County is preparing now.

There's more demand for OMJ services than we have funds available. So priority access to job finding help is now available to people involved in these five areas:

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Adult Basic Literacy Education
Job Corps
Students at Great Oaks or Cincinnati State who have Perkins grants
Referrals from Wagner-Peyser, a U.S. Department of Labor job program.

The new performance measures, set by the Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act, include earnings, job retention and skills gains. They will take effect in July 2016, but OhioMeansJobs Cincinnati-Hamilton County is "changing procedures now," said Kevin Holt, OMJ section chief, "to prepare for these shared measures."