For the last 15 years, the Diocese of Steubenville has been taking steps to educate its members of the proper ways to treat children. "It's certainly to show them the signs to be concerned about, and to work with our children and give them the best possible way for them to grow," said Bishop Jeffrey Monforton.
Allen County Children Services has worked tirelessly to place kids in its custody with a family member. It's called kinship placement. Last year, children services worked with 365 kids who were placed in kinship relative care. Officials say this placement is much better for the children, as it's less disruptive than being put in foster care, with people they don't know.
What if a loving family member - but not a parent - is ready and able to provide a safe, nurturing home for a child whose mom and dad aren't up for the responsibilities of parenting? Does our system recognize what's best for the children in these situations?
Families are being broken apart by the drug epidemic, and the Mahoning County Juvenile Court has been running a program for years which can help.
SCCS Executive Director Julie Barnes says that half the children now coming into the foster care system come from families in which at least one parent is struggling with substance abuse, and of those children, one in four comes from a family in which opioids are the primary substance.
The goal of the court system and the foster care system is to ultimately return foster children to their birth parents. But according to Jessica Parks of the Necco Foster Care Agency, the reality is that because of the growing heroin epidemic, it doesn't happen that way as often anymore.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of children who lived in a household maintained by a grandparent went from 2.2 million in 1970 to 3.9 million in 1997 and 5.8 million in 2014.
The Enquirer sent more than 60 reporters, photographers and videographers into their communities to chronicle an ordinary week in this extraordinary time.
Naloxone distribution in Hamilton County will be increased by more than 400% in an effort to prevent deaths. "It's not just the number of people who are dying every day, it's the babies who are being born every day addicted, it's the number of children who are in foster care because one or both parents are drug addicts," said DeWine. "In fact we believe about half of all the children are there because one or both parents are drug addicts. Our jails have become detox centers. Our courts are overflowing."
Child marriage isn't limited to Third World countries. It happens fairly regularly in Ohio. Brides and grooms so young that they aren't allowed to vote, buy tobacco, alcohol or a lottery ticket, go to an R-rated movie or enter a casino are getting married after approval by the courts.
Regarding treatment options, we invested $32 million in treatment and detox programs to assist those currently addicted. In order to provide for the loved ones of these individuals, especially children, we set aside $30 million for Child Protective Services and for kinship care. ADAMHS boards received $14 million and funding for drug court programs was expanded by $6 million.
