This April, the blue-and-white pinwheels dotting the lawn of the old county courthouse in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month don't represent reported child abuse or neglect cases in the county - rather, the "happy childhoods that we want for all children," officials said.
Wearing blue to recognize Child Abuse Prevention month, Fairfield County Job and Family Services officials showcased a new program Wednesday designed to minimize trauma children experience after being taken into protective custody.
Out in front of the Lake County Jobs & Family Services building in Painesville, children’s services staff planted 1,100 pinwheels on April 11.
The notorious photograph posted at Facebook by the East Liverpool Police Department in 2016 brought global attention to the opiate epidemic in our region, creating concern and controversy. The epidemic and what is being done to address it concerns everyone.
In Ohio, the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO) encourages state residents to wear blue and post a photo to social media with the hashtag “OhioWearsBlue”.
One of every two children placed in foster care in 2015 was there because of abuse and neglect associated with their parents' drug use, according to the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.
A local community is trying to stop child abuse by bringing awareness to the problem. Wednesday, people wore blue at Trumbull County Children Services. Survivors of child abuse and neglect are using the color to bring awareness to their cause.
In an effort to keep up, the state is piloting a program in nine counties, including Cuyahoga, Summit, and Stark, to find the relatives of a child entering protective custody and recruit them to take the child in
On Tuesday Lucas County Commissioners issued a proclamation supporting the efforts of Child Protective Services. They're making a continued comittment to fight the increasing number of child neglect and abuse cases in the county.
Children being protected by Hancock County Children's Protective Services are being sent to Youngstown, a four-hour drive from Findlay, because that's the closest foster care placement available.
With the gubernatorial primary just a month away, children's advocates in Ohio have a message for the candidates: it's time to "Foster Hope for Ohio's Children." That's the name of a set of policy recommendations released by the Public Children Services Association of Ohio that call for statewide leadership and reforms to improve the lives of children and families. Scott Britton, the association's assistant director, said Ohio lawmakers stepped up and invested an additional $15 million in the last budget for child protection. Unfortunately, he said, a lot more is needed.
No single tactic will end the opioid crisis, which has intensified during the past decade. The strategies here have proved effective for keeping people alive while attacking at least one aspect of the crisis. Some are personal action items, some can be accomplished by organizations, and others require governments to act. And some are unconventional, if not controversial.
The local governments suing drug companies over the opioid crisis say addiction has cost them-not just in damage to people's lives, but in dollars and cents. It's hard to come up with a price tag, though. Numerous different agencies handle prevention, treatment and response to overdoses. The federal government, state of Ohio, foundations and local communities are all paying for the epidemic.
It's a story that could have been worse in so many ways. But not for Johnson.
