THERE’S STILL TIME TO MAKE A WISH COME TRUE! Children, families, and elderly adults linked with Protective Services this holiday season need our help. The support we have already received from our Fairfield County community has been unbelievable, so thank you. We continue to stay busy matching wish lists from children and elderly with all of our donors who will be sponsoring them – and the wish lists keep coming.   

Have you thought about providing a donation or sponsoring a child, family, or elderly adult for Christmas? If so, please contact Heather Funk at 740-652-7689 or email at heather.funk@jfs.ohio.gov.  

Annually, November is recognized as National Adoption Month across Fairfield County and Ohio. Despite continuing efforts to engage parents and find family members, there continues to be a need for adoptive homes for many children. Currently, there are more than 3,000 children in Ohio waiting on their adoptive home, including more than 1,200 teenagers – with 250 of those youths turning 18 in the

next year. 

With so many children waiting, it is important to work toward finding adoptive families. The Permanency team for Fairfield County Protective Services completes such work each day – working with youths to identify how best to find them permanency; searching for potential adoptive families, either known to the child or recruiting to find the home that is the best fit for the youth; and partnering with our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Adoption Recruiter (provided by a grant from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption) to seek permanency for every

single child.

The Fairfield County Board of Commissioners recognized National Adoption Month in Fairfield County with the passage of a Proclamation on Nov. 12, supporting the theme of the month (Youth Voices: Why Family Matters) and emphasizing the ongoing need for adoptive homes. Also, in collaboration with Fairfield County Juvenile Court, Nov. 23 was National Adoption Day, with seven children (as part of four families) finalizing their journey to adoption in Fairfield County. Judge Terre Vandervoort and her staff are always outstanding partners and advocates for adoption and the morning saw more than 220 friends and families come to support the new adoptees, including 79 people in one adoption! The activities ended with the 2019 Friend of Adoption Award being presented to long time Protective Services Permanency Manager Johanna Pearce, who recently retired from the position. Johanna’s years of promoting and supporting adoption and permanency made her an easy choice for this year’s award.

On Nov. 8, staff members from the Fairfield County Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) were on-site at the Fairfield County Municipal Courthouse, the location of Fairfield County’s Driver’s License Reinstatement Clinic. This Reinstatement Clinic was made possible via the passage of Ohio House Bill 366 in late 2018, that created the state’s current Driver’s License Reinstatement Fee Amnesty Initiative. Last year, nearly 1.1 million Ohioans saw their driver’s license suspended by the State of Ohio. Without a driver’s license, these individuals must often choose between employment and the ability to earn an income or the risk of being charged with a traffic offense if pulled over while driving. The pilot program created by House Bill 366 enables individuals with eligible convictions and reinstatement fees owed to the BMV to regain their driving privileges. 

To qualify for reinstatement fee reduction or complete amnesty under this program, an individual’s conviction must derive from an eligible offense. While many offenses qualify, those related to alcohol, drug abuse, and weapons do not. Notably, a suspension related to the nonpayment of child support is not a qualifying offense. In addition to a permissible offense, individuals must have completed all court-ordered sanctions related to the eligible offense. Individuals must also demonstrate either their receipt of SNAP (food stamps) benefits, or that at least eighteen months have passed since the end of the period of license suspension ordered by the court. 

Organized by Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (Legal Aid), November’s Fairfield County Driver’s License Reinstatement Clinic brought the Fairfield County Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) together with representatives from numerous community partner organizations. Though a child support-initiated suspension was not a qualifying suspension, the CSEA utilized Ohio Revised Code section 3123.45 and provided case management and employment readiness services in exchange for removing child support-initiated driver’s license suspensions. With a collaborative approach and a common goal, the Fairfield County Driver’s License Reinstatement Clinic eliminated an estimated $20,000.00 in BMV debt, another $2,000.00 in Municipal Court debt, and, most importantly, served seventy-five local individuals who are again legally able to operate a motor vehicle.

Community Services is participating in their annual tradition of the “Elf Your Boss” fundraiser, which is over 10 years strong. Tickets are purchased by staff to vote for their favorite supervisor to dress as an elf and deliver treats to the staff of Community Services during the holidays. 

A small elf named Emery can be found around the department during the fundraiser to indicate which lucky supervisor will get the honor of dressing as an elf. All proceeds are donated to Lutheran Social Services shelter which is used to support individuals who are homeless and/or veterans. 

This year Community Services raised more than $700 for individuals who were homeless or veterans. Special thanks to the Community Services Department for going above and beyond. 

Food insecurity is something Community Services sees every day; and our employees have made it a personal mission to help combat this issue for the past two years.

Hunger Alliance month falls in September each year and Fairfield County Job and Family Services Community Services Department partners with other organizations in Fairfield County to help and try to alleviate the burden on our local food pantries.

Through the month of August 2019, Community Services was at it again with a themed food drive named Hunger Games (2.0). For the second year in a row, the department created a mini competition to exceed last year’s collection for the local food pantries. In 2018 the department collected 2,040 items to support the local food pantries earning recognition from the local community and the Hunger Alliance as the agency with the most items collected. This year, the goal was to surpass that amount and the department pulled out all the stops to make this happen, collecting a total of 2,142 items for 2019.

The competition was inspired by the book Hunger Games. The department was split up into six districts and each district competed to be named the victors of the competition. To help the pantries with a diversity of items, the department decided to have themes each week. Themes such as “Heroic Hygiene” and “Powerful Protein” preserved the Hunger Games theme. Themed items were worth double points while additional items donated within the themed week were worth one point. Competition was fierce and there were many districts battling for that top spot. Regardless of the fierce competition the department knew it was all for a great cause. Community Services is happy to have been a part of this event. "Overall, all sites collected more than 6,000 items. JFS collected over 30% of the total donations we collected," explained Jeannette Curtis, Executive Director of Fairfield County 2-1-1.