New Year Brings New Support for Foster, Adoptive Families

As part of Franklin County Children Services’ efforts to strengthen all families - even those who might not be directly connected to the agency - foster and adoptive families throughout Central Ohio will soon have access to a new, trend-setting "parent coach" support.

"Family structures have changed so much, and the challenges families face are far different than a couple of years ago before any of us used words like pandemic or COVID,” said FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning. “Then you add the mental health crisis faced by so many of our young people, the stressors of violence in our communities, and the uncertainties of our economy. It’s a lot, and no family can overcome it alone… and neither can one agency be expected to solve it all alone.”

The Central Ohio Regional Training Center (CORTC), which is housed inside FCCS, was provided a grant from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to enlist the highly respected coaching skills of Nick Mastin, who brings more than 25 years of experience in working with families and youth - especially those in the foster care system.

Vicki Rhoads, director of the CORTC, said the new coaching will be offered to help address unique challenges faced by certified foster and adoptive families and their caseworkers through the twelve children services agencies neighboring FCCS. 

“It’s unique, it’s never been done before,” Ms. Rhoads shared. “It’s a coaching opportunity to all publicly-certified foster families or those trained by a county.”

Mr. Mastin will serve as CORTC’s new Social Program Coordinator. He comes with a significant background providing trainings to small and large groups in formal and informal settings, and experience working as a children services caseworker. 

He also has 8 years of experience as a single foster parent - primarily to teens and difficult-to-place children - and is licensed as a treatment foster care provider. He hosts a successful YouTube channel that provides information and training to potential foster and adoptive parents, especially single parent households.

Nick will be traveling the Central Ohio area to help county teams and the certified foster and adoptive families they serve to address some of those new challenges that have arisen in this post-pandemic world. 

“It might be direct trainings with families or professional development support to staff, whatever is most needed to support the work in the community,” according to Mr. Mastin. "Every county will be different in how they handle trainings, and I can help families maintain their placements or help with their certifications and housing standards.”

Founded in 1986, the Central Ohio Regional Training Center provides high-quality, culturally responsive, family-centered, job-related training for child welfare staff and caregivers in the region’s thirteen counties: Crawford, Richland, Marion, Morrow, Knox, Union, Delaware, Licking, Franklin, Madison, Fairfield, Pickaway, and Fayette. 

For more information, visit the website at https://ohiocaps.org/ocwtp/rtcs/cortc/.

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