News from Franklin County Children Services

With Ohio’s new State Budget set to make historic investments in children services – including nearly $23 million for Franklin County Children Services over the next two years through the State Child Protection Allocation – child welfare advocates across the state will be watching how these new dollars and new rules help address new challenges that agencies like ours are facing. “Since Governor DeWine took office in January 2019, the dollars budgeted for the State Child Protection Allocation - which is used by county agencies to assist in supporting child welfare functions, supports, and services to their children and families - have drastically increased,” shared Dan Shook, our Chief Financial Officer. “Prior to his 2020 budget, this allocation was equal to about $64 million statewide.” Mr. Shook calculates that the current budget has raised the annual State Child Protection Allocation to more than $185 million in 2027. Of this total, FCCS receives approximately 6.5%. That means FCCS ...

CLICK TO HEAR DR. HOUSTON BECK'S ADVICE ON HELPING CHILDREN MOVE FROM TRAUMA TO RECOVERY Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Maria Houston Beck serves as the Executive Director of LSS CHOICES, the only emergency shelter for domestic violence victims in Franklin County.  It’s the work she has dreamed about since high school.  “I was 16 and a student athlete. I had a teacher who kept a couch in the back of his room and during track season, I would take a quick nap before our meets,” she says. “One day he was showing a video about Sigmund Freud in his Introduction to Psychology class. I couldn’t stop watching it. I was so intrigued that I went home and talked to my family about it. I learned that I had several family members who suffered from mental illness. From that moment on, I never looked back.” Dr. Houston Beck spent several years counseling youth and families exposed to trauma and consulted with a domestic violence center prior to joining Lutheran Social Services and CHOICE...