News from Franklin County Children Services

More than 120 members of Team FCCS will be honored at the 2026 Team FCCS Employee Reception. Will you be one of them? The annual event celebrates staff's years of service and dedication to helping keep kids safer and making families stronger for longer. Six employees will be honored for their 35-year anniversary, another five will celebrate 30 years. Everyone at the agency is invited to attend the Team FCCS Employee Reception at the Columbus Museum of Art, starting at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 10. In addition to exploring the musuem, staff can stay and enjoy the museum's Thursday BAM (Bar, Art & Music) with a live DJ and entertainment. More details about the Team FCCS Employee Reception will be sent out in the coming weeks.  Below is the full list of people being honored for their years of service. Help us celebrate thier dedication. CELEBRATING 35 YEARS Charles Cochran  Lisa Fisher  Tammy Grant  Joseph Humenay  Nicole Simcox  George Young  ...

Every day, members of Team FCCS pour incredible energy, empathy, and resilience into their work - no matter their role or job title - to support children, their families, our community, and each other. Because this work can be deeply impactful and emotionally demanding, looking out for one another is an essential part of keeping our team strong. We all experience days when the workload feels exceptionally heavy or an unexpected challenge throws off our rhythm. If you notice a colleague sitting at their desk looking overwhelmed, taking a heavy sigh, or seeming uncharacteristically quiet, reaching out can make a world of difference. Our FCCS Peer Support team has three supportive, low-pressure questions you can ask a coworker to show you have their back: 1. "How can I help lighten your load right now?" When someone is overwhelmed, a vague "Let me know if you need anything" forces them to do the mental work of finding a task for you. By asking how you can actively ligh...

Little kids don’t know what these drugs can do. But parents and adults do. More than 60,000 children visit emergency rooms across our country each year because of medication poisoning. The number of children under five treated after mistakenly eating or touching marijuana products grew exponentially in just four years. And as the use of fentanyl and potent painkillers continue to impact Central Ohio, doctors and poison centers are seeing more deadly and near-fatal accidental exposures among children. To educate parents and adults about how to protect young children against what can be a life-threatening accident, Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) and its child safety partners are launching a new community education effort: “Lock it UP, Clean it UP, and Put it AWAY.” “These are not cases of intentional harm. They are tragic, preventable accidents,” shared FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning. “Little hands don’t know what they are touching, but parents and adults do. Our immedia...

TED E. BEAR SUMMER SAFETY CHECKLIST FOR FAMILIES Franklin County Children Services wants you to be SAFE & SEEN. Help FCCS keep kids safer this summer with these quick and easy tips for the summer season: NIGHTTIME & VISIBILITY ("SAFE AND SEEN") Gear Up: Attach your "Safe and Seen" reflective keychains to backpacks and place reflective stickers on shoes or clothing. Wear Wristbands: Put reflective wristbands on both arms so drivers can see your child from any angle. Face Traffic: Teach kids to walk on sidewalks. If there is no sidewalk, always walk on the left side of the road facing traffic. Bring Backup Light: Give children a small flashlight or headlamp to carry after sunset. Unplug While Walking: Remind kids to take out earbuds and put away cell phones when crossing roads at night.   WATER & POOL SAFETY Designate a Water Watcher: Ensure a responsible adult is actively watching the ...

Franklin County Children Services is reinforcing its commitment to transparency and responsibility by placing accountability at the forefront of its latest leadership initiative.  As part of the agency's new leadership training program, several administrators recently completed "The Power of Accountability," a specialized day-long course designed to reenforce the ways ownership and responsibility are embedded into the core of child welfare operations. “Trust is the foundation of high performing teams,” said Vicky Rhoads, the agency’s Director of Professional Development. “Accountability builds trust. It also improves decision making.” “Leaders who are accountable are more thoughtful about the choices they make. They evaluate risks, weigh impact, and take responsibility for outcomes - good or bad,” Ms. Rhoads added. The accountability training moves beyond abstract concepts, challenging leaders to demonstrate accountability in their interactions with the families they serv...

Hope is not just a feeling. It is a measurable force for changing the trajectory of a child’s life.  As we recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month this April, Franklin County Children Services invites the Central Ohio community to join us in raising awareness about the continued dangers of child abuse and neglect here in Central Ohio and in celebrating how proactive community supports can strengthen families before crisis occurs, united under the theme of “ Powered by Hope. Strengthened by Prevention. ” The scale of the challenge we face remains significant. In 2025, the majority of the referrals and calls to the Franklin County Child Abuse Hotline - representing roughly 6 out of every 10 children who came in contact with our agency - raised fears about a child or teen being physically abused. More than half were concerns about some form of neglect or emotional maltreatment. And 1 child out of every 6 was an alleged victim of sexual abuse. In all, these fears and concerns ...

Spending nearly 300 hours in the courtroom - or the average time it would take to read 67 books in a single year - the legal team at Franklin County Children Services works closely with partners in the Franklin County Courts to help keep children and teens safer and create positive, lasting change for families. “All of our work is geared at children’s safety and ultimately helping to increase the functioning of the family unit,” said FCCS Deputy Chief Counsel Julie Murrell, part of the agency’s team of attorneys, legal aides, paralegals, clerks, clerical staff, and court liaisons.  The department works most often with the judges and magistrates in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations and Juvenile Branch as well as the Probate Court. And, according to Deputy Chief Counsel Jennifer Himes-Riley, the FCCS legal team is involved from the beginning of a case to custody end, assisting the family and caseworkers in finding the safest plan of care for a child.  ...

Learning about college courses, scholarships, and top-paying careers connected to video gaming – and having a lot of fun too – teens in the mentoring program at Franklin County Children Services spent a special day inside The Ohio State University’s Esports Arena.  “This hands-on day helped me in ways I didn’t expect,” said Lonnie Thompson, a member of the Simba Mentoring Program and one of 14 teens who were able to play games side-by-side and learn of the opportunities esports offers in college. "Something they do on a regular basis can lead to so much more,” said FCCS Associate Director of Child Enrichment and Volunteers Daryle Cobb.  Around 85% of U.S. teenagers game regularly, according to the Pew Research Center. Esports programs at universities like Ohio State offer scholarships for students to compete and play games against other colleges.  A collaboration with The Ohio State University and the Ubuntu Leadership Academy, which helps to create opportunities for stud...

With budget cuts and a government closure at the federal level making access to food assistance more challenging for many people throughout our region, the Intake and Ongoing teams found a creative way to support families in our care who reported an urgent need for food.  Working with several teams across the agency, they compiled dozens of emergency food boxes that could be shared with families connected to our agency who needed immediate help. At the same time, a partnership with our Purchasing team helped to streamline the process for accessing vouchers to help families quickly go shopping for groceries. “These families are going through so much right now. Their life has already been uprooted,” said Family Services Director Emily Green. “Making sure families have their basic needs met was the most simple thing we can do.”  During the federal shutdown, food benefits though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) weren’t distributed. Roughly 1 in 8 people in Fran...

Over the past twelve months, more than 180 children and teens in the care of Franklin County Children Services found safe, permanent placement with grandparents, relatives, or family friends… and FCCS celebrated these new “forever families” with its second annual Forever Family Fun Day. “We understand the responsibility and the amount of love and care that someone has to take on that commitment and to raise a child that is not their own,” said Sid Daniels, Associate Director of Kinship.   The work of the FCCS Kinship team to support these placements is part of the more than 300 total “forever families” for children in agency care finalized either through adoption or permanent kinship placement in 2025, according to Mr. Daniels. “We want to honor that,” he added. “We also want to make sure it’s fun.”  This year’s Forever Family Fun Day was held at Skate Zone 71 in late December, offering families connected to the Kinship and Adoption programs a free morning of skating and ...

For more than 50 years, the week leading up to Thanksgiving has been proclaimed National Family Week, a time to celebrate how our community can work together to make families stronger for longer, which is one of the best ways to keep children safer.  Joined by St. Stephen’s, Gladden, and Central Community Houses, Franklin County Children Services celebrated five families who participated in the Family-to-Family program and used the supportive services offered to overcome obstacles and achieve success. And the stories of their achievements - and of those caseworkers and community partners who supported them along their journeys - were powerful to hear. “Indica’s perseverance paid off through a combination of hard work, a few helping hands in the community, and the support of an organization that refused to let her fall through the cracks,” shared Marcellus Harris, caseworker at St. Stephens Community House, who help this mother and her children secure housing and stay employed durin...

While our agency has a wide array of service providers ready to help the children and families who come into our care, it can be tough for even the most-seasoned caseworker to remember all of the organizations and providers FCCS has contracts and contacts with.  So a collaborative effort between the Provider Services and the Evaluations teams has resulted in a searchable directory to make it easier to find what families need. “We are very resource rich,” said Jennifer Andria, Associate Director of our Placement & Provider Services team. “It’s always been a struggle to keep track of what’s going on in the community.’  The Community Provider Directory allows caseworkers to take full advantage of those resources by having them all in one place to access. “It’s a one stop shop to see what’s out in the community,” added Ms. Andria.   The portal includes a listing of more than 200 service providers that are contracted with FCCS as well as other community-based provider...

Hoping to instill more of the Team FCCS Culture from day one, New Employee Orientation has been updated to include new initiatives like the FCCS Way, our agency’s Calls to Action, and training on being Safer Together both physically and online. “We have to keep a pulse on what upper administration sees as the big picture,” said Amy Fields a trainer from the Professional Development team who’s worked with the curriculum for more than two years. All new employees go through the two-day orientation, designed to give an overview of the agency, its principles and policies, and employee benefits. Over the past several months, the team recognized a need to update the training to better reflect how FCCS has evolved its mission and message. “It’s just more organized, and it’s put in a way that’s easier to grasp at the fundamental level,” said Bethany Workman, one of the trainers for New Employee Orientation (NEO). She also noted how the updates align with our Call to Action on Valuing...

The National Partnership for Child Safety (NPCS) continues to grow in both membership and leadership.  This member-led quality improvement collaborative recently announced that Demetrius Starling, Senior Deputy Director of the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services’ Children’s Services Administration, was elected as a new Co-Chair, serving alongside current Co-Chair Chip Spinning, Executive Director of Franklin County Children Services. The Partnership also welcomed four distinguished leaders to its nine-member Executive Advisory Group: Dr. Alger M. Studstill, Jr., Executive Director of the Social Services Administration, Maryland Department of Human Services Ashley Deckert, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families Donalda Charboneau, Director of Spirit Lake Tribal Social Services, North Dakota (elected to the Executive Advisory Group in May) Heidi E. Mueller, Director of the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services Together...

To help more children in foster care find permanency in their placement, Franklin County Children Services is providing access to more supports and long-term financial resources to families willing to commit to adoption. “I think support is very important for families,” stressed Raquel Breckenridge, Family Services Director for Permanency at FCCS. Over the past year, her Adoptions team has connected 123 children previously in the agency’s care with “forever families.” November is National Adoption Month, an opportunity to increase awareness and support for children in the foster care system who are waiting for permanent, loving families. “Over the years, we have seen an increase in permanency achieved through kinship adoptions,” pointed out Ms. Breckenridge. She adds that grandparents, aunts and uncles, other relatives and family friends often start out caring for children who can no longer safely remain in the custody of their parents. To help these kinship caregivers take the next st...

Hoping to learn more from the lived experiences of the youth we serve - along with our staff and community partners who work closest with them - Franklin County Children Services is teaming up with Partnership 4 Success (P4S) to pilot a new Developmental Relationships Survey. Simply put, this DR Survey is designed to measure the collective impact our system is having in supporting the “whole” needs of children and teens in our care. “I’m excited for us to use the Developmental Relationship Survey because it shines a light on the heart of our work: the relationships we build everyday with children and families,” shared Emily Green, our Family Services Director for Screening, Intake, Ongoing, and Provider Services.  Developmental Relationships are the close connections we create with others which help to shape our lives and teach us to engage with and contribute to the world around us. The national Search Institute has identified 5 elements that make relationships impactful, includin...

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...

In a bold move aimed at preventing overdose deaths and the trauma on children who experience losing a loved one to drug addiction, Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) is teaming with Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) to equip the agency’s caseworkers and staff with the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone.  After completing training provided by experts from FCPH, FCCS caseworkers will be given a supply of Narcan nasal spray to carry with them when out in the community to meet with families. Doses of Narcan will also be stationed at the front desks of the agency’s office buildings. “Despite the progress that’s been made in reducing overdose deaths, far too many residents in Franklin County are still losing their lives… which means far too many of their children are also losing their sense of safety, stability, and care,” said FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning.  “Franklin County Children Services joins the growing number of public children service agencies in...

CLICK TO HEAR MORE OF TIFFANY'S POWERFUL STORY AND HER TIPS FOR SURVIVING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE Abuse hurts everyone in the family.  “I remember the counselor telling me that my children were very resilient,” says  Tiffany, a mother of four and a survivor of intimate partner violence. She “won’t sugarcoat” the reality that leaving an abusive spouse is easy. She endured hard times, struggling to pay bills while anxious and afraid that her children would not find a way through the emotional trauma.  Fortunately, she says, “the tough times didn’t last long and, in the end, it was worth it. We made it.” While Tiffany courageously shares her story because she wants to encourage others to be safe, we’re honoring her request to not use her full name to protect her privacy.  Tiffany’s story sadly echoes that of many others. One in four women will face a domestic violence situation over their lifetime and are often caught in a cycle of violence with a partner that can las...