News from Franklin County Children Services

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

Recognizing that each young person who enters the child welfare system is unique, caseworkers at Franklin County Children Services also know it’s important to connect teenagers in agency care with the services and supports that will benefit them most. This is particularly important for supporting teens who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, or other sexual orientations and gender identities.  Meet Jazi, a 19-year-old, who entered foster care through FCCS at the age of two and craved support that affirmed her identity throughout her childhood.  To better support youth like Jazi, FCCS launched a pilot initiative to have caseworkers to ask teenagers on their caseloads questions about the sexual orientation (who they are attracted to), gender identity (how they feel inside), and expression (how they show the world who they are) during the assessment process. Teens are welcome to not answer if they don't feel comfortable or want to talk about these topics. ...

Click here to watch Bethany’s speech at the 2025 FCCS Child Abuse Prevention Breakfast “My journey has been filled with trials, triumphs, setbacks, and breakthroughs, but through it all, I have learned that our past does not define us. What defines us is how we rise.”  With these powerful words coming from her heart, Bethany Workman - a training officer in the FCCS Professional Development Department - spoke about her experience as a youth in foster care and how, as a teenager in 2005, she was recognized with the agency’s Rising Up and Moving On Award. And in a true full circle moment, she was on stage at this year’s FCCS Child Abuse Prevention Breakfast to help recognize two young women as the 2025 Rising Up and Moving On honorees. This award is presented annually to deserving teenagers in our agency's care and emancipated youth who have successfully overcome obstacles and barriers which most children their ages don't have to face. “Moving on doesn’t mean leaving behind those ...

Having a safe place to sleep is essential to a child’s health and ability to thrive. That’s why Franklin County Children Services is partnering with local businesses and non-profits to provide cribs, beds, baby clothes, and more to families who might need support. FCCS Caseworker Sophia Billerman recalls working with one family whose two children were sleeping on a mattress on the floor.  She recalls the family’s excitement when a new bed, box springs, and frame were provided. “The dad laughed and told me it took a couple of weeks for the kids to get used to sleeping on a bed because it was so high off of the floor.” The Franklin County Children Services Board recently approved investing as much as $77,000 over the next year with local family-owned retailer Mack Mattress to provide cribs, mattresses, bed frames, bunk beds, and dressers to families who come into agency care. A similar arrangement with partners at Furniture Bank of Central Ohio is also available to provide bedroom fu...

Truly keeping children and teenagers in Central Ohio safer requires our entire community coming together, speaking out, and uniting in a mission to make all families stronger. This April, The Center for Healthy Families and Franklin County Children’s Services (FCCS) join together once again to recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month and to call on our partners and local leaders throughout the region to learn, advocate, and act to prevent child abuse. More than a spotlight on the number of children impacted by abuse and neglect, this yearly observance seeks to increase awareness on the importance of supportive families and communities in safeguarding children's well-being. We know that addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach that prioritizes the safety of the whole child, considers their unique individual needs and trauma, and acknowledges the broader community impact.  In 2024, there were 28,243 calls and referrals made to the Franklin County Child Abuse H...

Find Your Future! Franklin County Children Services linked nearly 100 teenagers connected to our agency with college staff, job recruiters, and trade school/labor representatives at the 2025 FCCS Career Day. “We want to help young people make informed decisions about their future,” said Chuck Cochran, who manages the College-Bound Mentoring Program and has co-coordinated Career Day for the past five years. “Career Day gives them critical information.” The agency’s West Mound Street location was a buzz of activity, with more than two dozen business, colleges, and organizations coming together for the Saturday event, which was one of the most-attended Career Days according to Mr. Cochran. Representatives from colleges and universities included The Ohio State University, Central State University, Otterbein University, Mt. Carmel School of Nursing, and Columbus State Community College.  Staff from trade schools and apprentice programs included the Paul Mitchell School of Columbus, Equi...

CLICK TO HEAR MORE TIPS FROM TOSHIA SAFFORD AT THE CENTER FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES As CEO of the Center for Healthy Families, Toshia Safford has earned a reputation throughout Central Ohio for excellence in successfully supporting and coaching parents and teens.  Yet, even with her extensive professional and personal experience, Ms. Safford notes that young people today face challenges that she couldn’t fathom growing up, or even as she raised her own daughter. "There are moments when our teens say something and I just hear, ‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice,’” Ms. Safford says with a laugh. “I just have to say to them, ‘hey, I’m not quite following you. Give me a moment and let me sit with it.’” Learning to accept and stay calm when teens are upset or anxious can serve parents well. Ms. Safford notes that often adolescents don’t necessarily want a caregiver to tell them all the answers. They simply hope an adult will listen and tell them that they are still okay, no matter how t...

“Nothing about them without them.” With this mantra in mind, Franklin County Children Services takes a team approach when it comes to helping keep children safer while supporting families to make them stronger… and parents have an important voice in the process. As families become more involved in the child welfare system, FCCS organizes Family Team Meetings, where those who care most about a youth’s wellbeing can work together on finding the least intrusive, best-supportive plans for safety and stability. “Our families need to know they are not alone in their circumstances,” said Stacie Pelton, a Social Program Coordinator who facilitates many of the agency’s Family Team Meetings. “A team meeting is an opportunity for them to have all their support people communicating as team at the same time.”  In 2024, FCCS conducted more than 1,200 of these Family Team Meetings, bringing together family members, service teams, caregivers, and sometimes school counselors and guardians ad litem....

Supporting the mental health needs of children and teens while they await safe placement, Franklin County Children Services partners with the National Youth Advocacy Program (NYAP) to have trained mental health clinicians on stand-by 24 hours a day to de-escalate youth behavioral crisis, complete pre-placement assessments, and engage youth experiencing the trauma of removal. -- Every thirty minutes, clinicians like Misty Coleman and Mercedes Harris make their rounds at Children Services’ Intake and Assessment Center to connect with youth who have come into the building. They’ll talk with each one, asking about their needs: a shower, something to play with, maybe a snack, or just someone to listen. “We work hard to start building rapport and trust,” said Ms. Harris, a Clinical Supervisor.  “And we use music, TV, puzzles, and games to engage them,” added Ms. Coleman, the Program Manager of Emergency Stabilization Care. They are part of a team of dedicated mental health clinicians fro...

Helping families rebuild, reconnect, and reunify is at the very heart of Franklin County Children Services’ core mission. “And visitation is a vital piece,” says Corey Leftridge, FCCS Family Services Supervisor.  “We help parents and children stay connected and build toward reunification, keeping that family bond despite the distance, despite the trauma, despite the crises they may be in.” FCCS’s Family Visitation team helps facilitate approximately 7,000 safe family visits annually. For many children in out-of-home placement, these visits are essential in building a safe, stable foundation for family reconnection and eventually reunification.  Every day, every visit, the Visitation team is there to help make this critically important work happen. For Mr. Leftridge, it’s all about maintaining that vital family connection and getting kids back home again whenever safely possible. “We try to encourage the families to do things that help them reignite their bond.” There are three...

You can see it in the pictures: mentor Jarrett Rardon and his 7-year-old mentee Zidane were instant friends when they first met.  Connected through Franklin County Children Services’ new 60 for Six mentoring program last summer, the two hit it off from the start and have already built a special bond. And during National Mentoring Month in January, the agency is hoping to replicate more of these important mentoring relationships. Zidane is an exuberant second grader who lives with his grandma. He sees Rardon as a cherished friend: “He feels like someone that I have known for a long time.” he says.  In just a few months, the two pals have enjoyed music lessons together, carved pumpkins, and gone fishing. Zidane even caught his very first fish last summer, a bluegill. “It was so cool.” As for Mr. Rardon, who works as a research coordinator at Nationwide Children’s, becoming a mentor was especially important to him. Because of his own time spent in foster care in early adolescence...

Celebrating the love, support, safety, and sense of belonging that comes with finding a “forever family,” Franklin County Children Services and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption honored National Adoption Day on Tuesday, November 19, by bringing together six families and eight children currently in foster care who will finalize adoptions in court on the same day. Hear highlights of the Franklin County National Adoption Day 2024 by clicking here . Christina and Burl Queen simply could not imagine life without their beloved Izzy, a joyful two-year-old with a lively, affectionate spirit, who first entered their lives two years ago and on National Adoption Day, officially joined their family.  “It’s like holding your breath for two years and then finally getting to just exhale,” Christina says.  The Queens were one of six happy families finalizing their adoptions, and both Christina and Burl are grateful, relieved, and overjoyed for Izzy’s adoption day to have finally arrived...

Adding to November’s National Adoption Month recognition - and celebrating the unique connection between gymnastics great Simone Biles and Franklin County Children Services - 11 agency-involved families who are on a similar adoption and kinship care pathway as the 11-time Olympic medal winner headed to Cincinnati to see her perform, thanks to a special invitation from FCCS and the Gold Over America Tour. --- As the world watched Simone Biles summersault to gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, five-year-old Rikki did cartwheels in her living room in front of her siblings… and likely never realized how much in common her family had with the 11-time Olympic medalist, 30-time World Championship medalist, and most decorated gymnast in history. A passionate advocate for kids involved in the child welfare system, Ms. Biles often shares her personal journey in foster care in the Columbus area, her kinship placement with relatives, and her eventual adoption, all managed through the effort...

Celebrating the nearly 300 children who found “forever homes” over the past year through adoption or finalization of a kinship placement, Franklin County Children Services hosted its first Forever Family Funfest. “When children can no longer safely remain in their parents’ custody, they deserve to have the permanent sense of belonging that comes with finding a family,” said Raquel Breckenridge, Family Service Director for Permanency. “And we want to celebrate those lasting connections.” Over the past year, more than 100 children and teenagers who were in the agency’s care found their forever homes through adoption. In addition, almost 200 children were permanently placed with family relatives - grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, or adult siblings - or close family friends such as teachers and coaches, church members, or neighbors. Dozens of those children and teens who found their forever homes through adoption or permanent kinship placement, along with their families and caregiv...

Longtime Franklin County Children Services mentor Claude Russell III says the secret to successful mentoring is simple: just show up. It’s all about being together and building a relationship.  “Mentees just want your time,” he says. “They just want to be in your presence and see a person who cares. That is so easy to do.”  Mr. Russell, a Toledo native and OSU alum, has been an active part of FCCS’s Simba Mentor program which just celebrated its 36th anniversary. Simba is a culturally and gender specific mentoring program for African-American boys and African-American men.  “The love and the acceptance and the warmth that I’ve received in being a mentor has been unmatched,” said Mr. Russell, who recognizes that his life has been endlessly enriched by his longtime mentees - and now extended family - Seth (24) and Sebastian (18). Never forgetting the impact his mentors made on him as he was growing up, Mr. Russell wanted to pay this forward when he joined the Simba program....