News from Franklin County Children Services

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...

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.  ...

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...

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...

Focused on helping mothers recover from drug addiction while staying safely connected to their children, Franklin County Children Services is partnering with Volunteers of America on Ohio’s first family-focused residential treatment program that allows moms and children to remain together during treatment. The Fresh Start Family-Focused Recovery Program serves pregnant women and mothers actively struggling with addiction, giving them an opportunity to get clean while pregnant, stay with their children as they recover, and maintain custody of their children while in recovery. “We really do want to be an alternative to out of home placement,” shared Jennifer Martinez, Vice President of Behavioral Health Operations for Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana, which celebrated the ribbon-cutting on its new facility earlier this year and expects to have its first residents in late summer.  She points to the trauma-informed, evidence-based clinical services provided in the program by li...

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...

“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....

CLICK HERE TO HEAR MORE TIPS ABOUT SETTING HEALHTY BOUNDARIES FROM ALL THAT'S DANELLA HICKS “I taught Sunday Schools for years, and what I realized was that my babies couldn’t read, they didn’t know what to do after they graduated, and they had lots of hurdles,” explains Danella Hicks.  This realization inspired her more than 15 years ago to start All THAT - Teens Hopeful About Tomorrow - a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring, encouraging, and supporting young people so they can succeed in school and in life.  Ms. Hicks knows all too well the odds stacked against her youth, noting that without this program, “our teens would probably end up either in the cemetery or jail.”  She mixes love and compassion with a dose of rules and expectations about commitment, attendance, and attitude, even insisting on a “no cell phone zone” when teens are engaged in programming. Teens are paid a bi-weekly stipend if they actively engage and show a positive attitude. Franklin County Children S...

Many seniors and older adults in Franklin County are stepping up to become primary caregivers for their grandchildren or other young relatives, caring for some of the 2.7 million children nationwide who are being raised by older family members. And with the passage of the 2024 Franklin County Children Services Levy, more of those kinship caregivers are receiving an extra helping hand to cover some of the unexpected costs of caring for the children they love. “When we support caregivers, we strengthen our community and ensure that both the young and old can thrive together,” said Chanda Wingo, Director of the Franklin County Office on Aging.   This year, FCCS is doubling the amount of funding provided to the Office on Aging’s Kinship Incentive Program, now up to $600,000 each year, which should assist as many as 300 children each year. “Children Services understood the needs and recognized that if support was not provided to kinship families, the children were at risk of placem...

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...

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE TIPS FROM CHRIS VINEIS AT UNITE FOR SAFE SOCIAL MEDIA Social media platforms can lead to positive connections and learning experiences for young people. But, as pointed out by CEO and founder of Unite for Safe Social Media Chris Vineis, parents need to monitor and set rules for how often, how long, and where teens go online. And most important, don't dismiss the dangers of cyberbullying and sextortion by thinking they can't happen to your teen. Both are very real. Jon Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation says teens spend an average of 6-8 hours on screen-based leisure activities, with at least five hours a day on their favorite social media sites. Other studies suggest it's closer to seven.  With that in mind, there’s little doubt that adolescents are more preoccupied with TikTok and YouTube than homework, as Gallup found in a survey last year. “This type of obsessive behavior increases risks for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm and eve...

Celebrating how families do better when they live in communities that are committed to helping them succeed, Franklin County Children Services recognized the annual National Family Week by honoring several families and community partners. “Strong families are the first foundation to protecting children, and tonight we will hear powerful stories of how families have become stronger than ever,” offered FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning, echoing the agency’s Call to Action of strengthening all families. “We believe that any family in Franklin County - no matter the family’s size, income, neighborhood, background, and diversity - should have access to the supports and resources parents need so they avoid concerns that might force them into the child welfare system,” added Executive Director Spinning.. “That’s why we also celebrate tonight the organizations and community partners and volunteers who stand with us in this mission to relentlessly advocate for all families,” he added. Throu...

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...

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...

While working two jobs and considering a third, Sonya Smith is raising her 16, 13, and 10-year-old grandchildren. Her 12-hour workdays are a struggle, she admits, but knowing the children have a safe home keeps Ms. Smith going. When children can no longer safely stay with their parents and need a place to stay, caseworkers at Franklin County Children Services first search for relatives and others close to the family - such as teachers, coaches, church members, neighbors, or family friends - who can provide a caring, familiar environment where the children might better cope with the trauma of separation.  Grandparents like Ms. Smith often are the first to step up to help keep kids safer. “I couldn’t see them going out into the world without my protection,” she said.   According to the national Annie E. Casey Foundation , more than 127,000 children in Ohio between 2020 and 2022 relied upon a family relative or other adult with whom they have a family-like relationship as th...

When tempers and trauma reach a crisis point - and parents feel they have nowhere else to turn - sometimes families need a moment to “cool off” and reset the conversation. That’s when Franklin County Children Services relies on it’s partners at The Village Network’s Reception Center to provide a safe space where families can cool down, each person can be heard, and supports can be offered to help bring tensions down. “I feel like we’re offering hope,” said Marlene Sheaffer, regional director at The Village Network (TVN). “A lot of these families are feeling hopeless. They’ve tried different things, and they feel like nothing else is going to work. But if they give us one last chance, things can change.” For many years, FCCS has partnered with TVN to provide foster care, managed care, and respite services to families. In 2017, the partnership expanded to create a rapid response program aimed at youth ages 11 to 17 whose families were considering filing unruly or delinquent complaints wi...