CDF-Ohio > Ohio Initiatives: Child Welfare

Ohio Initiatives: Child Welfare

CDF-Ohio advocates are ensuring that Ohio’s child welfare system works to provide supports and services to all families fairly and equitably. CDF-Ohio focuses on the issue that there is an overrepresentation of children of color in the child welfare system. Although only 12% of the population of children in Ohio are Black, over 40% of the children in the custody of county children services agencies statewide are Black. CDF-Ohio is working with state departments and local agencies to examine how county child welfare agencies assess families and the decision-making process for removing children from their parents.

Another component of the child welfare system that CDF-Ohio is working to support is Kinship Care. Kinship care is when a family member or close friend provides temporary or permanent care because the parent is unable or unwilling to do so. This provides a more stable and secure environment than placing the child in foster care.

CDF-Ohio has released the KIDS COUNT issue brief entitled Ohio & Kinship Care: The Challenge for Grandparents & Other Caregivers. This issue brief provides information and data on kinship care, focusing on the benefits of kinship care; the grandparent caregivers and the children in their care; and recommendations for Ohio’s support of kinship care.