Child Welfare

Foster children aging out of Hamilton County’s child welfare system cost local residents $17.7 million in social expenses and lost productivity each year, according to a local financial impact study released today by the University of Cincinnati’s Economic Center and Hamilton County Job and Family Services. One program is helping reduce that cost.

Hamilton County is one of the few counties in Ohio to combine assistance programs, child protection, child support and employment assistance under one agency. To make sure those seeking adoption and foster care information can find what they need, and to help our kids find homes, we have a dedicated web page for adoption and foster care at HCKids.org.

HCJFS offices will be closed on Monday, May 29 for Memorial Day.

Update is our monthly newsletter keeping you up to date on what we are doing

Hamilton County JFS has been recognized with an Achievement Award for innovative technology from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that enhance services for residents.

May is Public Assistance Fraud Awareness Month. If you’re considering selling benefits or “stamps,” you should be aware that we are on the lookout for fraud and, if you are caught selling benefits, you will pay with a loss of benefits, and possible fines and jail time.

Children with developmental disabilities who age out of the child welfare system at age 21 are often unable to make decisions for themselves. The same is true of senior citizens (over age 60) suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. If there are no family members to help, these individuals require legal guardians.

Guardians are appointed through probate court. In Hamilton County, when a child turns 18 years of age and requires guardianship, they can be placed on a lengthy waiting list for guardians. Hamilton County JFS also has to seek guardianship for senior citizens involved with its Adult Protective Services program.

Hamilton County’s Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation Wednesday naming April Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month in Hamilton County and April 12 as Wear Blue to Work Day.

The proclamation was issued after commissioners heard from Director Moira Weir on the large increases in Children’s Services caseloads and the many abused and neglected children being served by the agency.

New statistics show that Hamilton County has more than 1,100 children in certified foster care – the most in at least 20 years. Moira Weir, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, is calling for help.

More than 180 bikes, adorned with hand-made bright bows on the handlebars, with helmets and locks, arrived this morning on a Kroger truck from Pickaway Correctional Institution, where they were assembled by inmates. HCJFS volunteers unloaded the truck under the …