Everyone who works in foster care agrees that it鈥檚 ideal to place children in kinship care, meaning with relatives, friends or neighbors who are familiar to them. Foster home placement is the next step. But when that option is not available, children are placed in group homes or congregate settings. Experts say they鈥檙e an outdated model that doesn鈥檛 best serve kids who need foster care the most.
Foster care experts agree that a piece of legislation taking effect October 1 will overhaul the foster care system.
鈥淭he Family First Act is the most important child welfare reform law since probably the last 20 years,鈥� Ohio Children鈥檚 Alliance President Mark Mecum said.
Mecum鈥檚 agency is getting ready for when the takes effect this October. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, county agencies and private organizations have been gearing up for its implementation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really two big categories of work,鈥� Mecum said. 鈥淭here are new standards for congregate care settings or group homes. And then there鈥檚 new flexibility to use what normally was called foster care money to prevent kids from entering foster care in the first place.鈥�
The Public Children鈥檚 Services Association of Ohio is the member association for the state鈥檚 85 county children鈥檚 service agencies. Scott Britton, the organization鈥檚 assistant director, said a big financial change will disincentive agencies from sending kids to group homes:
Under the Family First Act, there will not be federal reimbursement available anymore for group home care.
With limited exceptions, the federal government will not reimburse states for children placed in group care settings for more than two weeks.
Federal Government Withdrawing Reimbursement For Group Homes
鈥淲e want kids to be in the least restrictive environment. Ideally, that means keeping them home with their parents,鈥� Britton said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 not safe to keep them home, then the first place we鈥檇 like to look is kin.鈥�
When kinship care isn鈥檛 available, agencies turn to foster home placement. And if that's not available, they turn to group homes. Ohio is one of nine states that has state-supervised but county-administered children鈥檚 services programs. Britton says that means counties run their agencies independently. Because foster care isn鈥檛 centralized in Ohio, group homes have different meanings. Britton said people generally use the term in reference to non-family foster care settings.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a reactive system by nature,鈥� Britton explained. 鈥淲e are not designed to go in and provide programs on the front end. To prevent we rely on home visiting programs and community behavioral health.鈥�
The federal government a group home as more than six foster kids in a family setting or more than 25 in an institution, and that鈥檚 what stands to lose federal money this fall.
Britton said while group homes are not ideal, they play a vital role in the system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting transformation because the numbers we鈥檝e seen since 2013. You know, custody numbers have shot through the roof,鈥� Britton said. 鈥淲e went from about 12,000 children in foster care on any given day in the state to now more than 15,000 in foster care on any given day.鈥�
Advocates say Franklin County has a large number of group foster homes. 星空无限传媒 tried to confirm the number with Franklin County Children鈥檚 Services and The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, but both declined to comment for this story or did not return 星空无限传媒鈥檚 calls.
Pushing Out Group Homes Could Do More Harm Than Good
Even though group care isn鈥檛 ideal, ACTION Ohio Communications Director Lisa Dickson said closing group homes isn鈥檛 the solution.
鈥淏ecause the fact is, there aren鈥檛 enough foster placements. There especially are not enough foster placements for teens,鈥� Dickson said. 鈥淪o we know we have this huge problem, you don鈥檛 have enough foster homes for teens. With the best of intentions, you can shut down these group homes, and then where will the teens go?鈥�
Dickson referenced a case in Cuyahoga County last year where a 17-year-old boy was found sleeping in the county鈥檚 division of children鈥檚 and family services offices for more than a month while awaiting foster care placement.
鈥淚f maybe the energy and passion was focused less on shutting down group homes and more on, 鈥榟ow do we get people excited about fostering teens? How do we help them become less anxious about it?鈥� Dickson said.
Gov. Mike DeWine issued an Ohio Children鈥檚 Services Transformation Advisory Council in 2019, and the group issued 37 recommendations last year 鈥� including establishing an ombudsman office to independently investigate children鈥檚 complaints, create a consistent statewide onboarding program and establish a Foster Youth Bill of Rights.
