Governor DeWine and Ohio Department of Children and Youth Announces $2 Million to Launch Pilot Program Placing More Foster Children in Homes

The Ohio Department of Children and Youth announced that more than $2 million in funding is being awarded to expand a model that is helping more Ohio foster children find a loving home.

The Treatment Foster Home Pilot Program will connect foster children facing significant behavioral health challenges with foster families who are equipped to support children with complex needs in their homes.

The pilot will replicate and expand upon the Northwest Treatment Foster Care Partnership, which is a collaboration between Sandusky, Seneca, Ottawa, and Wyandot counties’ Public Children Services Agencies.

The pilot program will provide support for families, including 24/7 on-call casework and crisis counseling, along with specialized training so that children with complex behavioral needs can stay in a home environment.

Public Children Services Agencies receiving funding through the program include Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin counties as well as Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood, and Wyandot counties.

Ohio currently has more than 1,800 foster children who live in group settings because there are not foster families willing or comfortable to take on the significant behavioral challenges and complex needs these foster children present.

The Treatment Foster Home Pilot Program aims to significantly reduce that number.