LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Ohio launches a new statewide online portal to streamline the adoption and foster care process. Our Madison Kenjura has more.
On Wednesday, May 24th, Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted announced Ohio's new statewide online portal allowing interested individuals to apply and inquire about becoming foster or adoptive parents in a convenient and accessible manner.
"It's the goal of this initiative to, what we are announcing today, to create a certification portal to make it easier for prospective foster and adoptive parents to move through the process and unite with the child or young person in the foster care system here in Ohio," explained Lt. Governor Husted.
The foster care system in Ohio has collaborated with the state's Department of Job and Family Services and InnovateOhio to launch the OCAF program, which aims to provide homes for the 15,000 young individuals in the system. Several local agencies, including Allen County's Children Services, have already adopted the program.
"People who are looking at being foster parents can go on the portal, submit their inquiry. If they choose to foster through Allen County Children Services, that information will then be forwarded onto us and then we will be making that next connection on them on that journey on how to become a foster parent or adoption as well," explained Sarah Newland, executive director of Allen County Children Services.
For some individuals, becoming a foster parent may seem intimidating due to the fact that many foster children have experienced unimaginable hardships, both within and outside of the system, which has had a significant impact on them. Nevertheless, there are numerous resources available to assist both the children and their families in adjusting to this new change.
"So those children that do present with more difficult, you know they have higher needs, they have special needs, we want to have a whole team wrapped around them with the foster parents part of that, so that those professional mental health providers, whether it's school personnel, we can all be a part of that team to insure that that child's behaviors are being handled, that those educational needs are being met, so it's not just the foster parent hopefully that they feel they are the only one with the care of that child. We want to make sure that child's linked with the whole team of people who can help make sure that their needs are met," added Newland.
Ohio's foster care system currently has 15,000 children in desperate need of foster and adoptive parents. If you are considering becoming one, Allen County Children Services is hosting an event on Saturday, June 3rd from 9 a.m. to noon at Our Town Roast in downtown Lima's 74 town square.
