COLUMBUS, Ohio - When the call came asking her to care for a relative's baby, Heather Rouch of Perry County says she stepped up immediately. The plan was for her to keep the child until the parents got on their feet, and she ended up also taking two of their other children into her home.

Kinship-care arrangements increasingly are being made for children in Ohio. In her case, Rouch says, it was clear the children had not been getting proper care and attention.

"The 3-year-old, he didn't talk much; he wasn't potty trained. And the 2-year-old, he had no emotion at all - he never smiled, he wasn't talking, he wasn't walking. I mean, he was just like in a daze all the time."

Denise Bell, a social worker for Clark County Job and Family Services, says Rouch did everything she could to help the county reunite the children with their parents. After a year, however, it was determined that might not be the best choice for the children, and Rouch became the legal guardian of four children, all younger than age 4.

Today, Bell says, the children are flourishing.

"My goodness, we could see an amazing change in these children after the first month they were placed there as far as their effect - in their face, in their demeanor, in their behaviors. It was just a good kinship placement."

Clark County Job and Family Services received a federal Fostering Connections Kinship Navigator grant to build partnerships between public and private, community and faith-based groups to better serve the needs of kinship caregivers and families.

There is a time and place for foster care, says Kristie Heckman, supervisor of the county's Kinship Unit, but a friend's or relative's home is typically the best option for a child.

"They have a better ability to maintain connections with their parents, their other family members, their traditions, their identity, their culture. And we know that children in kinship care report feeling more loved than children in foster care."

Rouch's children are grown, so she sometimes feels as though she's starting all over again. But, she says "family is family," and encourages others asked to provide kinship care to go for it.

"A lot of people think that they can't do it. And I took on four of 'em - and they grow on you. They're like my own children now."

An estimated 100,000 children now are living in kinship-care situations around the state, an 18 percent increase in the past decade.


get more stories like this via email

The Public Children's Services Association of Ohio has launched a groundbreaking new initiative called Practice in Action Together, aimed at revolutionizing child welfare practices across the state.

The program is designed to strengthen relationships between caseworkers and families.

Lara LaRoche, practice adviser for the association, emphasized the approach is key to improving outcomes for children. She noted she has been in the field for 30 years and has not been more excited about a practice model or a new implementation.

"It's all about the family and elevating the family's voice," LaRoche explained. "It's about relationships and really understanding the importance of how we're connected to one another, how we in the community support one another."

The new model is the first in the country codeveloped by families, workers and child welfare leaders. It focuses on building relationships to keep children in their homes and reunify them with their families when needed. Although relationship-building alone may not fully address systemic issues in child welfare, the approach offers a piece of the puzzle.

In addition to the new approach, the association is debuting a new podcast titled "3000 Good Things, Porch Time with Mike and Ashley," which aims to highlight positive stories within the child welfare system.

Mike Kenny, director of strategic initiatives for the association and co-host of the podcast, said the podcast's mission is centered on the belief the stories told truly matter.

"This podcast is really focused on once a week, on Friday morning, specifically for those working in child welfare, to hear one good thing that's happening," Kenny outlined.

The podcast will not only share uplifting stories but also tie them back to the Practice in Action Together initiative by highlighting behaviors from the model in action. With its first episode airing today, the association hopes to shift the narrative around child welfare in Ohio, offering a weekly reminder positive change is happening within the system.

An interim North Dakota legislative committee this week got an update from state leaders on potential moves to reconnect kids in foster care with their biological parents if a court order is at play.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services presented findings to the interim Juvenile Justice Committee about this option, based on the views of legal minds around the state, including the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Cory Pederson, the department's director of children and family services, noted that about one in four kids in the foster-care system has no legal connection to his or her biological parents because a court determined it wasn't in the child's best interest to be in their custody.

"These are children that their parent rights are terminated, there's no adoption pending, there's no family that's come forward and said, 'We would like to adopt this child,'" he said. "They are basically the North Dakota orphans of the state."

Twenty-two other states have laws that create pathways to restore these rights, and Pederson said they reviewed some of them in gathering findings. Study leaders recommend North Dakota pursue a statute that would include waiting at least 12 months after a final termination order for a petition to proceed. Foster family shortages are cited as a driving factor for these laws.

One committee member questioned if the local state's attorney in the initial case would still be involved if there was reason to oppose the petition for reinstatement. Pederson assured the panel that would be the standard approach.

"A judge will make that determination at the hearing," he said, "but the state's attorney is going to be paramount in that process."

In the suggested framework for a North Dakota bill, another provision would block rights from being restored if sexual abuse had occurred or the parent in question has been convicted of conduct that resulted in the substantial bodily injury or death of a minor.


get more stories like this via email

With Father's Day behind us, an expert pointed out today's dads are more involved in their children's lives, leading to enhanced parent-child relationships as well as better overall mental wellness for entire families.

Brandon Eddy, assistant professor of couple and family therapy at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said dads want to be more than just breadwinners or a disciplinarian. They want to be involved in all aspects of child-rearing, which provides both parent and child a more enriching experience.

"We've realized what it is like in society when people talk about having 'daddy issues,' or when they had an absent father," Eddy observed. "They talk about all the struggles of that, but the inverse is also true. 'What if I have a really involved father? Who is warm and affectionate and dependable and there for me?' All the benefits that come from that."

Eddy pointed out children who have involved and affectionate fathers are more likely to be engaged in school, be more social and less likely to have issues with drug abuse or engage in criminal activities. Simply put, fatherhood is changing. Dads are spending about eight hours a week on child care, about three times more than they provided in the 1960s, according to the Pew Research Center.

Eddy stressed in order for dads to take care of children to their best ability, they also have to take care of themselves. He argued it is paramount for parents to take the time to attend to their physical and mental-health needs. He added while new mothers can experience conditions such as postpartum depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, so can new dads.

"So many of the things about new parenthood we associate with mothers, and that is great because moms need help and they need our support," Eddy noted. "But I always say at the same time, moms are only half of parents, right? Dads are the other half."

Eddy emphasized dads need help too, and encouraged people to look at fathers as complete parents. He invited people to challenge their conventional understanding of what masculinity is. Assertive, direct and strong are some of the words some may subscribe to dads but Eddy added men should also be given the chance to be kind, warm and affectionate.


get more stories like this via email