COLUMBUS, Ohio - Child-welfare agencies around Ohio are finding success with new strategies that include foster children in the planning of their future. The Wendy's Wonderful Kids Program uses a child-centered approach that engages foster youth in the process of finding a permanent home.

Deb Downing, assistant director with Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services, says it's helped them to better identify the child's needs, and sometimes find a person in the child's life willing to provide care.

"First is to work with the children so they are ready for moving into an adoptive home," Downing says. "Then to look at what are some unique strategies to try to identify a family. Looking at where are that child's connections."

Since it began in Ohio in 2004, there have been more than 1,300 children served by the program and nearly 350 adoptions. Agencies are also using Permanency Round Tables as another strategy to eliminate barriers to placement and increase lifelong connections for foster youth.

Focusing on an open dialogue, Downing says the child is included in developing an action plan that can lead to a permanent home.

In Fairfield County, Kristi Burre, deputy director with the Protective Services Department, says the Permanency Round Tables have helped some kids connect with people from their past, and others find new homes.

She talks about one foster child who was temporarily staying with his grandparents after years in foster care. She says during the roundtable everyone gave input and asked questions and the boy's future changed.

"By the end of the meeting, we had two grandparents and a 15-year-old child who were gung-ho about beginning the process of adoption," says Burre. "When we went into the meeting, we definitely were not going down that route."

Downing adds, the entire community needs to understand the urgency to find permanent connections for foster children. So, they are engaging the court system and other child-serving agencies in these new strategies.

"They have to understand what we're doing and to be on board with us as we really look at new ways of developing relationships and permanency for children in our custody," says Downing.

About 1,000 children age out of foster care each year in Ohio.


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A group of Washington youths, fresh from a grassroots leadership development program, is speaking up against the Trump Administration's plans to cut funding for social programs while investing more in the country's military.

The group of young people recently concluded the Young Activist Leaders Program, which teaches social justice and community organizing.

Nico Jaggar, youth organizer for the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, is one of the youth leaders of the program. He said in the wake of the Trump Administration's pledging $1 trillion to the military, the group decided to wrap up the program's spring session by organizing a rally.

"We don't want our money going to war," Jaggar explained. "We'd rather our money go to food stamps, social security, health care. Those are the things that actually save and improve lives versus war is this machine that just destroys."

The rally featured youth speakers as well as community leaders for fair housing and immigrant rights. The program is an 8- to 10-week paid internship run by the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane. It will have another session in the fall.

Many issues sparked Jaggar to get involved in organizing and he said access to health care and insurance for low-income people hit close to home.

"I've watched my community, my family be affected by lack of medical care," Jaggar pointed out. "It's an awful thing to just have to accept that you can't get help."

Jaggar added as a young person, especially below voting age, it can be easy to feel powerless. But he emphasized young people are paying attention and deserve the opportunity to have a say in their own future.

"You can do that through organizing, like our YALP program," Jaggar noted. "Or volunteering, or just taking a stance and saying, 'Hey, this isn't right.'"

Along with helping youth feel empowered, Jaggar stressed, learning community organizing skills is fun. He added the program's fall session will focus on voter engagement.

A unique approach to preventing youth homelessness in Washington is proving highly effective, with more than 93% of participants still housed one year later.

The Homelessness Prevention and Diversion Fund provides flexible aid to young people in nine Washington counties. In its first three years, it has helped more than 1,700 young people find safe housing. Washington has the nation's third-highest homelessness rate, and supporters say the program saves money by removing red tape and keeping youth out of shelters.

Jim Theofelis, founder and executive director of NorthStar Advocates, said the strategy is simple: Ask youth what they need.

"We actually asked the young person, 'Where can you live and what will that take to make that happen?'" Theofelis explained. "Which is a very different approach than saying, 'Go to that shelter three miles down and take a right.'"

Instead of using a central nonprofit, Theofelis pointed out the program trains advocates in places where homeless youth go for help, like drop-in centers and fire stations, so they can quickly access funds to get into safe housing. Lawmakers are considering cuts to the program, which Theofelis warned would raise state costs and reduce support for young people.

Most young people have somewhere safe they can go, Theofelis added but they may need a small financial boost to make the transition.

"Some people will say, 'I could live with grandma, but she's really poor and she needs some help.' Or, 'I'm 23, I have two friends and I could get a room with them if I had first and last month's rent,'" Theofelis outlined.

Theofelis noted youth typically face more steps to find housing, starting with shelters and case management, while the fund's approach is much faster. After an application, advocates ensure the housing is safe and send a one-time payment averaging $2,700 directly where it's needed. Theofelis emphasized it is much cheaper than other strategies.

"We're saving emergency shelter beds, all kinds of other funding sources that come into play once they hit the streets," Theofelis stressed. "We really think this saves money and helps reduce our budget deficit, as well as saving lives."

Of the teens and young adults the program has served, about 60% are people of color and nearly 40% are pregnant or parenting.


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April is Second Chance Month, with extra focus on helping people with a criminal past keep from becoming repeat offenders.

In steering Minnesota youths away from a troubled path, experts said public messaging needs a reset. Recent survey findings from the social issues firm Fenton Communications showed a majority of Americans think violent crime rates for youth are on the rise.

Jennifer Hahn, chief client officer for Fenton, said in a forum hosted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the numbers have actually been going down, except for isolated pockets. She noted the public still hangs onto a certain mindset for when a young person is accused of committing a crime.

"There still is this very sticky belief that punishment works," Hahn observed.

Hahn suggested such beliefs muddy the conversation about pushing ahead with effective interventions. On the brighter side, many survey respondents felt meeting a child's basic needs, such as access to health care, leads to better outcomes. Hahn pointed out that recognition can be a useful tool for churches, local leaders and others trying to elevate youth programs.

Hahn advised youth advocates should not flat out reject how the public feels about crime, even if one's sentiments conflict with the data. One reason is not everyone will be convinced. Instead, she hopes public discourse leans more on the role strong communities play in shaping youth, because it already resonates with a lot of people.

"Let's get safe spaces so that kids can do this," Hahn urged. "Let's support parents because it's challenging. Let's help local communities offer more job opportunities or recreation programs."

Overall, Hahn recommended a balanced approach of weighing the facts and engaging in stories about positive community responses. She encouraged people, no matter their role in the discussion, to stop using terms such as "juvenile delinquent," saying they feed into harmful assumptions.

State data show between 2012 and 2022, the number of Minnesota children arrested each year for serious crimes was nearly cut in half.


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