COLUMBUS, Ohio — On any given day, more than 16,000 children are in the foster care system in Ohio. And during Foster Care Month in May, the thousands of Ohioans who open their hearts and homes to kids in crisis are being celebrated.

As a foster parent in Montgomery County, Michelle Tedford said it takes dedication, patience and lots of love to provide safety and stability for a child whose world is in disarray.

"You also get to share some really exciting things with them, like learning to climb a tree or discovering what their favorite food is,” Tedford said. “Some of these kids have had very limited opportunities in the past and you get to open up the world for them and let them explore and figure out what it is that they love and that they want to do with their lives."

In Ohio, there are about 7,200 licensed foster homes. State data shows a 23 percent increase in the number of children coming into foster care since 2013, which is nearly 3,000 more children.

Ginny Hegwood is a foster parent in New Carlisle. She said besides helping a child adjust to their new circumstances, foster parents also must respect the role of the child's family. She said she still has a relationship with the father of a foster child who wanted some mentoring.

"Even though she's been back with him for several months now, he'll still call periodically or I'll pick her up periodically," Hegwood said. "And so he doesn't feel like he's been left out in the cold, because these kids change when they're in placement."

She added that while fostering is a rewarding experience, it also has unique challenges.

"I can't tell you how many times I've just cried my eyes out, asking God why he wants me to do this,” Hegwood said. “There definitely needs to be some sensitivity to the fact that when you're raising somebody else's children, you're going to have challenges that people don't understand."

Fostering situations can end in family reunification, adoption by a foster family, or adoption by a relative. Whatever the outcome, Tedford said a safe, permanent home should be found as quickly as possible.

"They are so aware of their precarious situation and that at any moment they could be moved again and their whole world could be shifted,” she said. “And the sooner that we can get them into permanency, the sooner that they can just relax, and then continue to heal, and then continue to grow as individuals."

Recently, an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services advisory group submitted recommendations to the Legislature on how to improve foster parent recruitment and retention in Ohio. Anyone interested in learning more about fostering can contact their county children's services agency.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a recent study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about life prospects.

The study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found students who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about both academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

Maryland requires county boards of education to track and report on bullying. This year's report showed there were more than 7,800 incidences of bullying reported during the 2022-23 school year, an increase of 25% over the year prior.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Earlier research showed relational victimization had negative effects on elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence based large scale school interventions for bullying."

Maryland's State Department of Education adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment and intimidation in 2009 and has updated it in the years since. Last year the department began offering an online introduction to bullying prevention for educators.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a new study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about their future.

Researchers found adolescents who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

The study began with more than 300 9th graders at 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed online surveys multiple times per year over three years.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Prior research established relational victimization affected elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also as an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti-bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence-based large-scale school interventions for bullying."

She added it is important to have strong communication between researchers, policymakers and administrators to address bullying so it is not too burdensome for schools and is backed by what researchers have learned.

The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today.

In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators earned a 100% rating.

Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research at the nonprofit Children Now Action Fund, said the scoring reflects more than how lawmakers vote.

"They voted the right way on health and child welfare, child care, education," Hardy outlined. "They also supported kids in the budget, which is not always an easy thing to do when we've got budget deficits."

The lowest scores hovered around 48%, awarded to lawmakers who voted against certain bills but also voted for proposals like forced outing policies for LGBTQ+ students in schools.

Hardy noted the report is intended to inform voters as they head to the ballot box next month.

"Kids may not vote but we want to elect legislators who do their best to support kids," Hardy explained.

California ranks 35th in the nation for child well-being, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report and is just above the national average for per-pupil spending on K-12 education.