COLUMBUS – Ohio’s drug crisis is straining the state’s social services infrastructure and nowhere is that more evident that among those agencies who deal with the children of addicts and overdose victims.
May is National Foster Care Month and an urgent call is going out for Ohioans to serve as foster parents for children in need.
“I’ve been doing this for 33 years and this year, it rings truer than ever before that we need foster parents. And if we don’t get them, I can’t even imagine the outcomes for children if families don’t step up,” said Robin Reese, with Lucas County Children’s Services.
Children’s service agencies are reporting record numbers of kids coming into care, partly due to the opioid epidemic, and Reese says children are also staying in care for longer time periods.
Officials estimate there are approximately 1,400 more children in Ohio foster care than six years ago and about 7,000 are in protective custody because their parents were using drugs, including opioids.
Recently, the Ohio House passed a measure to invest an additional $15 million dollars a year to help local children’s service agencies address the impact of the opioid epidemic. Another proposed budget amendment explores ways to improve foster-parent recruitment, licensing and retention.