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Tag: foster care system

  • Ohio foster-to-college bill aims to bring kids out of system, into higher ed, career tech

    Ohio foster-to-college bill aims to bring kids out of system, into higher ed, career tech

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    By:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    A bipartisan bill introduced in the Ohio General Assembly seeks to establish a pipeline from foster care to college or careers.

    The sponsors of House Bill 25 are targeting a population of Ohioans who struggle to get through high school, and therefore may not have the guidance needed to lead them to a fruitful career in the state after leaving the foster care system.

    “They are experiencing some of the worst outcomes of our state and yet the state could and should do more,” said bill co-sponsor state Rep. Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus.

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    The bill is a reintroduction of a similar bill that didn’t get through the last General Assembly before it ended in December. House Bill 164, which Jarrells co-sponsored with former state Rep. Bill Seitz, passed 85-5 in the House in June 2024, before getting tied up in the Ohio Senate Finance Committee.

    Also as before, state Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, has introduced a companion bill, Senate Bill 13, for consideration in the Senate.

    According to the National Foster Youth Institute, just 3-4% of former foster youth across the country obtain a four-year college degree, and between 2% and 6% receive a two-year degree. The NFYI also found that high school dropout rates are higher for foster youth than even other low-income children and more than 40% of foster children in school face “educational difficulties.”

    “Aspiring to attend college motivates students to stay in school and keep their grades up,” the Children’s Defense Fund of Ohio said in support of the previous foster-to-college legislative effort. “Reducing financial barriers increases the likelihood that a student will complete their degree.”

    H.B. 25 would create a scholarship program for Ohioans who are in foster care after their 13th birthday, funding tuition, fees or other education expenses outside of federal or state financial aid, according to Jarrells.

    When word got out that Jarrells was reintroducing the bill, state Rep. Sharon Ray, R-Wadsworth, said she quickly reached out to become a co-sponsor, hoping to help the state and the “strong” foster care system she has in her district.

    She compared the scholarship program to the GI Bill that subsidizes educational opportunities for military personnel, saying that in the same way the GI Bill “changed so many lives” by giving them the financial support they needed, this new bill could create change for foster kids.

    “These kids, when they’re 18, they just age out of the system, and for these kids that have been working hard, we want to make sure they have the best chance at life,” Ray said.

    Under the bill, which would appropriate $7.5 million each over the next two years, “foster care student navigators” would be hired by the state to guide those coming out of foster care with applications, higher education admission processes and things like career tech or post-high school training.

    “When we invest in them, they invest back in Ohio,” Jarrells said.

    According to the Children’s Defense Fund of Ohio, 35 states, including Texas and Florida, had already voted in favor of legislation like Ohio’s bill at the time it was introduced in the last GA.

    The House bill has been referred to the House Workforce & Higher Education Committee, and the Senate bill has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.

    Jarrells and Ray are hopeful the fact that the bill was introduced early in the GA gives it a better chance of passage, though they also see potential for budget negotiations to include the measures in their bill.

    “We want this just to be a win for the future, and hopefully something that gets continued investment so we can reach as many foster kids as we can,” Jarrells said.

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    Susan Tebben
    Susan Tebben

    Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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  • New program to place former foster children on a path to self-sufficiency

    New program to place former foster children on a path to self-sufficiency

    Hamilton County, Ohio – GreenLight Fund Cincinnati and Hamilton County Job and Family Services are teaming up to bring First Place for Youth to Cincinnati. First Place for Youth is an innovative program aimed at helping foster children transition to adulthood using a youth-centered, trauma-informed approach. The program will help nearly 100 children a year in Hamilton County with housing, education and employment services.

    First Place for Youth originated in California and has a proven track record in helping youth develop necessary skills for adulthood. 91 percent of participating youth are employed when they graduate from the program. The education and workforce based program uses housing as a stabilizing force. Young people in the program live independently in apartments and receive wraparound support, education services, employment services and other help to become self-sufficient. This model, which is new to Cincinnati, will be operated by an existing, local non-profit organization who will be chosen later this month.

    First Place for Youth anticipates helping nearly 350 young people over the next four years, 90 percent of local transition-age youth.

    Moira Weir, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, which operates the local foster care system, said approximately 100 children a year “age-out” of the foster care system at age 18 or 21, meaning they are not reunified with their biological parents or adopted by new parents. First Place for Youth anticipates helping nearly 350 young people over the next four years, 90 percent of local transition-age youth.

    Weir’s organization worked with the University of Cincinnati’s Economic Center on a recent study that found children aging out of the local child welfare system eventually cost local residents $17.7 million in social expenses and lost productivity each year. Those costs are related to the youths’ involvement in the criminal justice, homeless and health care systems, as well as lost productivity because they are not employed at the same level as their peers in the general population.

    “You can imagine what life is like for an 18-year-old who is suddenly on their own with no family to turn to in times of trouble,” Weir said. “Research shows these young people are more likely to drop out of school, be unemployed, suffer physical or mental health problems, become teen parents, end up in the criminal justice system – they are more likely to fall victim to a host of social problems. We are excited to supplement our existing services with this incredibly innovative program GreenLight is bringing to our community. We are grateful for a community-based approach to this problem.”

    The GreenLight Fund works to improve the lives of low-income children and families by partnering with local community leaders to identify gaps in services in our community and then scours the country for innovative approaches to filling those gaps. Once a solution is found, GreenLight invests an initial $600,000 and draws on community connections to launch the solution in Cincinnati. GreenLight then measures results to ensure real change is happening.

    “We are thrilled to partner with Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services to support youth aging out of foster care in our community,” says Tara Noland, GreenLight Cincinnati’s executive director. “This proven, trauma-informed and data-driven model will drastically change the future trajectory of nearly all local youth who age out of care, helping them enter adulthood successfully and ultimately become thriving members of our community.”

    GreenLight Fund Cincinnati has raised $1.8 million in funding from organizations such as the Cincinnati Business Committee, the Cincinnati Regional Business Committee, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Bank of America, Duke Energy and others. Launched in 2015, it has served more than 1100 children and families through two portfolio organizations, the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Family Independence Initiative. First Place for Youth will be GreenLight’s third investment in Cincinnati.

    First Place for Youth has an extensive database of outcomes that make it a proven program ideal for replicating in our city. Hamilton County Job and Family Services will match GreenLight’s initial $600,000 investment with $6.5 million in ongoing support.