From the Director

May is National Foster Care Month and according to the latest figures from the state, we have 675 certified foster homes in Hamilton County. This month, I am sending a special “thank you” to 675 wonderful families that made the …

 Among the many things learned in my 12 years as director of Job and Family Services: organizations can always make themselves better.   Of course, this applies to everything in life. Never grow comfortable and always reevaluate how you can …

 Later this month, a group of child welfare leaders from around the nation will meet in Arlington, Va., to discuss a vision for the 21st Century Child Welfare System. I am very excited to have received an invite to that, …

 We are fortunate our country’s government shutdown is over. As I write this, there is still a threat of another shutdown in mid-February, but we remain fully operational and have not been informed of any change to our programs or …

Hamilton County Job and Family Services is excited to be part of a new effort to lift local families and support them on their way to self-sufficiency. Project LIFT will launch in January, a $5 million, public/private effort to remove …

While my wonderful Thanksgiving with family reminded me of the many things I have in my personal life to be thankful for, I also thought about the many work-related reasons to say thanks. I am very thankful the voters of …

I have been asked a lot about the Children’s Services levy that is on the ballot Tuesday. While I do my best to answer them in person, I thought it might be more helpful to have a Question and Answer …

 For most of my 11 years as director, whenever anyone asked how many children we had awaiting adoption, the answer was “about 200.” Sad to say, that answer has changed to “about 400.” The numbers have gradually climbed over the …

It isn’t the kind of news that grabs big headlines. Still, it is meaningful to the Hamilton County families we serve. Our agency, at the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service’s Midwest Partners for Program Improvement Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, …

It is National Child Support month and a good time to talk about changes coming to the child support system. A series of changes to Ohio’s child support law begin taking effect next year: The economic tables used to calculate …