Nov
01
Staying Power fuels JFS

Our agency recently launched a campaign to recognize those we lean on while helping nearly half a million Hamilton County residents every year. Our 800+ employees work every day so many in this community can have better tomorrows. Among the …

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Sep
30
Strategy resulting in a better JFS

It is a new day at Job and Family Services. Change won’t occur overnight, but, make no mistake about it, change is underway. The JFS our staff and our consumers know now is evolving into a stronger, better organization. We …

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Aug
28
Taking care of the caretakers

Trauma can have life-long consequences.    We see the effects every day: trauma from leaving home and family, trauma from abuse or neglect, trauma from a family member’s mental illness or substance use, trauma from living in poverty.   We never …

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Aug
01
Child Support: Making it easy for moms, dads and employers

Did you know at least a third of all Hamilton County residents are involved in a child support case? We actively worked 71,000 child support cases per month in 2018. If you consider each case to have one father, one …

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Jul
03
Child Care deadline one year away

For child care providers in Hamilton County, it is time to step up. We are in the final stretch – 12 months and counting – for child care providers to become rated under the Step Up to Quality program. The …

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May
31
Kinship stipends start in early June

I am extremely excited about a new program designed to help the hundreds of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other kinship caregivers who take care of children in our custody. In May, we launched a kinship stipend program and early this …

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May
06
Thank you to 675 special families

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 …

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Mar
29
Efforts underway to strengthen JFS

 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 …

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Mar
04
Transforming child welfare in the 21st Century

 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, …

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Feb
01
Government shutdown produces community support

 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 …

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