abuse

In March we take time to honor the social workers at HCJFS who work on the front lines to keep kids safe and families safe and thriving.

Hamilton County Job and Family Services is excited to be part of a four-year, national study designed to address challenges with child welfare worker recruitment, retention, satisfaction and intention to stay.

Moira Weir, director of our agency, started in social work in 1993. She has been involved in many cases in the years since and has seen the effects of domestic violence on women and their children.

Hamilton County’s OhioMeansJob Center is co-hosting a workshop on Thursday, Aug. 24 to discuss drug trends in the workplace.

How pervasive is heroin? It knows no race, gender or status. It is an equal opportunity destroyer.  CNN tells the story of a Clermont County deputy’s family and how heroin tore it apart. 

Children with developmental disabilities who age out of the child welfare system at age 21 are often unable to make decisions for themselves. The same is true of senior citizens (over age 60) suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. If there are no family members to help, these individuals require legal guardians.

Guardians are appointed through probate court. In Hamilton County, when a child turns 18 years of age and requires guardianship, they can be placed on a lengthy waiting list for guardians. Hamilton County JFS also has to seek guardianship for senior citizens involved with its Adult Protective Services program.

Hamilton County’s Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation Wednesday naming April Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month in Hamilton County and April 12 as Wear Blue to Work Day.

The proclamation was issued after commissioners heard from Director Moira Weir on the large increases in Children’s Services caseloads and the many abused and neglected children being served by the agency.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This year, it comes with an extra sense of urgency in Hamilton County.
Our numbers are skyrocketing. We screened in 732 allegations of child abuse in the month of January, the largest monthly total in at least a decade. We screened in 699 reports during February. This followed a very busy last half of 2016, when we screened in 3,794 reports, 1,101 more than during the first half of the year.

We are often asked this time of year about donations of gifts for the children in our care, particularly foster children and those awaiting adoption. It is always touching to me to see the generosity of our community, especially during the holidays. …

Our abused and neglected children had a wonderful holiday this year. For the first time ever, we were able to provide toys to all the children who needed them. We received more than 7,000 toys from the U.S. Marine Corps …