History of Franklin County Children Services
1866
A state law was passed authorizing Ohio counties to provide services to children.1877
Franklin County voters supported building a Children's Home, which provided care for orphaned and abandoned children. In addition, families were found to adopt or accept indenture of children.1945
Physicians and other professionals began to take note of child abuse as real problems often disguised as accidents. The state expanded the role of child welfare boards to include protective services, foster care placement and in-home counseling.1960's
As awareness of abuse and neglect grew, mandatory reporting laws were enacted in the 1960s, requiring professionals who work with children to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect. Also in the 1960s, the local board's name became Franklin County Children Services, and the first county property tax levy to provide services for the care and placement of children was passed.1970's
Through the 1970s, demand for services grew as family dynamics changed, and unruly teens emerged as a population to be served by Franklin County Children Services.1980's
By the 1980s, new laws had changed child welfare again, increasing its relationship with the Juvenile Court and adding reunification of families as a requirement in service delivery.1997
The well-being of children continued to remain in the forefront of legislation. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 is federal legislation that made child safety the primary goal for Children Services. Concurrent planning toward both reunification with family of a permanent alternative is the focus from the time a child comes into out-of-home care. The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) revised the practice related to children waiting for an adoptive home, with race of the child or adopting parents not to delay the adoption of a waiting child.Today
Today, the laws and sound child welfare practice prescribe that intervention with a family is to occur only to assure safety of children or to help the family. The goal of Franklin County Children Services is to maintain children safely in their own homes whenever possible, by providing appropriate services to prevent case opening or placement of children. The agency has begun to use a comprehensive assessment and planning model that involves structured decision-making from the time a child or family is referred and throughout the life of the case. This model provides tools for assessing a child's safety as well as the family's capacity to protect the child. When children must be removed from home, family and reunification assessments help the agency and the family design case plans that will bring their family back together whenever possible. This helps Children Services' workers better protect and care for the children who are unsafe, using resources to protect and care for the most vulnerable children while respecting the rights of parents to raise their children in appropriate and effective ways. The agency also recently embraced a set of guiding principles that will shape our practice through the lens of what we hold dear-safety, permanency and well-being for every child we serve.And Beyond...
Through the years, Franklin County Children Services has remained committed to protecting children by strengthening families. Also through the years, the Franklin County community has been committed to providing the support needed to do that job. Thanks to Franklin County voters, more than half of the agency's funding comes from two, 10-year property tax levies; a 3.15 mill levy passed in 2009, and a 1.9 mill levy passed in 2004. Franklin County Children Services is grateful for this community support.