Focus On Youth

Foster care our foster care program serves children of all families to provide safe, stable, nurturing homes for children in need. Our continued support for the Youth and families whom we serve includes foster care, adoption, respite care, and defer detainment of Youth at risk of entry into the juvenile justice system. We strive to ensure each child and family received individualized care depending on their needs that will lead to the best outcomes possible. Over this fiscal year we have:1. Placed 172 Youth in Focus on Youth foster homes.2. 74% of all discharges from the foster care program were positive, which includes adoption, reunification, independent living, or placement with kinship.3. Finalized 22 adoptions.4. Had under 5% unplanned placement disruptions.

Wendy's wonderful kids through the wendy's wonderful kids program, our recruiters are dedicated to servicing the longest-waiting children in foster care, including teenagers, children with special needs and sibling groups. Each Youth within the program has their own dedicated recruiter who utilizes an evidence-based, child-focused model to find the right family for each child. Over this fiscal year we have: 1. Boosted the number of wendy's wonderful kids recruiters by 50% because of the accomplishments made in the first full fiscal year.2. 101 Youth needing permanency from 7 Ohio counties served.3. Adoptively matched 17 Youth with a family to begin the adoption process.4. Celebrated 7 adoptions for Youth of wendy's wonderful kids recruiters.

Behavioral health our behavioral health program provides extensive mental health services to children ages 3-18 and their families, both within the foster care system and the broader community. We specialize in trauma-informed care and an evidence-based play therapy approach to treatment that is developmentally appropriate to address the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Additionally, we have expertise in working with children in foster care, adopted, kinship care, or involved in children's services. Over this fiscal year, 1. We have served 213 children in our behavioral health program.2. Expanded the partnerships with our two afterschool programs, impacting 830 Youth. 3. Distributed regulation kits, that aid caregivers with tools to encourage mental health Focus in home, to 2900 families.

Bridges we provide services to young adults who emancipate from foster care on or after their 18th birthday, but are not yet 21 through bridges, an Ohio program that extends housing and other supportive services to eligible young adults. We assist them as they either continue their education or gain and maintain employment. Bridges focuses on building these young adults' skills for independence and self-sufficiency. Over this fiscal year:1. We have increased the number young adults supported through bridges by 20% compared to previous years.