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1. Response to children who runway in our care:

“Montgomery County sadly does sometimes see youth in varying types of

placements (foster care, group homes or residential homes) run from their
current situation to family and friends, or what they see as home. The youth
we work with have gone through some very hard situations – both
physically and emotionally. Although they may no longer be in the care of
their relatives or friends, many still have a desire to bond with them. Thus,
it is common for teens to leave without permission to stay with family,
friends or acquaintances.

In such situations we take proper steps to contact the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and work with law enforcement
and Juvenile Court (if the youth is on probation) to bring the youth back to
their placement quickly and safely.

Prevention methods vary and depend on the child and their unique
circumstances. We engage our youth in discussions about their future –
asking them who they feel safe with and would like to be with. We also
often re-examine situations to see if circumstances have changed, such as
looking to see if a family member who could not care for them before, is
now able to.

For youth who want more contact with their family, we may be able to
increase visitation with loved ones so they can be with them in a safe,
controlled environment.

It is our ultimate goal to facilitate reunification with birth parents. When

that is no longer possible, we seek to find permanent and happy homes for
our youth and we will look at all avenues to make that happen for them. We
will reach out to aunts/uncles, teachers, coaches, anyone kin or non-kin
who can provide that to them.” – Craig Rickett, Associate Director of
Montgomery County Children Services
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2. Data on gender/race

The following chart indicates the number of youth in Montgomery County’s

care who were reported as AWOL. AWOL is how the information is tracked
in our system, a child could have runaway for a month or just been down
the street at a friend’s house for one night – all instances are labeled the
same.

Child Count
2021 (Year to
Date through
Gender / Race 2020 October 25)
Female 42 42
Black/AA 19 13
Hispanic 1
Multi-race 5 4
Unknown
White 18 24
Male 42 39
Black/AA 17 13
Hispanic 4 2
Multi-race 3 1
Unknown
White 18 23
Unknown
Unknown
Grand Total 84 81

3. Information on youth currently reported missing:

All youth who have gone AWOL and are in Montgomery County care
are reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. They provide a searchable database for all missing children
which can be filtered by area, this can be found at:
https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/search
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4. Data representing the number of abuse/neglect reports on

children in foster care (if existing)

“Montgomery County Children Services utilizes SACWIS, a statewide

system for Children Services agencies. The system does not provide
the capability to export abuse and neglect records by home type.

However, looking at the numbers from 2018 through year-to-date, we

can see a downward trend in referrals. We can also see that so far this
year, with only two months left in the year, the numbers are on track
to be about the same we saw in 2020.” – Danielle Damon, Public
Information Officer for Montgomery County Human Services

Below are the intake stats (taken from SACWIS) for 2018, 2019, 2020
and 2021 year to date. Please note, the numbers represent all reports
received.

Year Intakes/Referrals*
Received
2018 12,382 *Referral and Intakes
2019 12,246 Received are often used
2020 10,470 interchangeably — Per
5101:2-1-01 Children
2021 (Year to 9,651
Services Definitions and
Date 1/1/21
Terms, Referral means an
through
allegation of child abuse,
9/30/21)
neglect or dependency; or
information regarding a family in need of services made orally or in
writing. It includes, but is not limited to, allegations involving
individuals, families, and out of home care settings.
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5. What process prospective foster parents go through/how

we recruit new foster parents to ensure they can provide
safe homes for children

Prospective foster care providers, per Ohio Rule 5101:2-5-20, undergo

a home study. This process is mandated by the Ohio Department of
Job and Family Services. Details on this can be found on The Ohio
Legislature’s website.

Highlights from this process include:

- The Home Study Assessment takes up 180 days and involves home
ongoing interviews of the prospective foster parents, safety check
of the home structure, criminal and sexual offender registry,
background checks and a medical exam.
- State Rule also requires prospective foster parents to provide
letters of recommendation from 2 unrelated sources and 1 related
source.
- If the prospective foster parent has adult children (age 18 or older),
a reference is also required from the adult child.
- Any child under the age of 18 and still in the home also undergoes
an at-home interview.
- During the home study process and prior to certification, a
minimum of 20 hours of pre-service and foster parent certification
trainings must be documented (as required by ODJFS), however
Montgomery County currently requires 36 hours.
- Foster parents who want to foster special needs or medically
fragile children must have 45 hours of training.

6. What CSD does to prevent abuse/neglect in foster care

homes

“The process prospective foster care providers go through is

mandated by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. It is
in-depth and takes up to 180 days to complete. After certification,
however, foster homes are continuously assessed. Foster homes must
be re-certified every two years by ODJFS. Montgomery County
Children Services also conducts an annual review, foster care workers
meet bi-monthly with the family and the child’s caseworker meets
with the child monthly.
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If any issues are raised during these touchpoints, Montgomery

County works one-on-one with the child and families to assess the
situation. For example, if a child is acting out, programming would be
offered both to the child for anger management and the parents on
how to deal with such issues.

Here at Montgomery County, we always are recruiting new foster care

providers. Especially as our recruitment efforts were affected by the
COVID pandemic. When the option to do things like host a table at a
community event or speak at places of worship was no longer
available, our contact with prospective adoptive and foster parents
declined.

We need foster parents who specifically are open to taking children

ages 6 to 15.

We have continued to hold monthly informational meetings for

prospective foster and adoptive parents. These meetings are currently
held virtually and provide an overview of our services and programs,
and a review of the assessment process.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Participants can register by calling 937-276-1647. Residents can also
contact this number for more information on being a foster or
adoptive parent. Additional information and future informational
events can be found on our website at
www.mcohio.org/childrenservices.” – Danielle Damon, Public
Information Officer for Montgomery County Human Services