Opioid crisis drives need for more foster families
but since then, more children have flooded into custody across the state because of the opioid crisis. Fentanyl has replaced heroin as the drug of choice for many, and now other drugs like marijuana and meth laced with fentanyl are becoming the norm. On June 1, 2018, 16,113 Ohio children were in foster care custody — 1,500 more children removed from their families and living away from home on any given day than when I originally shared this story.
The little girl who lost her father displayed extreme anger and behavioral problems — not surprising given that her early life exposed her to the chaos, uncertainty and inappropriate people that often accompany addiction. Like many children of drug-addicted parents, she spent her formative years just finding ways to survive rather than learning how to grow into a well-adjusted adult. She endured trauma within her own drug-infested home, trauma when she lost her father and trauma when she was placed in care with a strange family.
Ohio’s children services agencies are challenged to find available foster homes as the state only has 7,200 licensed foster families but over 16,000 children in care today. Where do these children go? Some are fortunate to be placed with relatives, but many are placed in counties miles away from home with foster families, if we are lucky enough to locate available homes. Others, unfortunately, are placed in group homes because there simply aren’t enough foster families. Those with significant behavioral challenges brought on by the trauma they have endured must be housed, at least temporarily, in residential treatment facilities, some out of state, impairing their chances of going home again.
Ohio’s children services system continues to be in crisis with more children in care who have more traumatic, complex needs while there are fewer available foster homes, increased caseloads for our workers, and placement costs soaring exponentially.
While the darkness continues in Ohio with the opioid epidemic, I am happy to share some light with this particular girl. With support and counseling, she went from uncontrollable rage to processing anger in more appropriate ways, progressing through treatment to the point of being ready for a forever family. But for kids like her, the past follows. Adoption agencies are required to provide detailed information about children’s histories, diagnoses and behaviors — and rightly so. Families need to make informed decisions before legally adopting children.
On paper, this now 10-year-old girl looked scary. Then a family who had fostered her when she was a baby saw a recruitment ad for her and contacted my agency. They told me they had loved her then and never stopped. Where others saw a “history” and a scary list of diagnoses, they saw a kid with potential.
A few months ago, she left residential treatment and was placed with her former foster family. Things are going so well that they wish to adopt and will finalize their commitment to each other this fall. Despite all the tragedy that comes with this crisis, there are still stories of hope.
Ohio needs more success stories. The only solution to this crisis is to reform our children services system in a way that will transform our antiquated foster care supports, reduce the institutionalization of children, and strengthen families with much-needed addiction and mental health treatment services. This reform will require leadership and investment from our state. Our children deserve to be raised in loving families.