Be a Foster & Adoptive Parent About Us Our Team Kathleen Peters, BSW, LSW, Assistant Director Out of Home Care Jennifer Clarke, Administrative Office Manager, Clermont County Sadie Meiners, BSW, LSW, Coordinator Foster Care, Adoption and Life Skills Hilary Shelton, BA, QMHS, Foster Care Mental Health Specialist, Life Skills Specialist Sharon Gillespie, BA, QMHS, Coordinator Parent Education Aubrey Sorrell, BA, QMHS, Parent Educator Rebecca Moore, BS, QMHS, Parent Educator Lori Blackburn, AS, QMHS, Parent Educator Our Philosophy At-risk parents need mentoring, child development information, education and training, role modeling, hands-on parent guidance provided by highly skilled parent educators, daily living skills training and concrete resources and social supports. When children are unable to live with their birth parents, they are best cared for in alternate healthy families. Licensed foster parents need commitment in their hearts, specialized training and preparation and unlimited support to promote healthy, well-adjusted children and birth families. Our Licensing Child Focus Foster Care and Adoption Services are licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and include recommending families for foster care certification, placing children in licensed foster homes, participating in and overseeing care of children in foster homes and providing independent living services. Mental health services provided to children and families in Out of Home Care are certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health. Our Accreditation Child Focus programs and services have been nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) since 2005. Child Focus Foster Care Offices Hamilton County Foster Care 4411 Montgomery Road Suite 201 Cincinnati, Ohio 45212 513.752.1555 Clermont County Foster Care 4629 Aicholtz Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 513.752.1555 Brown County Foster Care 710 N. High Street Mt. Orab, Ohio 45154 513.752.1555 Click Here To Complete And Submit A Foster Parent Inquiry Form Open Foster Parent Classes - Inquire Today! 513.752.1555 Beafosterparent@Child-Focus.Org Who We Serve Children Birth Families Extended Family Members Foster Families Adoptive Families Child Welfare Organizations Children in Care Child Focus Foster Care serves children who are in the custody of the State of Ohio. As a licensed foster care provider for Ohio children, Child Focus receives care referrals from several county children's protective services agencies in Southwest Ohio. Child Focus serves all children in need of care and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, national origin or sexual orientation. Typically, children needing care range in age from newborn to young adulthood. Our number one priority is to ensure children in care are safe, happy, healthy, educated and well adjusted for success in life. Birth Families Child Focus supports birth family preservation and reunification. Our goal is to ensure children are safe, healthy and emotionally well adjusted. When children must be placed outside their birth family, program staff and foster parents are the primary care and treatment team members responsible for making sure children thrive while they are in care, maintain regular contact and connections with birth family and support the child and birth family to overcome the problems that led to the child's placement in care. Foster Families Child Focus understands that to be a great foster family requires that foster parents are well trained and well supported before, during and after the child's departure from the home. We understand that the better we care for and support our foster parents, the better our foster parent are able to care for the children. Great agencies support great foster parents who provide great care for children. Adoptive Families Child Focus supports permanence for all children. The absence of a permanent family is detrimental to healthy child development. It is our position that children are not well-served by lingering in foster care when birth family reunification is not possible. Child Focus supports all foster parents to adopt children in their care who have become legally free for adoption. Our goal is to support permanence for all children. Child Welfare Organizations Child Focus proudly boasts a great reputation in the Ohio child welfare industry. We care about children, families and very deeply about our community partners. Our organizational strength is rooted in building and maintaining collaborative, positive, effective open communication, a culture of compliance and ethics and a servant mentality. About Foster Care & Adoption Be a Foster & Adoptive Parent! Steps to Become a Foster & Adoptive Parent Foster Parent Benefits Urgent Foster Parent Needs Child Outcomes Be a Foster Parent! Thank you for your consideration to become a foster parent for children in Southwest, Ohio. Child Focus has been providing exceptional care for children in foster care since 1989. The need for foster and respite parents has never been greater as child well-being has become increasingly compromised by poverty, physical and sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and caregiver mental illness. Foster Care, the Right Answer for Children! Foster care is the right answer for children who must be placed outside their birth home while serious family matters are mediated. Foster parents are the every day heroes who give children the gift of safety, security, stability, nurturing and normalcy during this traumatic time in their life. Foster Care, the Right Answer for You! If you are committed to giving the gift of good parenting, then Child Focus Foster Care is the right answer for you! Who Can be a Foster Parent? Foster parents are ordinary people who choose to help children and families. A foster parent may be any individual in Ohio age 21 or older and includes: Married Couples Single People Partners Empty Nesters Retired People Stay at Home and Working People Foster parents do not have to be wealthy or live in a large home - they just need to be 100% committed to helping children and families and have the time in their personal lives to give as well as genuine empathy and compassion. Types of Foster Parent Certification Child Focus certifies Traditional, Therapeutic and Respite Foster Parents for area children ages birth to young adulthood. Traditional Foster Care Traditional Foster Parents serve as a temporary family for children to live with until the serious birth family issues are resolved. The goal of foster care is always family reunification and the average length of stay for children is 6-12 months. All children in foster care have a shared experience - they all have experienced abuse, neglect or do not have a parent or relative able to care for them. Children in Traditional Foster Care include infants, toddlers, preschool and school age children and sibling groups. Therapeutic Foster Care Therapeutic Foster Care differs primarily from Traditional Foster Care in that the children served have an identified special care need due to trauma exposure such as domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, physical or sexual abuse and neglect. Children typically are school age, adolescent and young adult age. In addition to living with a temporary family until the serious birth family issues are resolved, these children are provided a range of mental health services and supports. Respite Foster Care Respite Foster Care is short term foster care (1 to 14 days) provided by a licensed foster parent for a child or foster parent who needs respite or a break. Respite providers typically want to help children but may have limitations due to work or personal life schedules. Every individual deserves respect. Respect of clients includes honoring all of the Client Rights. We treat each other, clients, stakeholders, and community members with respect. Parent Education Program Details Services Available Supervised Visitation Referrals Parent Education Services Child Focus Parent Education services benefit children, parents and schools. Children benefit from parents improved nurturing practices, enhanced parent-child relationship and communication, the implementation of nurturing routines and structure in the home and positive non-physical discipline practices. Parents benefit from improved knowledge, understanding and response to the child's social, emotional, cognitive and physical care needs, improved organization, structure and care giving routines, the quality of the parent-child relationship and the support in meeting the families basic needs. Schools benefit from the child’s enhanced ability to be successful in the classroom as a result of the parent educator’s home-based services and support provided to the family, improved communication, coordination and follow through by parents and their support of their child’s educational goals. Services are individualized using the Nurturing Parent Program, an Evidenced-Based Best Practice Program. Specific goals of parenting include building self-worth through appropriate expectations of children’s growth and development, developing empathy and caring in parents and children, utilizing non-physical discipline practices and techniques, developing appropriate role expectations and empowering adults and children through the development of their personal power. Healthy family functioning is arguably one of the most influential contributors of healthy child development. A well known fact is that children benefit from family stability when they have caregivers who remain constant, consistent, and connected to them over time. Life Skills Group Life Skills for Youth & Young Adults Child Focus offers comprehensive Life Skills training for youth and young adults ages 15 and older. Life Skills training covers a series of structured core competencies designed to prepare youth for a successful transition to adulthood. Who We Serve At-Risk Youth Ages 15-21 Youth in Foster Care, Group Care or Independent Living Youth Involved in Juvenile Court Youth With Social, Emotional or Mental Health Problems Youth with Developmental Disabilities Pregnant & Parenting Teens Life Skills training complies with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services requirements and includes a comprehensive life skills assessment and post testing to evaluate skill acquisition. Youth benefit by acquiring hard and soft skills, fundamental for success in education, career, community living, self-care and interpersonal relationships. Life Skills is ideally suited for at-risk adolescents and young adults experiencing adjustment difficulties at home, at school or in the community. Staff assist youth to identify and overcome social, emotional and physical barriers that interfere with positive functioning in critical life domains. Group Format Life Skills training is conducted in a weekly 2-hour group format. Sessions are incentive-based with youth eligible to earn a stipend for attendance and participation. Content emphasizes the acquisition of hard and soft skills through the facilitation of core content, hands-on practice opportunities, community experiences, journaling, goal setting and peer group process. Life Skills Series Book 1: Choices, Education & Career Preparation Book 2: Personal Finance Book 3: Self-Sufficiency Book 4: Self-Care Book 5: Personal Relationships Referrals for Life Skills Life Skills Training referrals may be made by contacting Child Focus, Inc. at 513.752.1555 and requesting to speak to an Out of Home Care representative or by submitting a referral to the link below. CFIreferrals@Child-Focus.Org. Donation Needs Children & Family Needs Children and families served through Child Focus Foster Care and Adoption Programs have multiple and extensive donation and support needs. Critical needs include basic living items that many take for granted including housing, food, clothing, employment and transportation. Ways You Can Help There are many ways you can help support the children and families served in Out of Home Care. The list below highlights some of the most critical donation and support needs for children and families. Donate money or gift cards for basic needs such as food and clothing Gas cards Donate school supplies and book bags for children Volunteer your time as a mentor, tutor or babysitter Become a foster parent or respite provider Collect and donate gently used clothing for children and parents Donate cleaning and hygiene supplies Sponsor children and their families for Child Focus Holiday Giving Tree Program Donate family entertainment passes Sponsor participation fees for children's extracurricular sports or arts programs Encourage friends and family to donate and get involved Donate Now Contact Foster Care and Adoption at 513.752.1555 or Visit the Our Donate Page Here. News Events Staff Login Connect Phone: 513.752.1555 Fax: 513.688.8155 Medical Records Fax: 513.753.2144 Call Early Learning: 513.528.7224 Mental Health: 513.752.1555 Crisis: 513.528.7823 (SAVE) 4629 Aicholtz Road Cincinnati, OH 45244 Follow Us visit our facebook page visit our twitter page visit our Instagram page visit our LinkedIn page Our Partners Non-Discrimination Privacy Policy © Copyright 2021 Legend Web Works, LLC ^