14 Ohio counties to receive $3.6M for foster care programs strained by opioid epidemic

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Fourteen southern Ohio counties will receive $3.6 million to boost foster care programs strained by the state's opioid epidemic.

The Ohio START pilot program will cover trauma counseling, additional home visits and other victim services over two and a half years and is primarily paid for by the state Victims of Crime Act fund.

More than 80 percent of children removed from homes in some of the 14 counties in 2015 was due to parental drug use. Statewide, the average is 50 percent, according to the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.

Since 2010, the number of Ohio children removed from their homes has increased 11 percent and the length of time in care has increased 19 percent. Summit County Children Services last year saw a nearly 50-percent jump in new custody cases.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/03/14_ohio_counties_to_receive_ai.html