Better futures for foster children in Ohio

Posted July 19, 2012 in Articles

In Cleveland, Ohio, Providence House is one of only 78 crisis nurseries in the nation serving the most vulnerable Americans by offering free, voluntary placements for emergency shelter to children who are newborn through five years old. Increasingly, parents are turning to Providence House due to their own medical or mental health crises. Their Days of Care program gives parents a real alternative to placing a child in foster care or forgoing their own necessary health care for fear of losing custody of their children. The Days of Care short-term goals are to provide immediate shelter and care to children in need. Their long-term goal is to help the parents become healthy enough to regain custody of their children. Compared with cases at local county foster care, the reunification rate at Providence House is significantly higher and families are reunified in significantly less time. A 2009 grant from Kaiser Permanente will support up to 12 placements (based on average length of stay) for children placed because of the medical or mental health crisis of the primary caregiver over one year. Our support for the Medical Outreach Program will also allow Providence House staff to educate more medical and mental health providers about their services and expand their referral base.