Butler County Children Services ranks third among Ohio's 12 biggest counties for highest percentage of adopted children in 2006. Sean Balanger/The Miami Student
Butler County Children Services (BCCS) has been ranked third among Ohio's 12 largest counties for the percentage of children adopted in 2006.
Determined by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, BCCS scored high on the AdoptOHIO Kids report, issued annually in November.
According to Denise Winkler, spokesperson for the BCCS, calculating the state performance report is rather complex.
"The state assesses adoption counts for the 88 counties in Ohio to issue incentive funds in order to improve and oversee each agency," she said.
The BCCS, which fosters children ranging from infanthood to 20 years old, offers programs and services to support abused and neglected children within the county. Winkler stated that with federal, state and local funding, the agency is able to offer the children full meals, a home and a family.
According to Winkler, a majority of the children in the system are characterized as having "special needs."
The term "special needs" implies that a child is five years or older, has been under foster-care for two years or more, or is a minority.
Winkler explained that biggest difficulty in finding homes for foster children is not a factor of race, but a factor of age.
"The older a child gets, the more difficult it gets to find that child a home," Winkler said. "It's not impossible, but more difficult."
Winkler further explained that before a child is put in a foster home, an investigator is sent in to observe the degree of abuse or neglect in the household. Butler County Children Services then tries to stabilize the family.
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To do this, BCCS has established programs such as the Family Preservation Program, which aims to prevent out-of-home placements by teaching families new living patterns that emphasize anger control, communication and appropriate parenting skills.
If the family does not cooperate in these programs, BCCS takes them to juvenile court where they gain full custody of the child.
Alfred Joseph, of the Miami University department of family studies, explained that children can benefit tremendously by being taken into the BCCS.
"With increasing social problems like poverty, drug abuse, and so on, some children will only find a nurturing environment outside of their biological home," he said.
While Winkler pointed out that children usually fare well after they are placed in foster homes, not all find a permanent home of their own.
Despite its third place ranking for the highest percentage of adopted children in Ohio, the adoption rate in Butler County still fell at only 69 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services AdoptOHIO Kids report.
"On average, 75 percent of finalized adoptions are by the foster families themselves," Winkler said. "There are never ever enough foster and adoptive families."
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