Child protective services

A new Ohio legislative study committee, co-chaired by Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering), held its first hearing to examine how the state handles youth adjudicated delinquent. The panel grew out of earlier legislation aimed at holding juvenile group homes accountable, after lawmakers learned that many delinquent youth are placed with children's services agencies rather than detention facilities, often alongside abused or traumatized foster children.

Testimony pointed to Ohio's RECLAIM program, which financially incentivizes judges to divert youth from state detention, shifting costs and responsibility onto an already strained child protective services system. Officials described rising, sometimes exploitative, placement rates charged by group home providers, and a concentration of homes in high-poverty Dayton-area neighborhoods where inexperienced staff and out-of-town placements have coincided with safety incidents, including assaults on residents. Committee members, including Rep. Erika White (D-Springfield Twp.), stressed balancing accountability with rehabilitation. The committee plans to issue a report with recommendations before the legislative session ends this year.