COLUMBUS, Ohio – Large budget cuts to Ohio's adoption services will make it more difficult for the 3,000 children in need of a stable home to find suitable parents, advocates said.
The state budget approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ted Strickland in July cut $43 million – or 40 percent – from adoption services over two years, decreasing the amount of financial assistance and training available to would-be parents.
Advocates put hundreds of pictures – and frames without photos – on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse Friday to represent children who they say may not find a home because of the cuts.
Among the most damaging of the cuts is the loss of a state Web site that displayed photos of foster children and told stories about them, said Greg Kapcar of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.
"We're a technological society," said Marynell Townsend, a New Concord mother of five who adopted two children. "There are wonderful families in Ohio who are going to adopt. We want them to know about our children here."
Ray Lees, of Worthington, found Kalis, now 14 months old, on the Web site, which state officials have described as one of the best ways for parents and professionals to find prospective sons and daughters.
The site has now been replaced by a directory of county agencies.
Advocates say the cuts will diminish adoption as an alternative to foster care, which costs taxpayers more. An adult who was adopted as a child told a crowd gathered at the Statehouse display said that adoption vastly improved her life after she moved 10 times in four years while in foster care.
"I learned that you had to start over each time with each family to try to earn their love," said Christine Johnson, who is now 24.
Cuts in subsidies to some parents who adopt are likely to decrease the number of adoptions, said Ron Browder, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio. Monthly subsidies for adoptive parents range from $250 to more than $1,000 for a child who has disabilities. Many adopted children have special needs and go to families of modest incomes.
The state has cut its maximum monthly contribution from $300 to $240, further straining county child welfare agencies that are stuck with the rest of the bill.
"Some counties are asking families to renegotiate their subsidies," Kapcar said.
State Sens. John Carey, a Wellston Republican, and Dale Miller, a Cleveland Democrat, are sponsoring a bill to restore $8 million of the cuts.
