Information session regarding Ohio's need for a Youth Ombudsman Office

1. Youth Ombudsman Office
June Information Session for Advocates

2. Agenda
Vision for Youth Ombudsman Office
Progress Made
Obstacles Faced
Strategies to Move Forward
Opportunities for Your Involvement
Q&A

3. What is the
role of an
Ombudsman’s
Office?
• Handle and investigate complaints related to government
services such as child protective services, foster care, and
adoption.
Investigate Complaints
• Protect the interests and rights of children and teens - both
individually and system-wide.
Protect
• Provide a system accountability mechanism by recommending
system-wide improvements, often in the form of annual
reports to the Legislature, Governor and public.
System Accountability
• Monitor programs, placements and departments responsible
for providing children's services - which may include
inspecting state facilities and institutions
Monitor
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

4. Current and former foster youth must be involved in design
to emphasize youth-centered service delivery
Current Safeguards Are Failing Population Served
Separate from ODJFS Office Design
• Prolonged abuse; risk of loss of life.
• Lack of follow-through when youth reach out to local child
abuse hotlines.
• Lack of compliance with the Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act re: youth AWOLs.
• Youth experiencing abuse in bio, foster, adoptive, kinship,
respite, residential and group home placements
• This office needs to be youth-specific, and separate from
whatever mechanism is established to support foster
caregivers
• Independent and autonomous agency with oversight specific
to child welfare
• Not part of the state’s division of child and family services
• Possessing regulatory powers
• To ensure that this office is designed by and for foster youth
• Available statewide for youth to reach out and share concerns
related to their safety and well being
• Independent investigations taking place within a speedy
timeframe

5. Why Should This Office Be Youth Specific?
• Trying to serve both youth and foster parents creates an insurmountable conflict of
interest in cases when a child or teen reports being abused by their foster parent.
• Lessons learned from other states indicate that when an Ombudsman office attempts
to serve adults and youth, it ends up primarily serving adults.
• This includes websites geared toward adult professionals and complicated complaint
forms - some of which need to be printed, filled out, and then scanned or faxed.
• In contrast, the Texas Ombudsman for Children and Youth in Foster Care specifically
informs youth of their rights and lets them know how to submit concerns.

6. Types of Ombudsman Offices
Independent and Autonomous
• Exists outside of a state agency that provides children and family services
• Operates with independence, impartiality, and confidentiality, and have a credible review process
• Typically established by the Legislature
Operates within, but autonomous of, the state agency providing child welfare services
• Established by statute
• Director appoints and sets budget
Non-Independent Children’s Ombudsman office, established within the child welfare agency
• The Director of the agency typically oversees the office and sets policy guidelines
County or Program-based
• Receive and help resolve complaints in a non-adversarial way. There typically is not an annual report and may lack the
ability for system accountability
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

7. Designed By Foster Youth
• Current and former foster youth must be involved in
design to emphasize youth-centered service delivery
• In a “youth-serving” model, youth are viewed as the
passive recipients of programs, services, tools and
resources.
• But a youth-empowering model recognizes that
consumers of a service should be involved in its
design, delivery and evaluation.

8. Progress Made So Far
Increased Awareness
By Senate leadership and
committees, as well as
Representatives.
LSC Language
We authored two versions of an
amendment to HB 110.
Legislative Testimony
By 7 foster care
alumni and 2 allies.
Amendment to HB 4
Representative Russo’s
response to presentation
for Children’s Caucus
Presentation for Children’s Caucus
Rep Russo, Sen.
Kunze and other
members
Legislative Visits
With 17 Senators and 5
Representatives

11. Importance of staying engaged to ensure that the Ombudsman Office
is youth-focused and able to independently investigate

12. Challenges Faced
1
4
2
5
3
6
HB 110
Neither of our two LSC line
items made it into the Senate
version.
HB 4
Current version is well-meant
but misses the mark; did not
included today’s foster care
youth in design.
Governor
We have a wonderful Governor who we
have not been able to meet with directly.
Champions
Ongoing efforts to identify and
cultivate legislative champions.
Legislation
Seek to amend HB4 and/or
pursue a stand-alone bill..
Office
We need to figure out
where to house the Office.
Strategies

14. How we are advocating
for the Youth Ombudsman Office
H.B.
110
Let Others Know
Spread the word
Information Sessions
Ongoing
communication
.
Personal Stories
We need a team to
work on this
Social Media Push
Please submit by
June 23rd
Legislative Visits
July 12th at 11:00
and more to come
Issue Brief
The parameters
of the Office
State Comparisons
Lessons Learned
from other states
News
Press release,
articles and Op Eds
How you can help in making
this goal a reality: