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Division of Children and Families reports rising urgent responses and ongoing foster‑care workload
Summary
The Division presented its Q1 report: 24–48‑hour responses rose to about 55%, 112 children were in out‑of‑home care, new foster homes were added, and staff reported ongoing efforts to align kinship care payments and licensing changes at the state level.
The Portage County Division of Children and Families presented its first‑quarter report to the committee, reporting an increase in urgent response cases and continued pressure on foster‑care resources.
Division staff said the number of cases requiring a 24‑to‑48‑hour response rose to 55 percent of new investigations during the quarter. The division reported about 112 children in out‑of‑home care and described efforts to bring more children into kinship placements while the state updates licensure requirements that affect foster and kinship care payments.
Staff said the state’s proposal would increase kinship payments (current payments reported in the meeting as $300 per child) to make them closer to foster care reimbursement levels; the change requires state rule and will take time to implement. Division staff emphasized that placing children with relatives reduces system costs and supports family continuity but noted kinship payments are currently lower and can create financial strain for relatives who assume care.
The division also reported increases in volunteer driver hours, new foster‑home recruitment, and a summer program that will begin after contracts are finalized. Child support performance measures were generally near benchmarks: 99 percent for establishment of non‑marital cases and about 88.5 percent for establishing medical support in the measured cohort. The division said support collections and other metrics were roughly consistent with the prior year.
Committee members asked for more detailed financial allocations and the county’s share of foster‑care costs; staff said allocations vary by county population and annual need and that some years the county draws on reserves to cover placement costs. Staff offered to obtain more exact numbers from the division’s financial manager for committee follow‑up.
