Our Mission

Mission

The Ohio Family Care Association serves and strengthens families caring for Ohio’s most vulnerable children

Families with children who have been in the custody of child welfare or juvenile justice systems too often feel disconnected from each other and from the agencies with which they are affiliated.  These disconnects can result in caring people who feel may alone as they negotiate challenges to successful care-giving. OFCA serves both as a voice for and as a partner to these Ohio families.

Caregivers share common concerns and needs, including:  the health and well-being of the children in their care; financial constraints; normalcy of family functioning; access to educational services; understanding of administrative and legal processes; and peer support.

To address these needs, OFCA brings together Ohio resource families (adoptive, foster, kinship, and respite), birth or primary families, child-caring agency personnel, and interested others to promote the best interests of children, youth, and families who have been touched by Ohio’s child welfare and other child-serving systems. OFCA uniquely understands the dynamics specific to each family structure and believes that inclusion of the family voice in decision-making leads to long-lasting positive impacts in the lives of children.

OFCA’s vision is success for every Ohio family raising children affected by child protection systems. To this end, OFCA works directly with families, the community, schools, medical practitioners, the courts, and key child welfare policy and legislative stakeholders in creating and advocating for effective and sustainable policies, practices, and resources – especially those that embrace effective partnerships with families.

 Core Values 

• Children are served best in the midst of family connections.
• Resource Families and Primary Families may be interconnected for life.
• Communication between all individuals must be intentional, filled with deep listening, continuous and responsible.
• Agencies (casework & supervisory staff) serve as enablers of family connectedness.
• Members of the whole team (primary families, families doing foster care, and the legal parent) are mutually responsible for the success of the outcome for the child.
• The voice of families (primary, adoptive, foster, kinship, respite) must be included in policy developed for child welfare that effect families in any way.
• The voice of families must reflect the cultural composition of primary families and families providing foster care.