OHIO FAMILY CARE ASSOCIATION
OFCA History
Since 1975...Connecting, Educating, Supporting, and Advocating for Ohio Families
There is no greater feeling, no greater satisfaction, than knowing you are making a difference.
The 1970's
In 1975, the Ohio Family Care Association was established, in response to several issues:
• The public agency was the only agency that recruited foster parents in child welfare
• Foster parents were asked to make a commitment never to adopt one of their foster children
• Mandatory reporting laws for child abuse had just been passed and the federal law (92-247) required Ohio to take what was happening to children more seriously
• Few educational requirements existed for foster parents
• Foster parents were not encouraged to meet together to garner support.
In June 1974, a group of foster parents met for a picnic in Columbus and initiated a plan to establish a statewide association. The goals were to educate and empower foster parents to advocate for change. An active group of volunteers worked hard to “get out the word” and make their voice heard.
In the 1970’s, volunteer members focused on the following issues, and achieved success by collaborating with other groups.
• Training for foster families
• The establishment of annual reviews and court involvement
• Redefining permanent custody
• Allowing insurance for foster parents
• Subsidized adoptions
The 1980's
In the 1980’s, the Ohio Family Care Association focused on:
• The Federal Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act
• Definition of Difficulty of Care Payments
• Immigration of Amerasian children
• Integrating former juvenile justice foster homes for adolescents into child welfare
In June 1989, the organization changed its name to the Ohio Family Care Association in order to reflect the inclusiveness of adoption, and open the door for other resource family homes. From its inception until 1996, OFCA operated as a volunteer organization.
The 1990's to the 2000's
In 1996, staff was hired to focus on developing a family leadership program and organization capacity building.
In the 1990’s, OFCA expanded to include kinship involved with child welfare and respite families.
The 2000's On
In 2010, OFCA added a birth/primary family representative to the Board to help ensure that the Board looked at issues from all perspectives. OFCA incorporated primary families into their mission in 2014 with another logo change.
In 2022
OFCA currently operates with a volunteer administration and a Shared Family Leadership Team, a full representative Board, and volunteer committee members.
