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Maternal & Infant Wellness |
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Programs focus on eliminating health disparities, improving birth outcomes, and improving the health status of pregnant women, infants, and children to ensure moms and babies celebrate the child’s first birthday.
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Ohio’s infant mortality rate drops to 20-year low
Reporter Anna Staver from Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer interviewed DCY Director Kara Wente on March 3 to discuss Ohio’s infant mortality rates. Director Wente shared how Governor DeWine and DCY are focusing on helping more babies reach their first birthdays. And making good progress.
Published 3/12/25
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The number of Ohio babies dying before their first birthday has dropped to its lowest rate in 20 years.
Preliminary numbers from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth put the state’s infant mortality rate at 6.5 per 1,000 live births for 2024.
“That’s 80 fewer babies dying,” Director Kara Wente said. “That’s four full kindergarten classrooms we will have as a result of this work. That’s tangible progress.”
It’s also the first statistically significant drop since Gov. Mike DeWine took office. Ohio’s infant mortality rate has hovered around 7 per 1,000 live births since 2017.
“We know there is still much more work to be done,” DeWine said.
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DCY Memos and Resources
No updates at this time.
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Early Childhood Development |
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The Early Childhood Development programs provide technical assistance, education, and referrals for families and youth with evaluations regarding specific needs and disabilities.
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Initiatives work to connect educators, families, and youth to education
services and supports.
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Ohio TRAIN adds Ohio Professional Identification Number (OPIN)
We are excited to share important information for professionals who use the Department of Health’s Ohio TRAIN learning system to complete their training. There is a newly-added field in an individual’s user profile in Ohio TRAIN that allows for the entry of an individual’s OPIN, issued by the Ohio Professional Registry (OPR). For Early Childhood professionals who are completing Ohio-approved training and for Home Visitors completing training for their Home Visiting Credential, updating this field in Ohio TRAIN to include your OPIN will allow for completed credit hours to be transferred to the OPR more efficiently. Directions on how to complete this easy four-step process can be found in the OPIN Job Aid.
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Team DCY to Interact with Early Learning Professionals at April's OAEYC Conference
DCY's early learning staff is excited to once again participate in the Ohio Association for the Education of Youth Children (OAEYC) Early Childhood Conference this year. The conference will be held at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio on April 24-26, 2025.
If you are planning to attend, be sure to stop by the DCY booth in the main exhibit hall. Our team members are always excited to meet early learning professionals and hear about the great work happening across the state with young children, as well as answer any questions you may have. Stop by and meet our team! Here's the video from last year's event.
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DCY Memos and Resources
No updates at this time.
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Family Support & Stabilization |
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Focuses on enhancing the resources and supports available to parents and families.
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DCY Memos and Resources
No updates at this time.
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Children Services, Foster, Kinship, and Adoption |
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Children Services, Foster, Kinship, and Adoption programs provide caregivers with support via resources for their individualized needs.
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Updated District Requirements for Foster Children Enrolled in Residential Facilities
First appeared in the 3/11/25 EdConnection
Effective April 3, 2025, Ohio law requires the school district in which a foster child is enrolled after placement in a residential facility to assess and recommend appropriate services and interventions. View guidance.
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Programs are designed to provide support for teens and young adults who either are in foster care or have aged out of foster care systems and need assistance.
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DCY Celebrates Graduating Foster Youth
The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) would like to partner with IV-E agencies in celebrating the educational accomplishments of our youth in foster care who are graduating from high school or who have successfully earned their high school equivalency diplomas (formerly known as a GED). We feel it is important to recognize the graduates for over a decade of dedication and hard work toward reaching this academic achievement.
A guidance document, that includes an opportunity for an allocation and the agreement, can be found here. Signed allocation agreements must be submitted no later than close of business on April 15, 2025.
Any questions about the process can be sent to the DCY Independent Living/Transition Age Youth Team.
Family Fellowship Scholarship
An upcoming graduation and making plans for the future can be exciting. Thinking about how to pay for college is not.
The Family Fellowship Scholarship is specifically designed to aid current and former foster youth throughout their college journey by offering up to five years of academic funding (up to $12,000/year) and family-like emotional support if the young person is pursuing a four-year undergraduate degree and plans to enroll full-time.
Additional eligibility criteria, an informational video about the scholarship, and a link for the application can be found here.
The final deadline for scholarship application is Friday, May 9, 2025.
College Adoption Grant Applications Open April 1
Do you work with youth who are nearing college age? If so, please be sure to share/pass along this important information about grant opportunities. Ohio students headed to college who were adopted may be eligible for a $2,500 grant. The College Adoption Grant provides a one-time award to students who choose to attend a qualifying college or university in Ohio. For more information about the grant and how to apply, beginning April 1, visit the Ohio Department of Higher Education website.
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DCY Memos and Resources
No updates at this time.
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