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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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Recognizing Black Maternal Health Week
April 11 through April 17, 2025, is Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW). Founded in 2018 by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY), and the Ohio Council to Advance Maternal Health recognize this week as a time to amplify the voices of Black mothers, highlight maternal health, and advocate for policies that improve birth outcomes.
DCY's Maternal and Early Childhood Support and Services Bureau compiled this data about Black Maternal Mortality in Ohio.
For more information about DCY's efforts in this area visit the Maternal and Early Childhood Support and Services Bureau section of our website.
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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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Special Project Benefits ECE Staff Statewide
The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMH) recently released its Quarter Three Social Emotional Learning Toolkit Report, detailing the impact their social emotional learning (SEL) toolkits have had on the early learning professionals who have used them and the settings in which they work.
With support and funding from DCY and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, 1,250 SEL toolkits were sent to early learning professionals across Ohio. They contain materials, tools, books, and resources to support growth, development, and success in early childhood settings.
Misty Cole, DCY’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program Manager, says, “This is a special project that allowed IECMH to be responsive to the needs of Early Childhood Education staff statewide and put high quality social emotional toolkits into classrooms, while also training educators, administrators and others to most effectively use the tools to help children build their social emotional skills.”
Feedback includes:
- "The SEL toolkit has given my students many opportunities to better self-regulate and process difficult emotions by placing hands-on activities and resources in the classroom."
- “Through reading Building Your Bounce, it has helped to remind me of my personal inner strengths that allow me to be resilient.”
- “Items from the toolkit have definitely helped with students' abilities to take a break, self-regulate, and rejoin in class instruction.”
Click here to read the full report.
ECE Professionals Invited to Take Survey
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Calling all early childhood professionals!
OCALI and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth are working to better support child care providers across Ohio. Take our quick survey today and let us know what YOU need.
The survey closes May 9, 2025. Thank you for helping shape the future!
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Learn More About Changes to the Early Childhood Education Grant Program
What is the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Grant Program?
The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Grant Program is being updated to make early care and education easier to access in Ohio. This project will improve how the ECE Grant Program works by codifying the program through the creation and implementation of administrative rules. Starting in July 2025, the ECE grant program will be a permanent section in Ohio Revised Code 5104.53 (contingent upon legislature action to enact the biennial budget). It will streamline the process for families and eligibility for their preschool child(ren), all through the Ohio Benefits system.
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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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Save the Date: Ohio Commission on Fatherhood Meeting
The Ohio Commission on Fatherhood will hold its regular meeting on Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Vern Riffe Building, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215
The meeting will be on the 31st Floor in Conference Room West B and C.
The public is welcome to attend either in person or virtually. In-person attendees need to bring a government-issued ID.
To attend virtually, use this Zoom link and passcode 1999.
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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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Trauma Informed Care Numbers Updated
The April 1, 2025 Tuesday Times included the April Trauma Series on Trauma and the Impact of Incarcerated Parents on Children and Youth. The population figures for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction appearing on page two were incorrect. The corrected figures should be:
- As of January 2025 , the incarcerated population in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections was 45,490
- Of that number, 12 were pregnant females
Click here for the revised document.
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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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Quarterly Ohio Youth Advisory Board Meeting and Ohio Independent Living Association Meeting Reminder
The quarterly Ohio Youth Advisory Board (OYAB) meeting and Ohio Independent Living Association (OHILA) meeting will take place on Thursday, April 17, 2025, from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. at the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association 2469 Stelzer Rd., Columbus, OH 43219.
OYAB meetings are held in correlation with the OHILA meetings to encourage youth and young adult participation. Please RSVP with the number of youth or young adults you are bringing by emailing lisa@fosteractionohio.org. Please refer to this flyer for future meeting dates.
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