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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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Protecting Those Fragile Brains: The Goal Behind Shaken Baby Awareness Month
May is Shaken Baby Awareness Month and is dedicated to educating all Ohioans about the dangers of this devastating condition. Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), also called Abusive Head Trauma (AHT), is a serious, but preventable injury, that occurs when a baby is violently shaken, resulting in brain damage, blindness, seizures, developmental delays, physical disabilities, or even death.
Crying is the most common trigger for shaken baby injuries. It is important to remember that all babies cry—it is normal and natural. Babies can cry two to three hours a day, for an hour at a time. Crying is the only way they can communicate their needs, whether they are hungry, need a diaper changed, feel too hot or cold, or for many other reasons. Here are a few important reminders for preventing SBS:
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Understand the dangers: Babies have weak neck muscles and relatively large heads. Shaking them, even briefly, can cause severe brain injury.
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Know the signs of distress: Babies cry, and while it can be frustrating, it's vital for caregivers to recognize that crying is normal and a way for babies to communicate. If you feel overwhelmed, it is okay to step away for a moment to calm down.
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Seek help when needed: It is crucial to ask for support from family, friends, or professional caregivers if you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Parenting does not have to be done alone.
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Prevent the behavior: Educating caregivers to stay calm and find healthy ways to manage frustration can prevent these tragic accidents.
Ohio is committed to preventing SBS, and on February 28, 2009, the state passed Claire’s Law (ORC 5180.14). This law is named after Claire Fishpaw, who was injured by an in-home childcare provider on February 28, 2000. While Claire survived her injuries, she now lives with lifelong consequences, including brain injury. In response to Claire’s Law (ORC 5180.14), Ohio established the Shaken Baby Syndrome program, which works to develop and distribute educational materials through the DCY website.
Shaken Baby Awareness Month serves as a reminder to everyone—parents, caregivers, and anyone who interacts with babies- about the importance of protecting a baby’s fragile brain. For more information, please visit DCY’s website.
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Safe Sleep Education Kits Available for Order
The Department of Children and Youth is sharing ordering information for the Safe Sleep Education Kits with our foster care recommending agencies and adoption approval agencies. These kits are available at no cost for your certified foster care providers and approved adoptive parents.
These comprehensive kits support our ongoing commitment to ensuring safe sleep practices for all children in care.
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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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OCALI Offers Early Childhood Transition Presentation
Supporting young children and their families through transitions is essential for lifelong success. Join OCALI’s Effective Transitions presentation at 2 p.m. on May 6 to learn practical tools and strategies for fostering smooth transitions. Attending the Early Childhood Transition presentation is a valuable opportunity for all early care and education professionals to deepen their understanding of how to suuport children and families during critical transition periods. This session offers actionable tools and insights to strengthen transition practices.
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Who should attend?
- Child Care Professionals
- Preschool Teachers
- Early Intervention Professionals
- Head Start Teachers
- Administrators of all Early Childhood programs
Duration: 90 minutes Ohio Approved Credit
Register Now!
Child Care Providers Invited to Take Survey
Calling all early childhood professionals!
OCALI, the Early Childhood Center of Excellence, 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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New Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education Available
The Department of Education and Workforce has updated the Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education to include the changes to the Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities from 2023, and these are now available on the Department’s A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education webpage. This document is available in English, as well as 20 other languages, including Somali, Gujarati, and Arabic. Educational agencies should begin using this document this school year; however, full implementation is not required until the 2025-2026 school year.
Modules and Workshops Offered for Paraprofessionals
Ohio's Partnership for Excellence in Paraprofessional Preparation supports paraprofessionals who are interested in learning more about the key roles and skills they take on as part of their important work within school and community settings. Through self-directed modules and professional learning community workshops, the content that OPEPP offers covers key information for para-professional development including T.I.P.S. for Building Relationships, Helping Students Read, and Communication and Collaboration Skill development and more! Check out their website www.opepp.org to see easy follow videos, research briefs, podcasts and online books which is all FREE and OPEN ACCESS content funded through a statewide grant from ODEW and led through the University of Cincinnati Systems Development and Improvement Center. Your district can also become a partner with OPEPP and work together to make system-wide changes to build paraprofessional capacity. Paraprofessionals are crucial to school success and OPEPP is here to help paraprofessionals soar!
See the OPEPP Early Childhood Bundle for information about our upcoming scheduled workshops and our always available self-paced modules on topics that are important to early childhood providers. Stay in touch with OPEPP and hear about upcoming new modules and content by signing up for our OPEPP quarterly newsletter. Teams of experts at OPEPP are currently working on modules on the following topics: Extensive Supports for Young Children, Paras Helping Multi-Lingual Learners and A Refresher on Academics to Help with the Parapro-Assessment (these will be available for access beginning Jan. 2026).
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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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Ohio Commission on Fatherhood Meeting Set for May 8
The Ohio Commission on Fatherhood's regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Vern Riffe Center, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215
The meeting will be on the 31st Floor in Conference Rooms West B and C.
The public is welcome to attend either in person or virtually. In-person attendees must bring a government-issued ID.
To attend virtually, use this Zoom link and passcode 1999.
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Governor DeWine Announces Plan for Statewide Expansion of Youth Mobile Behavioral Health Service
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine held a press conference at Hopewell Elementary School in Dublin to announce plans for the statewide expansion of Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS).
MRSS provides immediate help for children and young adults aged20 and under who are experiencing overwhelming mental, emotional, or behavioral distress. With MRSS, when a crisis occurs, a team of trained professionals responds within 60 minutes, meeting the young person at their home, school, or any other location to de-escalate the crisis and provide ongoing support – all at no cost to the young person or their family.
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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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Traverse 101 Webinar Training
Please join us for our next monthly Traverse 101 Training Webinar on May 15 from 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. During this 60-minute session, you’ll learn the basics of Traverse, your content management system designed for human services agencies. On the web platform, we’ll add finished content (scans, uploads, and virtual prints) to the system and work with forms. On the mobile platform, we’ll collect information in the field.
At the end of the webinar, we’ll host a Bring-Your-Own Problem (BYOP) session where participants can ask questions about how Traverse can improve their business processes.
New or existing Traverse users are welcome. Click here to register.
Stronger Together: Series Continues With Stories from 2024 Kids Summit Attendees
The Department of Children and Youth would like to invite you to attend the May 2025 Stronger Together webinar. The webinar will feature updates on collaborative work that county partners have engaged in since their time together at the Kids Summit to support children and families in their communities. We’re excited to welcome guest speakers who will share their success stories and practical insights into what’s working, as well as lessons learned and how their collaborative partnerships have helped them move their work from planning to implementation.
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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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Empowering Foster Youth: Montgomery County’s Youth Advisory Board
Montgomery County Children Services is empowering older foster youth through its Local Youth Advisory Board, established in 2004. For over a decade, the board has provided foster youth with opportunities to develop independent living skills, engage in advocacy, and build leadership experience. Members actively participate in statewide initiatives, ensuring their voices shape supportive programs while engaging in activities that foster independence, essential life skills, and a sense of normalcy.
Recently, the Montgomery County Youth Advisory Board organized a life-skills training experience that combined etiquette lessons with enriching cultural activities. Youth dressed in business casual attire and took part in a formal dining experience at Spaghetti Warehouse, followed by attending a theatrical performance of Peter Pan at the Schuster Center in Dayton, Ohio.
Etiquette skills were introduced during dinner, emphasizing phone-free interactions, proper table manners, and appropriate tipping. Youth learned how to correctly pass items around the table, signal when they had finished their meal, and demonstrate respectful dining behavior. At the play, additional skills focused on social awareness and environmental understanding, including effective communication, answering questions clearly, providing complete information, and minimizing noise distractions during the performance.
Montgomery County’s Aftercare Coordinator, Stacia Burlingame, continues to develop innovative programs that equip foster youth with essential life skills for independence. One such initiative, the Escape to Independence kit, is an interactive challenge designed to reinforce life skills. Modeled after a breakout room, this engaging activity encourages youth to collaborate, solve tasks, and unlock their kit—promoting teamwork, problem-solving, life skills, and practical decision-making.
Through these efforts, Montgomery County Children Services remains dedicated to fostering confidence, independence, and a sense of belonging among foster youth, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and experiences needed to thrive in adulthood.
Ohio is home to the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board (OHIO YAB), a statewide organization of young people, ages 14-24, who have experienced foster care. OHIO YAB exists to be the knowledgeable statewide voice that influences policies and practices that impact youth who have or will experience out-of-home care, including foster care, kinship care, adoption and congregate care (such as group homes and residential facilities).
Ohio counties interested in creating a local Youth Advisory Board can contact Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair, at lisa@fosteractionohio.org to schedule a virtual meeting to begin the process.
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DCY Memos and Resources
No updates at this time.
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