Ohio upgrades system to make foster care applications easier

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted are making a change to the foster care and adoption system that they say is long overdue: putting it online.

Until today, the adoption and foster care process all had to be done by filling out physical forms but now it can all be done through a new online portal.

“As a state, we must give our children the support they deserve to succeed, and that support includes an adult to care for them,” DeWine said. “This new tool will streamline the foster parent and adoption certification process making it more accessible than ever.”

DeWine said there are about 15,000 kids in the foster care system and he hopes now that the system is streamlined, it will hopefully encourage families to go through the process.

Prospective caregivers can either select a specific agency they want to work with to foster kids or work with a local agency chosen at random. Agencies will also have access to a real-time dashboard that highlights application data.

"We worked very hard to make it easier for prospective foster parents and adoptive parents to find their pathway forward," Husted said. "But also remembering that we have a responsibility to make sure we have good foster and adoptive parents.”

Husted said the certification portal was tested on ten agencies before launching.