We Want to Hear From You!!
Organizing a collective voice
Note: For more detailed information and documentation, click on the links underlined in the text.
We want to hear from you!
My colleague, the mysterious, yet affable, perspicacious, yet self-effacing, Paddy O’Furniture just reminded me that we want to hear from you about your experiences and questions pertaining to the negotiation of adoption assistance.
We want foster and adoptive parents across Ohio to become better informed about the negotiation of adoption assistance for their children. So tell us about your experiences and we will help you share them with other families.
We want to foster and adoptive parents to become a more effective voice for reform by identifying systemic problems in negotiating adoption assistance agreements. So, share your experiences so we can identify important trends and practices in the negotiation of adoption assistance agreements. We will pass them on to policy makers and legislators.
Ohio’s Youth and Family Ombudsmen Office responds to complaints from foster and adoptive parents about agency misconduct in the negotiation of adoption assistance. The Ombudsmen Office was established as the result of a Governor’s Task Force. The Office will author reports to the Governor’s Office that will include issues and problems in the negotiation of adoption assistance. So, share your experiences with us and we will pass them on.
We want to hear from you about any questions and concerns you may have regarding the negotiation of adoption assistance. Here are some areas of interest. Please send them to ohanlont58@gmail.com, which is the e-mail address specializing in adoption subsidy questions.
Mediation of Disputes Involving Negotiation of Adoption Assistance
Here are some examples of questions you might want to address.
For those parents who have participated, what was your experience?
Were you successful in negotiating an acceptable or generous adoption assistance agreement for your child through mediation?
What improvements would you like to see.
For all parents
How well informed about mediation are parents in your area who have not participated?
Any other comments you would like to make.
Ohio’s Youth and Family Ombudsmen Office
If you have contacted the Ombudsmen, what was the nature of your concern. For example, the agency refuses to negotiate adoption assistance in violation of federal or state policy. The agency has threatened to find another adoptive family if you persist in your attempts to negotiate.
Are parents in your area informed about the opportunity to file complaints with the Ombudsmen Office in response to agency misconduct in the negotiation of adoption assistance?
Any other comments you would like to make.
Identification of Problem Agencies
To the extent you are comfortable,
Tell us about agencies that are hostile to negotiation of adoption assistance, insist on adoption assistance payments that are dramatically below the child’s foster care payment rate or regularly provide incorrect or misleading information about adoption assistance.
Please tell us about any other concerns pertaining to adoption assistance in Ohio. Also, please feel free to raise any questions you have,