WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) welcomed representatives from Beech Acres Parenting Center in Cincinnati to the U.S. Capitol to discuss the impact of the opioid crisis on the child welfare system. Congressman Wenstrup and President & CEO of Beech Acres Jim Mason released the following statements after the briefing:
“Communities across the country are experiencing firsthand the devastating impacts of the opioid crisis on children and families. It’s putting a tremendous strain on existing state and county foster care systems, which are often unable to meet the needs of children impacted by drug addiction. I toured Beech Acres with Jim in 2014, and was impressed with their forward-looking solutions to protect the most vulnerable among us. I am grateful to Jim and his team for the approach of integrating the foster care system into a wider structure of prevention and treatment,” said Congressman Brad Wenstrup.
Jim Mason, president and CEO, Beech Acres Parenting Center said, “We need an integrated system of child welfare, substance use, mental health, enforcement, and other resources, so the appropriate services are available when needed to help each child and family. It is also vital that we expand and support each community’s ‘help-force’; those extended family members, foster and adoptive parents, and professionals who dedicate themselves to the well-being of children and families so they can heal from the trauma they experience."
Background:
- Beech Acres Parenting Center serves 20,000 people annually through foster care, adoption, behavioral health support, and parent coaching.
- 20,000 children are expected to be in the foster care system in Ohio by 2020, nearly double the number of children in the foster care system in 2013.
