WITH MORE THAN 1,750 LUCAS COUNTY CHILDREN confirmed to have been victims of child abuse or neglect in Lucas County last year (2021), Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) is once again calling on the community at large to help raise awareness of this problem by holding events that shed light on its impact.
For the eleventh consecutive year, LCCS, WTOL, KISS-FM, and 101.5 The River are sponsoring Wear Blue Day, April 13, 2022.
The campaign calls on citizens who live, work, play, and attend school in Lucas County to post photos of themselves wearing blue to the LCCS Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/LucasCountyChildrenServices, with the hashtag #OhioWearsBlue. The goal is to raise awareness that child abuse continues to impact youth in our community, and that everyone plays a role in keeping kids safe. Supporters interested in receiving a “Wear Blue” poster can request an electronic file by submitting their contact information at https://lucaskids.net/general-inquiries/.
On April 28, at 11:00 a.m., LCCS will livestream its annual Child Memorial on the agency’s Facebook page. This year’s ceremony will remember nine children lost in the past year. For the first time in recent memory, none of these children died from abuse or neglect, but six children were victims of community gun violence.
“In 2021, LCCS saw a 22 percent spike in the number of children entering agency custody, reflecting the seriousness of the cases we are encountering. Our numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels and now exceed them, as our community continues to struggle, particularly with gun violence and substance abuse. By December 31, 2021, we had served more than 13,500 children from nearly 5,300 families. Both are increases from 2020,” said Robin Reese, LCCS executive director.
In fact, with LCCS participating in several state-level pilot programs, nearly three-quarters of children receiving services from LCCS remained in their own home or with a kinship caregiver. Other key statistics for 2021 include:
• The 43604 ZIP code had the highest concentration of referrals in the county, more than twice the average county rate.
• The number of referrals for service in 2021 (4,857) exceeded the number of referrals in 2020 by five percent.
• Substance abuse remained the most common reason for LCCS to open a case, representing a third of all cases in 2021. Marijuana was the most cited drug, eclipsing heroin and opiates for the first time since the agency began tracking drug use as a reason for case opening in 2014.
About Lucas County Children Services
The mission of Lucas County Children Services is to lead the community in the protection of children at risk of abuse and neglect. This is accomplished by working with families, service providers, and community members to assess risk and coordinate community-based services resulting in safe, stable, and permanent families for children.
The State of Ohio has implemented several changes to its child protection system that will keep more children safe at home, or with kin, rather than in foster care.
