Every seven minutes, an infant or toddler in the United States is removed from the home due to alleged abuse or neglect.
In Ohio, children are often removed from their homes because of issues such as substance abuse and other challenges related to poverty and mental health. Unfortunately, children who are removed from their homes are at risk of suffering additional trauma associated with the separation from their parents or caregivers.
That’s where Safe Babies Ohio comes in.
Safe Babies Ohio finds ways to improve local child welfare systems’ response in these situations. We most often assist families who have a child at risk for involvement in the child welfare system because of the following:
- a parent or caregiver’s substance use disorder
- domestic violence issues
- neglect
- poverty/unemployment
Safe Babies Ohio helps communities adopt the latest early childhood development research and practices and directly support families and children who face significant barriers to achieving a safe and nurturing home.
We have a statewide team and local Community Coordinators operating in several counties in Ohio.
The program:
- Collaborates with local service providers to support infants and toddlers at risk of removal from their homes
- Links families to essential services, including attachment-based infant and early childhood mental health services
- Removes barriers so that children can have a safe and nurturing permanent home as soon as possible
- Provides their parents the support they need and helps to amplify their voice in the decision-making process for their child
Safe Babies Ohio implements the Safe Babies approach developed by the national nonprofit ZERO TO THREE, and it is funded in Ohio by a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant from the federal government. The award provided 94% of total costs and totaled $2,340,120.00.