Ohio family donates $1M to foster care program as need skyrockets

According to the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, about half of all children in the state’s foster care system today are there because of parental drug use. And the problem keeps getting worse.

The Crane family, with a lead gift from Mike and Paige Crane, and Crane Group Co. have recognized the strain on Ohio’s foster care system with a $1 million investment in the future of The Buckeye Ranch Foster Care program over the next five years.

The Buckeye Ranch Foster Care is a network of treatment foster homes and service providers committed to the well-being of children, youth and families who need security and assistance. Its program, which includes safe and loving foster homes across Ohio, provides foster parenting for children from infancy through 18 years of age — and sometimes beyond.

“As members of the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance, both The Buckeye Ranch and the Crane family understand the toll that addiction is taking on Ohio’s children,” said The Buckeye Ranch CEO Vickie Thompson-Sandy. “On any given day, 16,000 Ohio children are in care. Yet Ohio has only 7,200 licensed foster homes.”

The Buckeye Ranch received requests to care for more than 3,400 children last year. Today, it has only 242 foster homes available and cannot meet the demand.

Foster care across the country is largely paid for by the federal foster care program, authorized by Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Ohio also draws down federal dollars to support local funding. These dollars are designed to focus on the safety of children once they enter out-of-home care. The dollars do not focus on how child welfare organizations endeavor to create safe and loving foster homes to care for them.

“The $1 million investment will increase foster homes available to meet the increased need through the development of a centralized team, dedicated solely to the marketing, identification, engagement and licensing of foster homes in Ohio,” Thompson-Sandy said. “It will also ease higher-cost placements, such as children currently living in residential or hospital care.”

The Crane family’s investment is a continuation of a long-standing partnership that started in 1965.

“We recognize that a safe and nurturing home environment is best for children when they are unable to be with their parents,” Mike Crane said. “Supporting the community is one of our core values, and we believe we have a role to play in seeking to improve the quality of life for all and to ensure that children have the opportunity to thrive despite circumstances they may face.”

In recognition of the investment, The Buckeye Ranch is naming its new Whitehall location The Michael and Paige Crane Center for Children & Families.

For additional resources and tool kits that address preventing and ending opioid addiction and misuse, visit dontliveindenial.org.