Ohio counties are pledging a $4.6 million effort to assist children who have been affected by parent drug usage, according to an AP Report.
The plan, originally consisting of 14 counties, expanded to four more counties that have drastically suffered from drug addiction.
State Attorney General Mike DeWine said Tuesday that he would consider expanding the efforts statewide depending on the success of the program.
“The goal of this program is to stabilize families harmed by parental drug use so that both kids and parents can recover and move forward with abuse-free and addiction-free lives,” DeWine said in a press release.
The program only had $3.5 million in funding, but DeWine committed an additional $1.1 million to the cause.
The Public Children Services Association of Ohio is distributing the grants for each of the 18 counties enrolled. The four counties later added were concerned they would struggle to meet the program’s requirement thus causing their initial hesitation, Scott Britton of the public association said.
“The initial turnaround time was short, and some agencies weren’t able to get it through the proper channels,” Britton said. “All of those ducks had to get in a row.”
More than 50 percent of the children in Ohio are placed in foster care because of parent drug use, The Columbus Dispatch revealed.