Child Abuse Neglect Hotline

Information may not be reliable

News Center News Releases Publications Reports
About Us Mission and Vision Board Information Board Minutes Board Resolutions Executive Council Agency Facts Citizens Advisory Committee Women's Auxiliary Board Maps/Directions Agency History Search
Foster Care & Adoption Adoptive Parenting Foster Parenting FAQs Inquiry Form Waiting Child Profiles Process to Become a Foster/Adoptive Parent Foster Parent Homework Foster Parent Homework 1 Foster Parent Homework 2 Foster Parent Homework 3 Foster Parent Training Recruitment Activities Post Adoption Services Post-Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS) Ohio's Safe Haven for Newborns Program
Donor/Volunteer Opportunities Easter Program School Supplies Holidays Beds for Kids
Community Education Child & Family Leadership Exchange Positive Parenting Child and Family Awareness Month

Photo Gallery Pinwheels for Prevention Creative Contest Awards Ceremony Family Expo Close-Up Professional Recognition/Awards Breakfast Community Appreciation Breakfast Kinship Family Bowling Day Summit for Kids 2010

Nearly 100 children in the permanent custody of Summit County Children Services are presently waiting to be adopted and 90 percent of those children are aged 12 and older. With November designated as National Adoption Awareness Month, the Summit County Children Services Placement Services & Permanency Planning Department has scheduled a month-long series of events designed to raise community awareness of the importance of adoption especially the adoption of teens.

An exciting new innovation in service delivery for families and children called Alternative Response (AR) was launched at Summit County Children Services on September 1 enabling agency caseworkers to engage with the families they serve in even more supportive ways than ever before.
Summit County Children Services (SCCS) along with a consortium of five other Ohio counties (Champaign, Clark, Madison, Montgomery and Richland) has been awarded approximately $1.8 million in grant funding by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Humane Association's National Quality Improvement Center for Differential Response to develop and implement the Alternative Response (AR) model of Child Welfare Services over the next 3 years.

An estimated 8,000-10,000 parents and children attended the first annual Summit For Kids event on Saturday, August 21, at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron. The event offered free immunizations, dental services for children ages 3-6, physical and school supplies; an opportunity to meet and greet Diego from Nickelodeon and Word Girl from Western Reserve PBS; entertainment and demonstrations, a teen fashion show, crafts and activities for children, educational sessions for parents, and much more.

Sergeant Brian Harding (center) of the Akron Police Department has been named the recipient of the Third Annual Lt. John Ed Duvall, Jr. Detective of the Year Award in recognition of his tenacity, commitment and integrity in serving the families and children of Summit County.
The award, established in 2008 through a partnership of Summit County Children Services, the Akron Police Department and the CARE Center of Akron Childrens Hospital, honors the memory of the late Lt. Ed Duvall who, while with the Akron Police Department, was both relentless in his investigations of child abuse cases and deeply committed to speaking out about child abuse prevention. The first award was presented posthumously to Lt. Ed Duvall and the 2009 recipient was Detective Shannon Davis of the Barberton Police Department.

Wednesday, December 1, 6-8 p.m. at the Ellet Branch Library, 2470 E. Market St., Akron
Come learn about foster care and adoption with Summit County Children Services. Staff will explain the process, support provided by the agency, and costs involved (specific to adoption) as well as share general information about the types of children who come into care. Attendees will also have an opportunity to view the agency's Recruitment DVD, which features children who wait to be adopted. Advance registration IS NOT required. The meetings are FREE to the entire community. Refreshments will be served. Questions - (330) 379-1994.

There are more than 200 children in the permanent custody of Summit County Children Services, and nearly half of them have no identified adoptive family. Three out of four of these children are over the age of 12. Read the profiles's of more of these children from our Foster Care & Adoption page.