Fewer children are spending the night at Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services headquarters, according to the agency’s deputy director.

For at least the last three years, as Cuyahoga County has struggled to find foster care placements for some children, the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services Building has been providing temporary shelter. But the county is making progress, the deputy director of DCFS told board members at their April 3 meeting. 

Documenters Kellie Morris and Regina Samuels were paying attention and generated notes and tweets from the meeting. 

Deputy Director Karen Anderson said that there were no children housed in the Hunter building that day and that there have been as many as seven days in a row when no one stayed overnight there. She said reducing the number of children staying overnight at the Hunter building, at 3955 Euclid Ave., is a priority for the agency.

(The Plain Dealer reports county officials hope to close that building in 2027.) 

On one night last June, as many as 13 kids were sleeping at the office building, and the average stay was 2.5 nights. The issues sparked protests. 

Anderson said a new child wellness campus will help the county care for children. The county is working with The Centers on an expansion at the Cleveland Christian Home at 11401 Lorain Ave. to work with children who need intense care for medical, mental health, behavioral health and/or trauma-related issues. 

Anderson also talked about new placement resources. She said “emergency search workers” have been successful in finding families for children in crisis.

The deputy director talked about adoption services and said some staff are focused on working with pregnant teens and on engaging fathers.

Board Member David S. Crampton, an associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University, talked about the importance of working with fathers and the agency’s new father engagement specialist.

Crampton also highlighted a program operating at the Westside Community House. He said the Family Success Network, a state program operating in Cuyahoga County, has been enjoying some success with programs that “coach” families. 

DCFS has hired two new classes of employees with 30 members each.

Finally, the DCFS board has an open seat. Anyone interested can apply here: DCFS Advisory Board.