The Supreme Court of Ohio - Supreme Court - State of Ohio

hio Summit on Children
Working together for our future
More than 500 participants from 79 Ohio counties joined state judicial, executive
and legislative officials in Columbus on May 1 and 2, 2008, for the first Ohio Summit on
Children. Hosted by Chief Justice Moyer and Governor Strickland, the goals of the two-day
event were to enhance the safety, well-being and permanent home environments of Ohio
children.
The Summit brought together five-member county teams to assess local and state
strengths and challenges and identify gaps in delivering services to Ohio’s children. Local
juvenile court judges and directors of county children services or jobs and family services
agencies served as team leaders.
One aim of the Summit was to inspire and encourage collaboration among the various
teams of service providers and court personnel, as well as throughout the various levels
of government. Well into the two days of speakers, exercises, assessments, videos and
testimonials, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel addressed the participants and state
officials to share his view of the importance of team-building and how such efforts breed
success in organizations of all kinds.
Inspiration and emotion were plentiful on day one of the event as
Cedric Riley recounted his experience with the state’s foster-care system
with enlightening and forthright comments. Riley is a former foster
child in Ohio who is a successful student and leader at The Ohio State
University. The first of three videos developed for the Summit, Voices of
Ohio Children, illustrated the experiences of other foster children.
“When we work together to ensure our state’s children are well cared
for in safe home environments, we are ensuring a better future for our
communities and our state,” said Steven C. Hollon, administrative director
of the Supreme Court of Ohio. “The Summit will empower leaders from
Ohio’s counties to create and implement plans to improve the services
they provide to children that will make a long-lasting impact on the lives of
the children they serve.”
Cedric Riley
shares his
story with
Summit
attendees.
Modeled after the National Summit on Children, the idea for an Ohio
Summit on Children came about after the success of the Supreme Court’s
Beyond the Numbers project, which primarily focused on improving court
processes for the benefit of children and families.
“As we’ve seen with other successful collaborations around the state,
gathering people who can impact the delivery of services to children can have a dramatic
effect,” said Chief Justice Moyer. “For instance, the Marion County Family Court reduced
the time a child spends in a foster home waiting for adoption by more than three years.
It only made sense to share these success stories with other parts of the state and expand
beyond the court system.”
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2008 Annual Report • The Supreme Court of Ohio