Task Force Issues Recommendations On Child Welfare System

A new report says Ohio should reduce the number of times a child enters and exits the foster care system and give foster parents more input into court proceedings involving the children in their care. The Ohio Foster Care Advisory Group also recommends improving the system governing court-appointed lawyers who look out for foster children's interests. Attorney General Mike DeWine said Monday some of the changes will involve action by the Ohio Supreme Court and others need new legislation. Click here to hear more from DeWine and state lawmakers who hope to push some of the report's recommendations into law. DeWine's office took testimony at a series of statewide meetings following a rash of deaths among children whom the system failed, including the October 2011 death of a 2-year-old Cincinnati boy who had been beaten and burned two months after he was returned to his parents' home from foster care.