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The Wayne County
Children Services Board is located in the Kinney Building at 2534 Burbank
Road in Wooster. Before there was the Children Services Board, it was
known as "The Children’s Home." In 1876, the Ohio legislature
passed legislation for "the establishment, support and regulation of
children’s homes in the counties of Ohio." By the end of that
century most Ohio counties had established a children’s home to care for
orphaned, abandoned, abused, neglected or dependent children.
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On
July 5, 1880, the Wayne County Commissioners purchased 82.25 acres of land
for $12,500 to use for the purpose of creating a children’s home. This
still undeveloped "green space" at the north end of Wooster was
the farm for Wayne County’s Children’s Home. The purpose of a Children’s
Home was to "furnish an asylum for indigent children under age 16
where they are to be provided with physical, moral, and mental
training." The land and a house the county purchased was originally
owned by Dr. Stephen F. Day. New construction was added to the original
house to make the home ready for children. The first children went to the
Children’s Home on March 20, 1882. The first Children’s Home
Superintendent was J.B. Pinkerton.
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Although records are incomplete,
it can be said that the Children’s Home for nearly eight decades became
the home of hundreds of children. Near its peak of use, it was common to
have upwards of 100 children in residence. Originally children and youth
of all ages stayed at the Children’s Home. By the early 1940's family
foster homes were found to care for the many infants in the nursery area
of the home. From then on, only school aged children stayed at the home.
For nearly fifty years, until around 1950, the Children’s Home operated
its own school. It was a typical school for the time, with one teacher in
one classroom for children of all ages. When the school closed, the
children were then sent to the Wooster public schools. The employees of
the Children’s Home in the early decades consisted of the Superintendent
and his wife, a chief and an assistant cook, a boys matron, a girls
matron, one back up matron and the farmer. All of the children old enough
to go to school had chores and most worked on the farm. Besides growing
farm crops, there was a large garden from which the matrons and the girls
canned each fall and the boys helped to sell the surplus produce to
neighbors.
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Children in the Children’s
Home might be there for a short time before returning to a parent or
relative. Some stayed until they reached adulthood and many were
eventually adopted to area families. It was not uncommon for some of the
older boys to go for the weekend to visit an area family and to help
them on their farm. Sometimes this provided the contact for a later
adoption. |
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By the mid 1940's, across
the country and in Ohio the trend to place children into family
foster homes was becoming firmly established. In 1946, Ohio law
changed again in recognition of this shift and the many new state
requirements of the Children’s Home to provide other services more
appropriate to the changing times. It was around this time that a
secretary and the first caseworker were hired. The County
Commissioners changed the name from the Children’s Home to the
Wayne County Children Services Board and appointed David D. Miller,
Calvin Armstrong and Cornelius Smith as the first Children Services
Board members. The Superintendent and Executive Director of the
agency was Paul Kinney for whom the building was later named.
From the 1960's
through the early 1970's, the number of children in the Children’s
Home gradually declined. The building, added on to in 1882 as the
Children’s Home, was now in need of either significant renovation or
face destruction. Across Ohio other Children’s Homes were closing as
the purpose of the agency shifted from custodial care and infant
adoptions to temporary foster care and child protection. In 1978, the
County Commissioners chose to close it, renovate it and reopen it, but
not as a children’s home. The era of The Children’s Home in
Wayne
County had come to an end. Foster families were now providing care for
children and some specialized agencies were opening group homes for
youth needing more structure.
While
the closed Children’s Home was being renovated, the Wayne County
Children Services Board moved to several other temporary locations
in Wooster. Finally, with the reopening of "The Kinney Building" in
1981, the Wayne County Children Services Board returned to its
"home."
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Today
the Wayne County Children Services Board has as its’ mission
protecting abused, neglected and dependent children and strengthening
families. That mission reflects the change in centuries and the
conditions of our times. No children reside in Kinney Building.
The agency serves a different population than that envisioned for the
earlier Children’s Home. The agency used to primarily serve
orphans or dependent children. The trend for the last several decades
has seen a significant increase in children who have been physically
or sexually abused, or neglected. There remains a constant
though; that of outstanding citizens who have volunteered and continue
to serve on the Children Services Board. All are appointed by the
Wayne County Commissioners.
As
of 1-1-05 the Children Services Board employs 61 full or part time
staff, down from 81 at the end of 2003. Our agency went through
layoffs due to the soaring cost of caring for record numbers of abused
and neglected children in our custody and care. Annually, we
investigate over 1,100 reports of alleged child abuse and neglect. The
2005 budget is $6,262,502. There were only 65 abused and neglected
children in the agency’s custody and care in September of 2000. The
children in the agency’s custody are most often cared for in one of
the 55 plus family foster homes who are supervised by Children
Services and licensed by the State of Ohio. As of 8-1-05 there were
148 abused, neglected and/or dependent children placed by the courts
into the agency’s custody for their protection and care. We also
served 110 children and their parents on voluntary cases and another
75 children were in “protective supervision,” a court designation that
allows children to remain at home with parents while they are subject
to a treatment/case plan and court ordered into services. Children
Services has tremendous support from over 70 volunteers who serve as
tutors, mentors, special friends or volunteer for special projects
like the Tot Stop and Tag Station at the Wayne County Fair, or sponsor
children for our Christmas “Make a Wish” gift matching program.
Children Services obtains its’ financial support from two citizen
supported levies as well as other state and federal funds. Wayne
County voters approved a new 1.6 mill levy in May of 2003. In return
the agency has agreed to reduce the tax impact by not collecting the
final two years of a .7 mill levy first approved in 1984.
Children
Services has consistently had clean State audits. As appropriate, the
agency also seeks orders for child support for youth in its’ care.
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the range of services listed in the agency’s annual report, Children
Services also partners with other community agencies to strengthen
families and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to children. The agency
has published a supervision guide entitled “Are You Home Alone” for
parents. We collaborate with the Mental Health and Recovery Board, the
Juvenile Court, the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability Board,
local school districts and the Family and Children’s First Council on a
weekly basis to do intensive planning for special needs youth.
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Annually
the agency seeks to increase the public’s awareness of its’ services and
the problems associated with child abuse and neglect through Child Abuse
Prevention Month activities which culminate in a community breakfast.
It
does take a community to protect its children and the citizens of Wayne
County and the Children Services Board have been doing this since 1882.
CLICK HERE TO SEE A HISTORY OF ALL
SUPERINTENDENTS/DIRECTORS & BOARD MEMBERS |
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