Much is said in our community about how our kids need to step up and do better.  And they do!

But in January, we at the County asked the adults in our region to consider doing a little more in children's lives --particularly children who are asking for our help.  I'd like to ask you to take a moment, and consider our request as well.

MENTORING.  January was Mentoring Month.  While there are so many ways for compassionate citizens to make a difference in this community, nothing, collectively, makes more of a difference than adults agreeing to be mentors for children--particularly children in need.   Statistics show again and again that young people with mentors achieve more progress and success in nearly every meaningful measure as they get older.  The less discussed side of the coin is that being a mentor can be a life-changing experience for adults as well.

Today in Cincinnati, hundreds of children are on a waiting list.  They've said they want the guidance and help of a mentor.  I hope you'll consider making that difference.  To do so, please visit http://www.cycyouth.org/

FOSTER PARENTING.  January is also the month that we kicked off our Everyday Heroes campaign, trying to reverse a trend of declining numbers of foster parents in Hamilton County.  Virtually every day, our Department of Job and Family Services receives calls for help--a child in a dangerous, or abusive, or unstable situation, is in desperate need of the comfort, care and compassion of a foster homes.  Time is often of the essence.

Lately, it's been harder to answer that call in Hamilton County.  As a consequence of the Marcus Feisel tragedy and the negative publicity that followed, we've lost numerous foster parents, and fewer are stepping forward.  The results are delays in finding foster homes-and, worse, the need to send local kids far away for foster care, where parents are more readily available.  This is an unsettling trend, with long-term consequences.

As our recently launched campaign makes clear, Foster Parents are our Everyday Heroes.  While it is a tough assignment, they make all the difference in children's lives-and, collectively, they make our community so much stronger.  We need more of them.  Not everyone can do it, but often people don't even consider it.  I hope you will.

For more information on being a foster parent, Click Here.

HamiltonCounty Kicks Off Campaign To Revive Foster Care Numbers

On January 30^th, Hamilton County kicked off an ambitious campaign, partnering with businesses and nonprofits to increase the number of foster parents in the County system.

Sadly, over the past year, the harsh negative publicity for the foster care system that followed the Marcus Feisel case demoralized current foster parents and discouraged others from becoming foster parents.  As a result, Hamilton County has lost over 100 foster care parents from the system.  Today, the County is being forced to house kids far away from Cincinnati because of the lack of local foster parents--a troubling trend.  With 850 children in foster care at any given time, we have to reverse that trend.  

The Everyday Heroes Campaign, backed by the United Way, Children's Hospital (and the outstanding leadership of its CEO, Jim Anderson), and other partners aims to increase recruitment through billboards, advertisements, and educational outreach. At the kickoff campaign, David reiterated: "Foster parents make an enormous difference to individual children, and the whole community, and we have to do all we can to replenish the number of foster parents we have."

David, County To Help Lead Anti-Poverty Effort

Hamilton County is teaming up with the City of Cincinnati, the United Way, the Legal Aid Societies of Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio, and other partners to expand the "Make Work Pay" program Countywide, which provides free income tax preparation services to working families in the region.  Under the program, volunteer tax preparers assist applicants in filing for the earned income tax credits (EITC) and child tax credits (CTC)--credits designed to help working lower income families that routinely go unclaimed. Filers are eligible for a credit of up to $4,716. Last year the program, which offered 31 sites across the region, filed 4,496 returns and garnered almost $5.5 million in refunds for applicants. 

Not only does the program help families claim tax credits, the free service avoids the fees and high interest rates of many tax preparation services. Last year, the program saved consumers an additional $899,200 in avoided preparation costs.

David, who put together this partnership while on Cincinnati City Council, was excited to announce the County's involvement in the effort. "At this tough economic time, we need to do all we can to help those who are working hard but still barely making it economically," Pepper said. To find out more information on eligibility and site locations and times, citizens should contact the United Way by calling 211 or visit http://www.makeworkpay.com. 

Teen Driving Safety

On January 10^th, the Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution supporting efforts to reduce teen driving fatalities.  Traffic crashes are the number one cause of teen fatalities, and sadly, a number of fatal crashes took the lives of Hamilton County teens in 2007.  In response, a grassroots group organized a Teen Driving Summit last August, which included County leaders, and a coalition of parents, law enforcement officials, insurance companies and driving schools discussed proactive measures to safeguard young drivers. Recommendations were made regarding ways to increase personal responsibility, driver safety, and awareness, while equipping young drivers with the very best instruction, understanding, ongoing education, and accountability. 

David attended the Conference, and brought forward the resolution, passed by the Commission, supporting the Summit's recommendations.

"This is an issue that needlessly devastates families and communities, and we need to do whatever we can to reduce the number of fatal teen crashes on our roads," David remarked when introducing the resolution. 

For Democratic Presidential Nomination (212 responses)

• Richardson received the most votes for Democratic Vice President
• Huckabee received the most votes for Republican Vice President
• 65% said they did not consider endorsements, with only 6% considering endorsements very important to their decision
• Jobs and Economy ranked highest (35.9%) for the toughest issue the next president will face, followed by Conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan (18.5%), and Healthcare (13.2%) 
• 95% of respondents plan to vote in the upcoming March primary!