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Changes To Ohio's Foster Care System Still Possible

Before state lawmakers went on their summer break, they were discussing changes to Ohio's foster care system. 

About 1,000 foster care kids turn 18 and age out of the program every year. Republican State Rep. Dorothy Pelanda of Marysville is sponsoring a bill that would extend the age out age to 21 to give those youth more time to develop the skills they need to be independent.

“The statistics are alarming as to the number of children who are homeless, who end up in prison, who end up on our system in one way or another because they have absolutely no support system," she said, "because they have no family—no extended family so to speak—to help guide them to those critical years as an adult.”

Child advocacy groups and juvenile court judges support the bill. It passed out of a House committee and awaits a full chamber vote.