Council supports child abuse prevention programming in Lorain County through the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund. This fund, which is supported by revenues from surcharges on birth and death certificates and divorce and dissolution decrees at the State-level, provides funding for primary and secondary child abuse programming.

Dollars are earmarked for each county through a formula based on the number of children living in each county. In addition, Ohio Children’s Trust Fund earns investment income and has been awarded funding through the Community Based Child Abuse Prevention federal grant which is made available for additional prevention programs and special initiatives.

In 2007, there were 3,432 reports of child maltreatment in Lorain County. While 1338 were screened out by Children Services, over 2,000 cases were determined to be substantiated cases. Council is committed to reducing child maltreatment rates by 10% over the next three years. Through House Bill 289 planning, Council identified its participation and support of prevention and outreach activities in Lorain County as a priority to assist in meeting this goal. Council has joined the efforts of Lorain County Community Collaborative on Child Abuse Prevention which hosts special awareness events such as the Pinwheels for Prevention and an annual conference on child maltreatment. In addition to this, Council supports strengthening families programs. The increase of families in these programs was identified as a means to prevent maltreatment as more families become aware and are familiar with signs and symptoms of abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Over 300 Lorain County families are serviced annually through this fund. For FY09, this number will triple with the addition of support to outreach programs.
In July 2008, Council awarded $88,342.00 Trust Fund dollars to the following Lorain County agencies:

In July 2008, Council awarded $88,342.00 Trust Fund dollars to the following Lorain County agencies: