The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced today that it has partnered with Ohio YMCAs to provide free memberships for certified foster homes and approved kinship caregivers who meet certain eligibility criteria. Bridges participants and their children are also eligible.

To be eligible, certified foster homes must provide the YMCA a copy of the family’s current “Notice of Approval for Foster Home,” showing the family is currently certified as a foster home. They must also provide a letter from the family’s recommending foster care agency on that agency’s letterhead. It must indicate the family is in good standing with the agency/state of Ohio and either the family has had at least one foster care placement within the past 18 months, or the family is a newly certified foster home within the last six months.

To be eligible as an approved kinship home, families must provide a letter from the agency that approved the family on the agency’s letterhead indicating the family is in good standing with the agency and that they have a current kinship child placed in the home.

Bridges is a program designed to help former foster youth transition to adulthood. To be eligible, Bridges participants must provide a copy of the participant’s Bridges Voluntary Participation Agreement showing the participant is enrolled in Bridges and a letter from the Bridges grantee on the grantee’s letterhead indicating the participant is currently enrolled in Bridges.

The format and/or content of this post has been edited to fit guidelines of the Cincinnati Chapter of United Resource Connection for this rebroadcast.

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