Office Closing

Our office will be closed New Year’s Day and will reopen Thursday morning. Please have a safe and happy holiday. I am looking forward to 2014 and will detail some of our plans in a blog post later this week. It is going to be a great year!

Food Assistance Amounts Will Change in November

Just a friendly reminder that the 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary boost to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ended today and Hamilton County food assistance recipients will see a reduction in their monthly allotment.

The amount of your reduction will vary depending on family size and such. For example, a family of four will lose about $36 a month. Please visit our website for more detail: http://www.hcjfs.hamilton-co.org/Demo/services/foodstamps/FSReduction.htm

Families were receiving the extra amount as part of a stimulus package the federal government put together in the face of a faltering economy.  Likewise, the decision was made at the federal level to stop the extra payments.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

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Haile Foundation Goes Above and Beyond for JFS

We have many partnerships in our community with organizations and other government entities that are doing similar work and trying to achieve similar goals. The bottom line is we can achieve more when we work together.

But we have a special relationship with The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation. The Haile Foundation truly believes in our work and helping the people we serve, so the folks running the foundation go above and beyond when it comes to helping us out. I sometimes feel like we are the Haile Foundation’s adopted child — Tim and Leslie Maloney and Christine Bochenek answer the call any time we reach out to them.

The Haile Foundation currently funds several interns who perform work that helps take the pressure off of our staff. It also has provided gifts to graduating foster children or adoptive families in the past, including tickets to Playhouse in the Park.

And now the Foundation is bringing country singer Jimmy Wayne to town to speak to our staff, providers, partners and foster children about how a “foster” family saved his life and set him on the path to success. His story is touching and inspirational and I am glad the people who work in the field and the children who are traveling similar paths will have the chance to hear it.

Tim, Leslie and Chris are extremely good to our organization and make life easier for the people we serve. These are the kinds of parterships that work. We cannot achieve our mission without the support of the community.

Thank you Haile Foundation!

Rising Number of Food Assistance Recipients Grabbing Attention

Did you know one in six Hamilton County residents now receives food assistance? Hopefully, if you follow our agency, you do. We have made a point of keeping people educated on this growing trend. The Cincinnati Enquirer published an article recently that brought it to the attention of many others.

I talk about it in this month’s issue of Update, our community newsletter. Check it out here, along with stories about child support visits, an adoption luau and other topics. Thanks for reading!