LCCS investigated 4005 allegations of abuse and neglect in 2022, down 18 percent from 2021. Part of that decline can be attributed to efforts to defer low risk referrals and instead connect these individuals to community service providers. The total reports involved 5,417 children, down 15 percent from the previous year. One thousand, five hundred eighty-four of them were substantiated victims of abuse or neglect, down 13 percent from prior year.

LCCS served 12,571 children and 4,866 families in 2022. Seventy-two percent of children receiving services did so while living in their own home or in a kinship home. Sixty-nine percent of cases were investigated using a “traditional” pathway, which resulted in a finding of substantiated, indicated, or unsubstantiated abuse or neglect. An additional 561 referrals were opened as “Family in Need of Services” to provide supportive services to families whose issues did not meet the criteria to screen in as abuse or neglect. Eighty-three percent of CA/N referrals originated in the City of Toledo.

The highest percentage of referrals originated from the 43605, 43609, 43612, 43615 and 43608 zip codes. The overall rate of children on CA/N referrals was 54.4 per 1,000 children for Lucas County, down fifteen percent from 2021. Physical abuse was the most alleged type of abuse on screened-in referrals. More than half of cases opened came from six ZIP codes (43605, 43609, 43612, 43604, 43608, and 43607); fifteen percent of all cases opened came from 43605 (East Toledo).

The number one reason for case opening was substance abuse by parents (53 percent), followed by domestic violence (34 percent), mental health (25 percent), and parenting/neglect (21 percent). Of cases opened for substance abuse, 46 percent involved parents using marijuana, followed closely by heroin/opioids and cocaine/crack (42 percent each), alcohol (27 percent), and other substances (25 percent).

In 2022, we had an average daily caseload of 1,648 children. Nearly all (94 percent) of these children were living in a family environment:

• 769 (47 percent) were living in their own homes
• 413 (25 percent) were living with a relative or other kinship caregiver
• 373 (22 percent) were in foster care or a similar placement

Only 59 children (4 percent) were in non-family settings such as group homes or private institutions. 34 children (2 percent) were living in other circumstances.

In 2022, 88 children were adopted into new families, a six percent increase from 2021. One hundred sixty-four children were reunified with a parent, a 49 percent increase from 2021. Another 49 children were reunified with the non-removal parent, a two percent increase from the prior year.