Foster Care Services

What Foster Care Services does

Lake County Foster Care is a division of Lake County Job & Family Services, a county government department headquartered at 105 Main Street, Painesville, Ohio. The program, established in 2000, recruits, trains, and licenses foster and adoptive families within Lake County, delivering a unified service portfolio that includes temporary Foster Care Services, Adoption Services for children whose reunification with birth families is not possible, a combined Foster and Adopt Program allowing families to hold both licenses simultaneously, and Special Needs Adoption Services for children age 6+, sibling groups, minority backgrounds, and those with medical, developmental, or emotional conditions. Families complete 24 hours of pre-service training (offered in-person and virtually), a home assessment typically completed within 3-6 months, and 30 hours of ongoing training every two years, with a dedicated social worker assigned throughout the process. Market context provided by the agency indicates that approximately 3,000 children in Ohio are awaiting permanent homes, defining the upstream need that the program is designed to address.

The organization operates without any proprietary technology platform, mobile application, API, or third-party integrations; service delivery is conducted by a small team of approximately 7 personnel — a supervisor, social workers, and caseworkers — using direct outreach channels including a public website, phone hotline (440-350-4218), community open houses, Facebook, and foster-parent testimonials. No AI, machine learning, or automation capabilities are described, and the technology profile is explicitly that of a traditional government social services agency.

As a government entity, Lake County Foster Care is funded through county tax revenues, state allocations, and federal programs including Title IV-E, with no fees charged to prospective foster or adoptive families. Foster parents are classified as volunteers who receive a per diem reimbursement rate set annually by county commissioners, with the agency additionally providing daycare assistance. The operating geography is restricted to Lake County, Ohio — adoption home studies completed through the program are valid statewide in Ohio and in other states — and the entity has no disclosed partnerships, M&A activity, funding rounds, or external ownership structures.

Name

Foster Care Services

Legal name

Lake County Job & Family Services

Website

https://lakecountyfostercare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lake County Foster Care is a county government program within Lake County Job & Family Services in Ohio that recruits, trains, and licenses foster and adoptive families to provide temporary and permanent homes for children in the local child welfare system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foster Care & Adoption Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

Keywords

• Child welfare services
• Foster care placement
• Adoption services
• Family support services
• Out-of-home care

Headquarters

HQ city

Painesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. County Government Funding: As a Lake County government department, the organization is funded through county tax revenues, state allocations, and federal programs (such as Title IV-E) to cover operational costs. Services to families are provided at no charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Foster Care Services provides child welfare services centered on foster care placement, adoption coordination, and support for foster and adoptive families. The organization works with children in need of out-of-home care, recruits and trains foster parents, and coordinates permanency planning including adoption. Detailed offerings, geographic scope, and operating model are not further evidenced in the input.

Product overview

Lake County Job & Family Services operates a unified foster care and adoption program serving Lake County, Ohio. The core offerings include Foster Care Services (temporary placement), Adoption Services (permanency for children whose reunification is not possible), and a combined Foster and Adopt Program allowing families to hold both licenses simultaneously. These are supported by Pre-Service Training (24-hour initial program), Ongoing Training (30 hours biennially), Home Assessment services, and Special Needs Adoption Services for children meeting specific criteria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foster Care Placement Services Recruitment, training, licensing, and support of foster families, plus placement of children into approved foster homes with ongoing case management.
• Adoption Services Coordination of adoption processes for children in care, including home study support for prospective adoptive parents, matching, and post-adoption services.
• Family Support & Case Management Ongoing case management, visitation support, counseling referrals, and family preservation or reunification services for children in care and their families of origin.

Quantifiable outcome

• Home studies completed within 3-6 months
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bethany Christian Services: Large national private nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, and family preservation services; comparable in service mix to Lake County Foster Care but operating across many states and combining public-private funding.
• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS): State-level agency that oversees and funds all Ohio county foster care and adoption programs, including Lake County's. Comparable as the regulatory and funding umbrella governing the subject agency's operations and licensing standards.

Direct peers

• SAFY (Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth): Private nonprofit delivering foster care, adoption, and family preservation services across multiple states including Ohio; comparable to Lake County Foster Care in mission and family support structure.
• National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP): Private nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, and case management services in Ohio and other states; a comparable operating model for delivering foster parent recruitment, training, and home studies.
• Franklin County Children Services: Central Ohio's largest county child welfare agency providing foster care and adoption services under Ohio DJFS oversight; structurally analogous to Lake County Foster Care but at greater scale.
• Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services: County-level public children services agency in neighboring Cuyahoga County, Ohio that recruits, licenses, and supports foster and adoptive parents — directly comparable to Lake County JFS in mandate, service mix, and Ohio regulatory framework.
• Hamilton County Job and Family Services: Southwest Ohio county JFS delivering foster care, adoption, and protective services; comparable to Lake County Foster Care as a county government department under Ohio's Title IV-E-funded child welfare system.
• Summit County Children Services: Northeast Ohio public children services agency providing foster care and adoption services under the same state regulatory framework; competes with Lake County for foster families in adjacent Northeast Ohio communities.
• Lucas County Children Services: Northwest Ohio county public agency delivering foster care, adoption, and protective services; operates the same Ohio JFS-aligned model as Lake County and competes for the same regional pool of foster families.

Regional players

• Geauga County Job and Family Services: Adjacent Ohio county JFS delivering child welfare, foster care, and adoption services in Geauga County; directly comparable to Lake County Foster Care in mandate and service scope but serving a different county.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foster-care-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foster Care Services