To children in foster care, a Life Book may be the only thing that they see as truly being their own.   

It’s a piece of their history.  

It’s their story.  

Thanks to the workers in the Life Book unit in Hamilton County Children's Services, hundreds of children will now have that book to keep forever.  

A backlog of 669 Life Books, identified in October 2007, was successfully depleted by the unit this year. The team also completed 844 new life books and 1,720 six-month/custody termination updates. 

“In October 2007, Children’s Services Program Support implemented improvements to unit practices and data tracking, allowing the unit to operate more efficiently in terms of tracking and reducing what was considered to be a significant backlog,” said Tim Petry, supervisor of the Life Book unit.  

From October 2007 to May 2008, the unit successfully reduced the backlog by 64 percent under the direction of interim supervisor Judy Leonard. From June 2008 to January 2009, the unit was able to successfully deplete the backlog completely, under Petry’s direction. 

Required by state law
As children approach a year in substitute care, the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) requires Hamilton County Job and Family Services to begin preparation of the child’s Life Book. If at any point a child enters into permanent custody, the same preparations are made. Petry uses monthly reports from the statewide child protection computer system to identify those children meeting the criteria.  

Along with depleting the backlog, the unit also remained “current” in completing all Life Books for children entering their 12th month in agency custody. Between October 2007 and January 2009 – in addition to the 669 backlog books completed – staff completed 606 new Life Books and 1,040 six-month/custody termination updates. 

“With the backlog behind them, the unit’s efforts are currently focused on creating initial books for children reaching their 12th month in substitute care and maintaining updates for 800-plus children, whose Life Books have already been prepared,” Petry said. 

“The completion of the backlog lends the team increased focus and attention, in terms of improving the quality of Life Books,” he continued. “Moving forward, the unit looks forward to increased opportunities for building awareness and strengthening relationships and interaction among caseworkers, families and children in care.” 

Much research, writing, desktop publishing
Along with Petry, the Life Book unit currently consists of three  writers – Claudette Singleton, Kurt Schellinger and Erin Price.

Research responsibilities include a thorough review of the child’s birth family and placement history combined with the retrieval of data encompassing medical and educational history, important relationships, developmental milestones, chronological events and memorable photographs. 

Writers are responsible for the writing and desktop publishing duties associated with the creation and ongoing (six month) updates to the book, as long as the child remains in substitute care. 

“The unit effectively manages the flow of weekly case assignments by organizing research, developing age-appropriate narratives and finalizing the data into one, complete personal history,” Petry said. 

“The Life Book is a record of a child’s life,” he continued. “It identifies events in the child’s past, specifically defining their time spent in substitute care. Life Books serve as a tool used to normalize a child’s time in care by creating memories where there were none before.” 

Once a Life Book is given to the caseworkers, they ensure that the Life Book is shared with the child during placement, when it is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. Once substitute care is terminated, the Life Book goes with the child.