COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is creating an advisory council to review the state’s foster care system and make recommendations on how the state can improve kinship care, foster care, adoption, workforce development and prevention.

“I’ve spent my career advocating for children and families that are touched by the children services system,” DeWine said in a news release. “By learning from those who have personally experienced the system, we can work together to make Ohio a state that works for all families.”

The Children Services Transformation Advisory Council will travel around the state between November and December to host regional listening forums to understand local concerns and which practices are working. Individuals can also submit written testimony if they cannot attend the meetings. Each forum will be hosted from 6 to 8 p.m. Dates and locations are available on the governor’s website.

The advisory council will also review data, trends and policies about the current system to make recommendations on how the state can make improvements.

The council will hold monthly meetings that are open to the public until it provides recommendations to the state. The deadline for recommendations is April 2020.

The council will be made up of just over a dozen people, including judges in juvenile courts, government officials, representatives from advocacy groups, individuals who were in the foster care system and foster, adoptive and biological parents.