CHOICES, Inc. Foster Care and Independent Living, Dayton, Ohio

CHOICES, Inc - Children Have Options in Caring Environments - was founded in 1986 by Gina Frazier and Anita Johnson Patten. Led by their dreams and dedication to provide options and safe and caring environments for youth, Gina and Anita started a foster care agency. They were able to train and license five homes very quickly and provided six children with caring environments in those homes within months of opening their doors.

The Foster Care Program has grown steadily over the years. Gina and Anita worked as an amazing team. Gina served as Executive Director of CHOICES while Anita explored how we could provide even more services for kids and families in our community. 

In April 1988, the Independent Living Program was added. Through this important program they provided scattered-site apartment living for older teens aging out of Foster Care, a relatively new concept in Ohio in 1988. The CHOICES, Inc. program was one of the first in Ohio and has continued to grow over the years. 

Gina served as the Executive Director until October of 1997 when she was shot and killed by her estranged husband. She was a gentle woman who valued harmony and peace very much. She earned a Master's Degree in Conflict Resolution from Antioch and was a professional mediator. She is still missed by family, friends, and colleagues. 

Anita, our visionary co-founder, was appointed Executive Director and guided the agency through this difficult time. Anita led CHOICES through years of growth before retiring in 2005. To this day, she continues to support the dream she and Gina had back in 1986, to make a difference in the lives of our communities most vulnerable kids and families.

In addition to Foster Care and Independent Living, CHOICES identified ways to help even more kids and families in our community and added Home-Based Services. 

Gina and Anita created a solid foundation for the continued development of CHOICES Inc. as an agency devoted to assisting youth and families in need. A passion for providing high quality services and care for youth and families guides the agency today and will continue to be their legacy. 

In 2025 CHOICES Inc. and UMCH Family Services merged to provide mental health, foster care, adoption, and support programming to children and families across Southwest and Central Ohio.
The legacy of Gina and Anita, CHOICES Inc. lives on in spirit under UMCH Family Services. 

**this is not written by me, Lisa Johnson. This was copied from the About Us page on CHOICES previous website which will (soon) cease to exist**

This is written by me:

Growing up in an environment where my mom was working for a degree, working to pay bills, working to take care of my brother and me, and working to build CHOICES... meant I saw first-hand what “work” really looked like. CHOICES wasn’t a nine-to-five. It wasn’t about helping kids during daylight hours. I remember late nights when the phone rang and there was a foster placement coming in, maybe even in the middle of the night, and our home opened its doors. a.m. p.m., weekends and holidays included. 

I watched my mom manage case files, navigate crises, go to class, train caregivers, clean and furnish apartments, and show these kids and families that there can be a good life even in a shit situation. I saw her hustle. Not for fame or attention, but because she believed deeply in giving kids a chance, in giving families options.

Because of her drive and dedication, I learned so much! 

I learned that responsibility isn’t a burden but a privilege. 

I learned that care isn’t passive but active, requiring effort, time, sacrifice. 

I learned that options mean you get to choose better when someone opens the doors for you. 

And because she didn’t stop, I learned that growth and expansion are not just business buzzwords but ways of responding to real human need.

My perspective, as the child of a social worker, as the daughter of someone building a foster-care agency, is shaped by being both inside and outside that work. I was inside because our home and our family was a part of it. And I was outside because I saw the ripple effects: the children who were given safe spaces, the families who got help, the community that benefited, and what it has turned into since 1986. I've always felt proud of mom while also feeling the seriousness of the commitment she carried. Even if that meant late nights, microwave dinners, or a missed bedtime kiss for me.

As CHOICES merges and ceases to exist in its original form, I feel a bittersweet mix of things. Sadness at an era ending and for the loss for my mom. But also gratitude for what was built and hope for what’s next. Like I told her, we all grow up and leave our parents. Many of us change our names! But hopefully we take our values and make something bigger and better! Because what mom created, and what I watched growing up, isn’t just an organization’s history. It was a movement!