Announcements and Resources
HOPE celebration and training
The Helping Ohio Parent Effectively program held an appreciation luncheon Oct. 20. Parent partners active in the HOPE program at the statewide and local levels were acknowledged and honored for their work promoting HOPE and working with primary parents involved with the child welfare system. Speakers at the event included Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Deputy Director Carla Carpenter, Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Tracy Plouck and Crystal Allen of Casey Family Programs. All spoke to the importance of lived experience and peer support. The keynote speaker was China Darrington, a primary parent with her own lived experience with child welfare who has become a trainer and advocate in Ohio and nationally.
The Building A Better Future training was Nov. 7-9 in Stark County. There were 24 participants including parent partners (birth parents), foster care parents and children services staff from four HOPE counties. As required, the training was co-facilitated by a professional social worker and a primary parent. The training content is greatly enhanced by the diversity of the participants. Participants reported leaving the training with a greater understanding of the roles and impact the child welfare process has on all involved.
Ohio’s 2018 Opiate Conference - Call for Presentations
The Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, will host Ohio’s 2018 Opiate Conference: Strengthening Ohio’s Communities, June 11-12, 2018. This will be Ohio’s ninth annual opiate conference, and it will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus. It will bring in approximately 1,200 attendees from throughout Ohio to focus on efforts and activities underway to strengthen Ohio’s communities related to prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery, medication-assisted treatment, family supports, and more!
Conference planners are requesting presentations from professionals, individuals in recovery, and family members. They are currently seeking presentation proposals for this event in several categories. The call for presentations is available for review at
https://www.oacbha.org/ohios_2018_opiate_conference.php.
The deadline for the call for presentations is Jan. 15.
