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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for March 5, 2018
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Association Updates
Kinship child care program
On Feb. 28, Mary Wachtel presented
joint testimony
on behalf of PCSAO and OJFSDA regarding Ohio Administrative Code rule 5101:2-40-06, Kinship child care program. After going through clearance in November, these rules were filed on Jan. 26 with few changes. Now that the public hearing has been held, the rules will go to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review for review. After that review, an effective date and “go-live” date for the program will be established. ODJFS will hold a training webinar for PCSAs on the new program on Tuesday, Mar. 27, 1-3 p.m. Look for more webinar details from ODJFS in the near future.
Rules update
5101:9-6-37: Title IV-B allocation
was filed on Feb. 23. Federal Title IV-B funds are used for expenditures in the delivery of children services to ensure that all children are raised in safe, loving families. As a result of a five-year rule review, ODJFS is amending this rule to update rule language in an effort to clarify current funding practices. There are no substantial changes to the content of the rule.
5101:9-6-36 is in clearance until Mar. 13. As a result of a five-year rule review, and to update rule language to provide the most current funding practices, ODJFS is amending the following Administrative Code rules:
- 5101:9-6-36 "Emergency Services Assistance Allocations (ESAA) for Family Preservation"
- 5101:9-7-36.1 "Emergency Services Assistance Allocations (ESAA) for Family Reunification"
- 5101:9-7-36.2 "ESAA State Match Allocation"
HOPE partner parent training
The development work of establishing a statewide Parent Peer Support Certification continues. The committee is working to establish the basic training requirements for parent peer supporters. Topics of training include:
- Ethics/Boundaries
- Cultural Diversity
- Effectively Sharing Your Story
- Effective Communications
- Advocacy
- General Overview of Public Systems
- Documentation
- Self Care
Next steps will be to compile a resource list for training opportunities for potential parent partners. If anyone has or knows of appropriate workshops to include, please notify Renay Sanders at
renay.synergyforce.net
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Community Education Committee learns design principles
Thanks to an instructor and students from Ohio University recruited by Athens County Children Services' Robin Webb, the CEC had the opportunity to learn four key design principles (known as "CRAP" for contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity) at its monthly meeting Mar. 2. A hands-on challenge involving scissors and tape ensued. With Child Abuse Prevention Month coming up next month, the committee will not meet again until May 4.
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Announcements and Resources
OhioMHAS seeks responses for opioid use disorder needs assessment survey
In late 2016, the federal government enacted the 21st Century CURES Act to set aside funds for opioid state targeted responses. To fulfill the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) requirements to obtain Ohio’s portion of those funds, OhioMHAS will conduct a needs assessment and strategic planning process. As part of the opioid use disorder (OUD) needs assessment, OhioMHAS staff is surveying a number of key partners in the OUD treatment process, including Directors of County Departments of Social Services. The purpose of this survey is to capture information from experts in child welfare about their experiences working with children, youth, and families affected by the opioid crisis, including referrals to treatment and needed resources and supportive services. Click
here
to complete the survey by Mar. 28. By clicking the link, you are consenting to participate in this study. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Bridget Bailey, Office of Quality, Planning, and Research at
Bridget.Bailey@mha.ohio.gov
or 614-644-8452 or Laura Potts, Office of Quality, Planning, and Research at
Laura.Potts@mha.ohio.gov
or 614-728-4892.
Supreme Court releases new guidebook for juvenile courts
The Ohio Supreme Court announced the release Friday of a new guidebook for the state’s 88 juvenile court systems. Developed by the Court’s children and families staff and case management staff, the
Desktop Guide for Juvenile Court Clerks
offers simple directions to complete tasks required of clerks and other juvenile court personnel. Chapter topics range from visiting judge assignments, magistrates, reports, bonds, records and subpoenas, to appellate procedures and sealing/expunging juvenile records. The guide, which includes 39 chapters, also covers specific case types, including delinquency cases and traffic cases, as well as abuse, neglect and dependency cases.
Ohio’s Practice Profiles webinar series
The Statewide CQI Community Subcommittee has developed a series of Practice Profile webinars to help public and private agency staff improve fundamental social work practice skills. The new monthly webinar series focuses on Ohio’s Practice Profiles (JFS 08301). The profiles describe 10 core behaviors that guide best casework practice: engaging, assessing, partnering, planning, implementing, evaluating, advocating, demonstrating cultural and diversity competence, communicating, and collaborating. In addition, the subcommittee is seeking approval to offer 1 Social Worker continuing education unit (CEU) per webinar. Although the webinars are presented as a series and will build upon similar concepts, each module has been designed to be a stand-alone topic and participants may choose to attend one or multiple webinars. The second webinar,
Module 3: Assessing
, will be presented Mar. 28.
Free webinar on improving children's placement across state lines
The National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE) is a recent legislatively mandated national electronic system for transferring ICPC data across state lines quickly and securely. Join the National Center for State Courts, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and the National Conference of State Legislatures for a webinar to learn more on Wednesday, Mar. 7 at 3 p.m. Register
here
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Ohio Family Care Association seeks sponsorship for annual conference
OFCA is seeking sponsorship for its 2018 Annual Conference, Awards Presentation and VIP Reception. Aimed at parents and professionals alike, the conference brings families and leaders in the child welfare field together and offers a variety of workshops designed to deepen the knowledge of attendees, make connections to other parents and professionals, and give attendees tools they can take home and share in their community. Sponsorship opportunities include a VIP and awards ceremony, resource family scholarships, ads in conference brochure, and exhibitor/vendor tables. Visit
www.OFCAonline.org
to learn more. Contact Wendi Turner at
wendi@OFCAonline.org
with questions.
Family Search and Engagement Toolkit now live on ODJFS website
Statewide efforts on Family Search and Engagement (FSE) can be enhanced by a new
FSE Toolkit
developed by the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program. The toolkit provides information, tools, resources, and training opportunities for PCSA staff to assist with their efforts to locate and engage families and kin. Part of the toolkit includes an Agency Readiness Assessment.
State TANF fact sheets
Given the renewed interest in the House Ways & Means Committee to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) and "reform" entitlements, these
state fact sheets
from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities are timely. Data include poverty trends, TANF caseloads, and how many individuals in poverty in each state received TANF.
Child maltreatment report released
The
2016 National Report on Child Maltreatment
was released recently. National and state data are available on referrals and reports of child maltreatment, characteristics of victims and non-victims, fatalities, perpetrators, and services to prevent maltreatment and to assist children and families.
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Child Protection in the News
FORUM SET: “Hope for Recovery from Addiction — The Grand Family Edition” will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Kent State University at Trumbull classroom building, 4314 Mahoning Ave., Champion. The free event will offer support and resources to grandparents and other family members caring for children affected by the opioid crisis.
With the opioid epidemic fueling record numbers of children in its custody, Summit County Children Services is hoping a small grant to help reunify families will make a big difference.
An increasing number of babies are born in the Greater Cincinnati region with drug withdrawal symptoms, which Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Dr. Scott Wexelblatt hopes is “at a peak.”
A Time Out Teddy is not an average teddy bear.
They are boys and girls. They are various races and ethnicities. They are newborns and adolescents. They are the youngest victims of an epidemic that knows no color lines, gender divisions or age limits, one that has swept the nation with a vengeance, from Hollywood to the heartland, including right here in Miami County. Many of them are too young to talk yet, and those who are old enough can tell stories that sound more like nightmares. But by and large, their voices go unheard, so someone must speak for them.
When we consider whom this crisis impacts, we think of those suffering from addiction and their friends and family who struggle to support them. Often overlooked are babies born to women addicted to opioids. These infants can suffer from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), which is caused when babies are withdrawing from certain drugs they were exposed to in the womb. In 2015, there were 2,174 hospitalizations in Ohio resulting from NAS -- nearly six admissions per day. Infants born with NAS average 16.9 days in the hospital after birth, compared to 2.1 days for other newborns.
We invited people to come down to learn about Open Table, the model that we think offers the best solution for volunteers who want to help break the stranglehold of multigenerational poverty in Cleveland. In the model, teams of six or seven people become a board of directors for someone in need, meeting for an hour every week for a year.
Pelanda's bill would trigger an investigation if a child is enrolled in school without the proper custody paperwork, or if that child goes to the ER.
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Mar. 9 | Conference Planning Committee Meeting
Mar. 12 | Executive Membership Meeting
Mar. 12 | Board of Trustees Meeting
Mar. 13 | Executive Membership Meeting
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"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."
— John F. Kennedy
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
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