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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for March 6, 2017
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Association Updates
PCSAO Board of Trustees
The PCSAO Board of Trustees met on March 3 and approved Feb. 1 meeting minutes, February Treasurer’s Report, revised personnel policies and an amended agreement with OJFSDA for temporary job sharing. The Board approved Buckeye Healthcare becoming a 2017 Stable Families Mission Champion. Thank you, Buckeye Healthcare! The Board also discussed the status of several new grant options, the formation of PCSAO Dues Committee that will hold its first meeting on March 20, the upcoming Executive Membership meeting on March 23-24, and received the March 2017 Executive Director and Legislative Committee Report.
PRT Advisory Council meets
Permanency Roundtables continue in 10 pilot counties, each represented on an advisory council that meets quarterly. At the Feb. 24 meeting, the group reviewed preliminary data from the evaluation and a readiness assessment for new counties interested in adopting the model. Counties remain highly engaged in the pilot and in transforming agency philosophy around youth permanency. The meeting afforded time for story sharing, problem solving, training review, and technical assistance adjustments. The next meeting will be May 12.
Community Education Committee meets
The Community Education Committee met by conference call March 3 to discuss Wear Blue Day planning, review media advocacy opportunities around the opioid epidemic, outline proposed changes to the PCSAO Media Guide, and begin to plan the annual conference workshop. The committee does not meet in April (Child Abuse Awareness Month) but plans to meet again May 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services for training on social media, technology and Dropbox.
Ohio Reach update
On March 2, Ohio Reach hosted a training at the University of Akron. With over 20 participants present from Student Affairs, Ohio Reach was able to talk about the importance of supporting former foster youth on the campus. Also in attendance were representatives from Summit County Children Services. They spoke on services provided for youth in care and what happens once a youth emancipates. Learn more about Ohio Reach.
Call for Presenters: 2017 PCSAO Conference
The 2017 PCSAO Conference will be held Sept. 27-29 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Columbus. The theme is “Everyday Heroes,” inspired by children services caseworkers and others who dedicate their careers to protecting children and strengthening families.
We are seeking presenters who offer insight, strategies, and hands-on resource materials. We are looking for workshops designed to share best practices and successful strategies that will empower our “everyday heroes.” The conference is an outstanding opportunity for you to make a valuable contribution to the advancement of child protection practice in Ohio. We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the conference. The deadline for submission is May 1. Download Call for Presenters.
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Announcements and Resources
March is National Professional Social Work Month: "Social Workers Stand Up!"
Celebrated each March, National Professional Social Work Month is an opportunity for social workers across the country to turn the spotlight on the profession and highlight the important contributions they make to society. Our nation’s more than 600,000 social workers have amazing tenacity and talent. They confront some of the most challenging issues facing individuals, families, communities and society, and forge solutions that help people reach their full potential and make our nation a better place to live. We celebrate the contributions of social workers during National Social Work Month in March. Visit Socialworkers.org for more information.
PCSA executive transition: Interim Director for Crawford County JFS
Please join us in welcoming Cassandra Holtzmann as the Interim Director at Crawford County JFS. We’d like to thank Director Linda Basset for her leadership and contributions during her years of service there.
CURES Act Funding Application
Ohio could see an influx of more than $50 million in federal funding to help fight the opioid epidemic through the 21st Century CURES Act.
To secure up to $26 million a year for the next two years, OhioMHAS was required to submit a grant application through the
State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants
program by Feb. 17. States and territories will be awarded funds through a formula based on unmet need for opioid use disorder treatment and drug poisoning deaths. OhioMHAS leadership elected to focus on several core principles in the application, including: medication-assisted treatment; prevention; Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); recovery supports; workforce development; and addressing secondary trauma among first responders (law enforcement, EMTs, fire personnel, etc.). Stakeholder input was solicited and received via a survey and webinar. Information on the progress of Ohio's application will be featured on a
dedicated webpage under
the Funding tab on the OhioMHAS website.
Learning Interactions with Valued Experts (LIVE)
Registration is now open for Lunchtime LIVE (Learning Interactions with Valued Experts), a new monthly webinar series focused on understanding the impact of substance use disorders on child welfare practice. The series provides access to content experts and an opportunity to explore practice applications across systems. The goal is to improve the use of evidence-based practices in child welfare, courts, and treatment systems that will assist families impacted by substance abuse. After the webinar, participants receive a summary of the session with links and resources to encourage additional learning. Join Lunchtime LIVE from noon to 1 p.m. on Fridays at the end of each month starting in March. Scheduled topics include “Understanding Addiction: Implications for Practice” (March 31), “Medication Assisted Treatment—Supporting Parents & Assuring Child Safety” (April 28), “Relating Current Ohio Opiate Epidemic Trends to Child Welfare Practice” (May 26), and “Best Practice Spotlight—Engaging Families in the Treatment Process” (June 23). The training is made possible by the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program’s Substance Abuse Training Partnership, and caseworkers/supervisors can count the time as supplemental training. More information and registration.
OFCA annual resource family training conference
OFCA's Resource Family Training conference will be held June 16-17 in Columbus. Training topics will include trauma skill development, sexual abuse tool kit, parent and youth panels, lifelong connections, youth transitions, communication across differences and more. More information and registration will be available soon. Visit www.ofcaonline.org.
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Child Protection in the News
- Mar. 3 – Editorial: Heroin epidemic straining children services – CantonRep.com
Denise Smith tells a harrowing tale about how two children, both under the age of 5, wound up in her office one day recently. The children were at home with their mother when she overdosed on heroin. When paramedics arrived, they used Naloxone, a medication that acts as an opioid antidote.
- Mar. 3 – A Breastfeeding Boost Might Improve Ohio's Infant-Mortality Rate (Includes audio) – Public News Service
Ohio ranks 45th among states for infant mortality, and for African-American babies, the rate is even higher. According to a new policy brief from the Children's Defense Fund Ohio, more than 18 percent of black infants are exclusively breastfed for three months after birth, compared with 41 percent of white infants. Click here for the Delivering Better Outcomes for Black Babies through Breastfeeding.
- Feb. 28 – Increase state child welfare spending, advocates urge – Vindy.com
Ohio's county children services agencies need more state funding as they struggle to provide care for children of opioid-addicted parents, child welfare advocates say.
- Feb. 28 – State custody emergencies triple in county; drug use linked – Star Beacon
Last year, Juvenile Court Judge Albert Camplese held three times as many emergency hearings in that court than in 2015 — many involving temporary child custody or placement motions on behalf of the county Children Services Board.
- Feb. 27 – The Welfare of Ohio’s Children: Foster Homes – 3rd Rail Politics
Mention of a “foster home” may generate images of a cruel Miss Hannigan screaming at Little Orphan Annie in the Municipal Girls Orphanage. Fiction or not, the stigma of foster care is pervasive.
- Feb. 25 – Funds needed for epidemic's young victims (Opinion) – Toledo Blade
Too many Lucas County children have had to enter the care of relatives or foster parents because their birth families have been blinded by their substance dependency. The number of children in LCCS custody jumped 21 percent between 2011 and 2016. The number of children placed in the custody of a relative skyrocketed 40 percent in that same time, even as the proportion of available kinship caregivers had declined.
- Feb. 22 – More foster parents, funding needed to battle heroin epidemic – WCPO
A family reunion like the Kippenberg's is a rarity in Ohio, where communities are battling unprecedented rates of heroin and prescription drug abuse. The children's homecoming bucks a disturbing trend unfolding as the heroin scourge rips apart tens of thousands of families with record numbers of children removed from homes of drug-addicted parents.
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March 9 I Rules Review Committee Meeting
March 10 I Conference Planning Committee Meeting
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“Diversity makes for a rich tapestry. We must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value, no matter their color; equal in importance, no matter their texture." – Maya Angelou
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
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