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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for September 11, 2017
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Association Updates
Welcome PCSAO interns: Jennifer Scholl, Lucas Greer
Jennifer is a second-year graduate student in The Ohio State University’s Master of Social Work program. A Cincinnati native, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati before working for three years as a case manager for adults with mental illness. While taking time out to be a full-time mom to her four-year-old daughter, Lily, she became a Red Cross volunteer with the first aid and disaster relief teams. She was also a volunteer mentor for several years in a program for children of incarcerated parents. She enjoys spending time with her family, and is an eternally optimistic Reds and Bengals fan.
Lucas is a graduate student at The Ohio State University, pursuing a Master of Public Administration. Lucas received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Le Moyne College and holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Virginia. He was born and raised in Syracuse, NY, and in his free time enjoys participating in the local arts community.
PCSAO is excited to welcome both Jennifer and Lucas to the team!
Board of Trustees meets
The PCSAO board met Sept. 6 and approved the August meeting minutes and financial report. The board reviewed the 2018 Mission Champions sponsorship opportunities that will be launched at the annual conference, developed several policies related to the new dues structure, received updates on the new residential action planning workgroup, and planned for the upcoming executive membership meeting Sept. 29. The board was notified of trustees who need to be replaced or have their term renewed at upcoming district meetings. A considerable amount of time was spent discussing and deciding what type of action to take with certain legislative bills, rules, and policy opportunities. The board will meet next on Oct. 4.
Ohio START Southern Consortium meets
The Ohio START Southern Consortium met at Ohio University during the afternoon of Sept. 7 to discuss pilot implementation. The meeting kicked off with a panel of both parent alumni and PCSA employees discussing the role of parent mentors in recovery and children services. After the panel, discussion focused on the role of parent mentors in the Ohio START program, including training and evaluation plans. The Ohio START Southern Consortium meets again Nov. 14.
Rules updates
The PCSAO Rules Review Committee met Sept. 7. Discussion topics included the status of the revised screening and investigation rules scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1. Based on feedback, ODJFS has withdrawn those rules and will re-file them at a later date. This will allow more time for dialogue on the content of the rules and education on Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) implementation. In addition, the committee discussed rules development for child welfare background checks for PCSA hiring, as passed in the state budget, and IV-E maintenance rules recently in pre-clearance. The committee next meets via teleconference Oct. 5. Contact
mary@pcsao.org
for more information.
Pre-clearance
The Master Contract form, Agreement for Title IV-E Agencies and Providers for Provision of Child Placement, is currently in pre-clearance until Sept. 30. You can review and comment by clicking
here
.
Upcoming public hearing
A public hearing on new rules 5101:2-50-01, Bridges Definitions, and 5101:2-50-04, Bridges Title IV-E Eligibility and Reimbursability Determination, will be held Oct. 10. For more information, click
here
.
Butler County pay for performance covered in webinar
Many thanks to Bill Morrison, Shannon Glendon and Julie Gilbert of Butler County JFS for sharing information about their Pay for Performance program in Friday’s webinar, part of the 2017 PCSAO Executive Distance Learning Series. The recording of the webinar is available to PCSAO members; contact
scott@pcsao.org
.
OAPG hears latest on Bridges
The Ohio Adoption Planning Group met Sept. 6 to hear updates on the new Bridges program for 18- to 20-year-olds and learn about progress on post-adoption services. OAPG is seeking new officers for 2018 and is looking for ways to support adoptive families before they go into crisis and face disruption or dissolution. To join OAPG’s listserv, email
scott@pcsao.org
. The next meeting is Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. at the Worthington United Methodist Church.
Helping Ohio Parent Effectively (HOPE) presentations in Athens
A HOPE panel gave two presentations in Athens County Sept. 7. The panelists spoke to Athens County Children Services staff in the morning followed by an afternoon presentation at the Ohio START Southern Consortium meeting. Panel members included parent partners Rhonda and Jeffrey Mays and Arlana Strickland and HOPE partners from Cuyahoga and Richland counties Selina Dublin, Alesia Haskins and Brianne Kindinger. Beth Kinney, supervisor of the Substance Intervention Unit at Summit County Children Services, also participated in the afternoon presentation. The parent partners shared their personal stories of recovery and reunification with their children and their experience working with parents entering the child welfare system. The professional staff panelists shared their experience developing and maintaining peer support programs. Panelists shared their successes, rewards, challenges, and obstacles in participating in peer mentoring programs. Anyone interested in a panel presentation should contact Renay Sanders at
renay@synergyforce.net
or 330-212-1131.
A video of parent stories
is available on the HOPE website.
Fourth annual Fostering Pathways to Success conference
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, PCSAO and Ohio Reach are partnering once again to sponsor the Fostering Pathways to Success conference. This year’s theme is “Crossing Bridges to Your Future.” This statewide conference is for transitioning and emancipated foster youth and their adult supporters. The conference will be Oct. 12 at Xenos Christian Fellowship, 1390 Community Park Drive, Columbus, OH 43229. Independent living coordinators, ongoing case managers, agency administrators, workforce professionals and others working with foster youth are encouraged to attend and bring youth in foster care ages 14-18 and young adults formerly in care ages 19-21. Invitees also include Ohio Reach college campus liaisons, higher education professionals, high school guidance counselors, and others committed to the success of foster youth in high school, higher education, employment, and self-sufficiency.
We encourage you to share this information with others at your agency, and plan to attend with youth and young adults from your county. Register early to secure your spot, as we expect to reach capacity. Conference registration will be free, and parking at the conference venue is free.
If you have any questions regarding the registration process, contact Shelly Boyd, Transitional Youth Coordinator,
Shelly.Boyd@jfs.ohio.gov
, 614-752-2701. Also, if you are interested in volunteering for the 2017 Fostering Pathways to Success Conference, click
here
to sign up. We look forward to seeing you and your youth at this year’s conference!
PCSAO conference Sept. 27-29
We are expecting more than 500 attendees and 40 exhibitors at the conference this year. We make every effort to create an educational and meaningful conference that allows caseworkers, supervisors, attorneys, managers, trainers, administrators, and directors the opportunity to network and expand their knowledge within the child protection realm. If you have not yet registered, please do so. The deadline for registration is Sept. 15. Click
here
to register now. The conference update and announcements will be posted on the conference website:
www.pcsao.org/programs/conference
.
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Announcements and Resources
Safe and Together briefing examines parenting strengths of IPV survivors
The Safe and Together Institute released its first Domestic Violence-Informed Research Briefing, focused on research related to the parenting strengths of adult survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. This paper and future research briefings are designed to advance understanding of the evidence that supports domestic violence-informed policy and practice. The first briefing attempts to clear away the cloud of judgment and misperception around domestic violence survivors that has often guided policy and practice.
Read the briefing
.
TA, funding available for child welfare family housing instability
The Corporation for Supportive Housing is seeking eligible and qualified governments and tribes that are interested in receiving intensive technical assistance to determine the feasibility of and move toward implementing a Pay for Success initiative with the aim of addressing housing instability among child welfare-involved families. Awardees may receive up to $15,000 to help support them in participating. A live bidders’ webinar/teleconference will take place Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. Click
here
to register for the webinar. Access the full RFP with details, timeline and deadlines by clicking
here
.
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Child Protection in the News
St. Marys resident Mike Lhamon has joined the Connect Our Kids team as a Give BIG America campaign ambassador.
Tessi Wright was 14 and pregnant on Dec. 2, 2002, when her mother and father, Donald and Brenda Wright, and Gallia County Judge William S. Medley all gave their approval for her to marry Richard E. Siders. The groom was 48.
The region's drug problems are having an effect on the littlest and most vulnerable residents - children. According to Summit County Children Services (SCCS) officials, the opioid crisis locally is presenting additional challenges to the tax-levy supported agency. "We forget there's children left behind in the wake of this epidemic," said Ann Ream, director of community relations for SCCS.
For Trish Perry, the United Way event on addiction and mental health challenges Wednesday at the Licking County Library was not some theoretical discussion, but real life with real emotion.
Too many children in our state who are displaced by their parents' opioid addiction "need a safe place to be." They're caught in the child welfare crisis that's driven largely by Ohio's opiate epidemic.
In just one year, the number of kids in foster care grew by 10 percent to more than 15,000 children in 2016. Of those taken into custody under the age of one,
70 percent had parents who used opioids
, according to the Public Children Protective Services Association of Ohio, a Columbus-based nonprofit.
With more than 15,000 children in foster care in Ohio according to state officials, a Hamilton couple is working to make a difference by opening a home and community resource for foster families.
Butler County Job and Family Services will be changing the way they help people get off public assistance and into good jobs with added programs, such as life skills classes.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is urging Ohioans to consider becoming foster parents. DeWine expressed the need for foster families has dramatically increased because of the opioid epidemic, according to an Aug. 24 news release from his office.
Attorney General Mike DeWine recently urged more Ohioans to become foster parents as the opioid epidemic continues to strain county child welfare agencies. That plea struck a chord with two local residents who have been working to improve the state of foster care in Butler and Hamilton county.
The opioid epidemic in Hancock County continues to stretch the county budget. The commissioners on Thursday approved about $190,500 in additional appropriations to cover attorney fees for indigent individuals ($80,000), Job and Family Services for foster care ($100,000), and Children's Services ($10,500).
Hopkins and her daughter were tested as part of a universal drug screening program for newborns. Nearly a dozen hospitals use the program. Since 2013, the program has identified hundreds of opiate-dependent babies.
Greene County Children's Services has seen a 22 percent increase in new children services cases from 2015 through 2016 in addition to a 65 percent increase in children being placed - but only 51 licensed foster homes.
Angela Sausser, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, said the crisis is fueling the numbers of children without homes. “As Ohio continues to be devastated by rapidly increasing numbers of opioid overdose deaths, the children services system is experiencing similar climbs in the foster care population.
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Sept. 13 | Human Resources/Safety Committee Meeting
Sept. 14 | Ohio START Steering Committee Meeting
Sept. 18 | Legislative Committee Meeting
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“Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.” –
Heraclitus
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
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