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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for September 5, 2017
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Association Updates
Welcome PCSAO intern Carter Hall
PCSAO welcomes a new intern, Carter Hall. Carter is a senior at The Ohio State University, pursuing his degree in public policy analysis. He was born and raised in Gahanna, Ohio, and will be interning during the fall semester of 2017.
PCSAO Conference is just around the corner!
We are expecting over 500 attendees and 40 exhibitors at the conference this year. We make every effort to create an educational and meaningful event 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. Learn
more about the conference
. The deadline for registration is Sept. 15.
As drug overdose deaths climb, so do the numbers of children in foster care
On Aug. 30, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released 2016 drug overdose death data showing that Ohio overdose deaths increased by 33%, from 3,050 to 4,050, between 2015 and 2016. The report shows a sharp rise in overdose deaths involving the opioid fentanyl, the emergence of more deadly fentanyl-related drugs like carfentanil, and indications that cocaine is now being used with fentanyl and other opiates. 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. Ohio’s foster care population grew by 10% in just one year to over 15,000 children. Compared to 2010, 22% more Ohio children are in foster care today. This is a significant increase in children who have been removed from their homes and placed in foster care, driven largely by the opioid epidemic. Read the
ODH press release
. Learn more about the
2016 Ohio Drug Overdose Report
.
Family Finding Convening makes strong case for kin placements
Offering nationally and internationally known speakers, the third annual Family Finding Convening hosted by the Waiting Child Fund Aug. 29 presented compelling evidence about better outcomes and lower costs achieved when placing children with kin rather than in foster care. Baltimore’s child welfare director and Annie E. Casey Foundation Fellow Molly McGrath Tierney shared her
2014 TED Talk
and discussed the challenges of changing agency culture to focus on permanency. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine elaborated on a grant his office recently awarded to Waiting Child Fund to support children services agencies in identifying kin who will take placement of children when they come into temporary custody.
Author, speaker and trainer Kevin Campbell
shared details about the development of his models that promote permanent connections for youth, now being used in the U.S., Australia and beyond. Many PCSAs assembled teams to attend the convening that included judges, magistrates, prosecutors, and providers so that all county stakeholders could hear the important message about kin. Click
here
for more information.
PAX Good Behavior Game
As a part of the
21st Century CURES Act
in an effort to combat the opioid epidemic, OhioMHAS is supporting training, professional development and ongoing support for teachers to implement the
PAX Good Behavior Game
. For more information about what PAX is, how to get PAX in your community and the impact of PAX, please visit the
PAX Ohio webpage.
Click
here
to view a presentation that discusses all aspects of the project. For questions, please contact Valerie Leach at
valerie.connolly-leach@mha.ohio.gov
.
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Announcements and Resources
Operation Street Smart training in Coshocton County
If you are interested in learning current and up-to-date narcotics information on trends, terminology, paraphernalia, concealment techniques, and physiological effects on those individuals who deal with today’s youth on a daily basis, please contact Jed McCoy at
Jed.McCoy@jfs.ohio.gov
. The training is scheduled on Oct. 3 at Coshocton County Career Center.
2017 Pediatric Mental Health Symposium
2017 Pediatric Mental Health Symposium is a one-day comprehensive education event being held to raise awareness of current mental health trends and their impact on mental health care for children and adolescents. The symposium is scheduled for Sept. 11. Click
here
for more information.
4th Annual Fostering Pathways to Success Conference
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Service, PCSAO and the Ohio Reach Board 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, Ohio 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. Please 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, please 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, please click
here
to sign up. We look forward to seeing you and your youth at this year’s conference!
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Child Protection in the News
As the drug epidemic worsens in Ohio, there are sometimes more kids to place than places to put them. That's why the Fairfield County Job and Family Services office has at times housed children in offices overnight and on weekends when they couldn't immediately be placed with foster parents.
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.
I’ve got a placement.” Terrie Brown got up from her dining-room table and walked just out of earshot from the college representative sitting with her eldest son and husband. It was after 6 p.m. on a warm April evening in Belpre, Ohio.
Attorney General Mike DeWine made a plea Thursday for more Ohioans to become foster parents as the opioid epidemic continues to strain county child welfare agencies.
There are so many children misplaced by the heroin problem in Ohio that in an unprecedented move, Attorney General Mike DeWine came forward Thursday to encourage people to become foster parents.
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September 7 | Rules Review Committee Meeting
September 7 | Ohio START County Quarterly Meeting
September 8 | Executive Distance Learning Series
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“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." -
Theodore Roosevelt
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
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