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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for October 21, 2019
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Association Updates
Family First Prevention Services Subcommittee holds retreat
The Family First Prevention Services Subcommittee held a two-day retreat Oct. 15-16. The Center for the Study of Social Policy facilitated the retreat and brought national expertise and knowledge to the discussion. Carla Carpenter, ODJFS Office of Families and Children Deputy Director, opened the retreat by reflecting on encouraging works from ACF Commissioner Jerry Milner. The Subcommittee, consisting of over 35 members -- including PCSAs, private providers, families, advocacy groups, and state partners -- made considerable progress. By the end of the two-day retreat, the Subcommittee made a recommendation on how Ohio should define candidacy for prevention services, identified evidence-based prevention programs that could meet the needs of children and youth identified as candidates and their families, and pregnant and parenting youth in foster care, and brainstormed what a prevention case pathway could look like in the context of screened-in cases. These recommendations were sent to the FFPSA Leadership Committee for consideration at its Oct. 17 meeting.
FFPSA Leadership Committee meets
The FFPSA Leadership Committee met Oct. 17 and spent a good portion of the morning discussing the recommendations from the Prevention Services Subcommittee. The Leadership Committee modified the recommended definition of candidacy and approved its moving forward. The Leadership Committee approved the identified evidence-based prevention programs that will need further consideration with regard to cost, evaluation, fidelity monitoring, training, and capacity. The Leadership Committee then approved a trauma-informed care definition related to prevention services. The afternoon portion of the meeting included updates from the QRTP Subcommittee, the Executive Committee, the Communications Subcommittee, and PCSAO’s Tiered Treatment Foster Care workgroup. Plans for how child fatality and Chafee extension would be addressed were shared with the Committee. The FFPSA Leadership Committee will meet next on Nov. 25.
East Central District meets
The PCSAO East Central District met Oct. 18 and received updates from PCSAO and OCWTP. The District discussed the region’s cost for foster care placements, the pending Multi-System Youth rule and funds, and the PCSAO dues proposal. The District renewed Trustees' terms for PCSAO’s Board and set its 2020 meeting schedule. The meeting concluded with updates from the counties in attendance. The District will meet next on Jan. 17.
Southwest District meets
At the Oct. 16 meeting, members reviewed and discussed updates from ODJFS Regional Technical Assistance staff, the Regional Training Centers, the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program, and PCSAO, including a Trustees update. In addition, members discussed the newly announced Multi-System Youth programs, Family First Prevention Services Act planning and implementation, and current challenges and successes facing their agencies. The district meets next on Dec. 11.
Northwest District meets
At the Oct. 17 meeting, members reviewed and discussed PCSAO and Trustee updates, the newly announced Multi-System Youth programs, Family First Prevention Services Act planning and implementation, and current challenges and successes facing agencies. The district is establishing a calendar for future meetings.
Rules updates
Pre-Clearance: As of Oct. 18, no children-services related rules were in pre-clearance.
Clearance: Family, Children and Adult Services Manual Transmittal Letter, Multi-System Youth Program and Funding, is in Clearance through Oct. 24. You can review and comment
here.
Guardian Ad Litem rules: The Ohio Supreme Court will accept public comments on proposed
amendments
to Rules of Superintendence 48 through 48.07 on guardians ad litem (GAL) through Nov. 6. Key proposed changes include:
- Adds a limited scope of appointment to Rule 48.02(F) of the Rules of Superintendence. Limited scope appointments are available in other states, but not in Ohio.
- Requires a separate attorney to represent a child in abuse, neglect, dependency, unruly, and delinquency cases in which the wishes of the child differ from the recommendations of the GAL.
- Increases the pre-service education for GALs to 12 hours from six hours, with a grandfather clause allowing GALs that have undergone pre-service education to continue serving without completing the training again.
- Increases the continuing legal education requirements from three hours to six hours each year.
- Establishes criteria for the appointment and removal of GALs and procedures to ensure an equitable distribution of the workload among GALs.
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Announcements and Resources
Save the date
The Third Annual Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Summit will be Nov. 22 at the Ohio Statehouse. The event will be an interactive experience to educate high school students on human trafficking.
Learn more and register here
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TA Telegram offers children's behavioral health resources
Looking for the latest news on children's behavioral health? Sign up for the “TA Telegram.” A regular e-newsletter from the National TA Network for Children's Behavioral Health, the TA Telegram provides news updates, learning opportunities, and resources, much of it
involving multi-system youth and System of Care issues. The network is the “go-to” source for technical assistance.
Sign up here
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Thanksgiving dinners scheduled for current, former foster youth
ACTION Ohio has announced its four regional early Thanksgivings for foster care teens (ages 14+) and alumni (ages 18+):
1) NE Ohio Thanksgiving in Cleveland:
Nov. 2, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saint Ignatius High School, 1911 West 30th St., Cleveland, OH 44113
*Parking is available next to the Breen Center on Lorain Ave.
2) SW Ohio Thanksgiving in Cincinnati:
Nov. 16, 1 – 3 p.m.
Junior League of Cincinnati’s Columbia Center, 3500 Columbia Pkwy, Cincinnati, OH 45226
*Street parking and parking lot nearby
3) SE Ohio Thanksgiving in Athens:
Nov. 17, 1 – 4 p.m.
Ohio University, Grover Center
*There are parking meters and a large parking lot nearby
4) Central Ohio Thanksgiving in Columbus:
Nov. 24, 1 – 4 p.m.
eStem Academy, 8579 Summit Road, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
*Lots of free parking on-site. Look for the balloons to find the right entrance.
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Child Protection in the News
As a critical trial deadline bears down, lawyers for states and the three largest drug distributors in the country, along with two manufacturers, have agreed on a framework for a deal to resolve thousands of opioid cases with a settlement worth nearly $50 billion in cash and addiction treatments.
In a drug court, the most visible people helping participants are a judge and their staff. But there are others who help those in need, including volunteers.
While the economy has improved in the past decade, the cost of rent has increased much faster than incomes, especially for those working in low-wage jobs. In fact, only 3 of 10 most common jobs in Ohio actually pay enough to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment. So it's not a surprise that homelessness is on the rise in Columbus and throughout the state, especially among working families. Nearly one-third of the 70,123 homeless Ohioans are children, including 2,943 babies - a number that has increased 53% in five years.
Trumbull County Children Services was given $120,000 from the Ohio START program — a state program initialized by the Ohio Attorney General's ...
Conventional wisdom has long held that a parent's incarceration could have negative short- and long-term effects on a child's development. New research based on data from Ohio's three largest cities concludes that, in certain cases, a child could benefit from a jailed parent.
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Oct. 23 | Rules Review Committee Meeting
Oct. 28 | Southeast District Meeting
Nov. 6 | Board of Trustees Meeting
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
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