PCSAO Weekly Update: October 9, 2018

A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week

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Weekly Update for October 9, 2018

Association Updates

Board of Trustees meets

The Board of Trustees met Oct. 3 and approved the previous month’s meeting minutes and treasurer’s report. Stacy Cox, Director of Champaign County JFS, was welcomed to the board after being selected by the Southwest District. She replaces Steve Kaifas, Madison County JFS, who resigned in late August. The board appointed Robin Reese, Director of Lucas County CSB, to the board as an at-large metro representative. The board discussed a number of initiatives and efforts including the Citizen Review Panels report, kinship supports, FFPSA, ProtectOhio, and the Continuum of Care reform. The board reviewed the 2018 draft conference report and the third-quarter report from Vorys Health Care Advisors. The board concluded its meeting with legislative and rules updates and served as a focus group for ODJFS. The board meets next Nov. 7.

Anti-human trafficking update

PCSAO continues to seek opportunities to engage and train children services agencies and juvenile courts on the issue of human trafficking. Most recently, through this grant partnership, PCSAO and grant partners were able to offer two presentations (“Identifying and Responding to Human Trafficking and Exploitation of Children” and “Safe Harbor and the Courts: Protecting Ohio’s Most Vulnerable Victims of Human Trafficking”) at PCSAO’s annual conference. Contact PCSAO’s Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator at bhumika@pcsao.org for more information .

The Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center is offering a webinar on “Human Trafficking Program Evaluation and Data-Informed Practice” Oct. 16 from 2-3:30 p.m. Email humantrafficking@ovcttac.org for more information.

Rules Review Committee meets

The PCSAO Rules Review Committee met Oct. 4 at the ODJFS Air Center and welcomed four new members. The agenda included the proposed master contract and 5101:42 Substitute Care Chapter, currently in pre-clearance until Oct. 8, as well as Independent Living rules in clearance until Oct. 10. The committee also reviewed and discussed the results of a recent survey regarding how the committee is performing and discussed anticipated upcoming rule priorities. The committee next meets Nov. 1, via teleconference.

Community Education Committee tours Montgomery County facility

The CEC met Oct. 5 in Dayton to tour the Montgomery County Job Center, an impressive complex renovated two years ago to house most of Montgomery County's job and family services. While the tour covered all facets of the well-designed complex, such as family assistance and child support, the focus was on youth-serving programs, including CCMEP, Summer YouthWorks, and the Youth Resource Center, demonstrating how mulitple programs and funding streams are blended to serve at-risk youth in the county, including foster youth and alums. The committee's final meeting of the year will be by conference call. Contact scott@pcsao.org for information.

Rules update

Rules in pre-clearance: Review and comment here.

Chapter 5101:2-42, Substitute Care, are posted until Oct. 8. They are up for five-year review and possible changes due to the Family First Prevention Services Act.
Chapter 5101:2-47, Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance. This rule is being reviewed for a reduced period of a 14-day pre-clearance on the rules impacted by Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) requirements for Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Payments for Children Placed with a Parent in a Licensed Residential Family-Based Treatment Facility for Substance Abuse, starting on Monday, Oct. 1 to Monday, Oct. 15.
Chapter 5101:2-1, Children’s Definition of Terms, the Master Contract aka Agreement for Title IV-E Agencies and Providers for the Provision of Child Placement, is posted until Oct. 8. The Master Contract has been under review and revision for some time through a workgroup convened by ODJFS. The document currently in pre-clearance reflects that work.

Rules in clearance: Review and comment here or follow the links below:

5101:2-42-19 and 5101:2-42-19.2 , Independent Living Rules, in clearance until Oct. 10. These rules have been amended to clarify supervision services and to include instructions provided by the enactment of the Family First Prevention Services Act, P.L. 115-123.

Chapters 5101:2-7 and 9 , Children Services Licensing Rules, in clearance until Oct. 12. These rules are up for five-year review.

Announcements and Resources

The State of Grandfamilies in America Annual Report (updated in 2018)

Children who are removed from their parents’ care by the child welfare system because of substance use and put in foster care are now more likely to be placed with relatives than non-relatives, according to a newly updated report from Generations United , Raising the Children of the Opioid Epidemic: Solutions and Support for Grandfamilies. Download the updated full report, or access the original 2016 report here .

Healthy Kids Learning Community: Training events

The Center for Innovative Practice (CIP) is facilitating training events and workshops to increase skills, support communities and identify strategies to protect children and youth. Consider joining one of the following training events on Trauma-Informed Biographical Timelines (TIBT), an assessment and planning process that increases empathy and supports the whole person:

Oct. 23 at Butler County Developmental Disabilities, Janet Clemmons Center, 282 N. Fair Avenue, Hamilton, OH 45011
Jan. 31, 2019, at Mahoning County Children Services, 222 W. Federal Street, Youngstown, OH 44503
March 6, 2019, at the State Library of Ohio, 274 E. First Avenue #100, Columbus, OH 43201

All three trainings will be presented by Sarah Buffie, MSW, LSW, founding director of Soul Bird Consulting. Each training will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers 5.5 CEUs for counselors, social workers and MFTs. To register, send your information to Kimberlyn.Meyer@case.edu . Visit the webpage for more details.

Family and Youth in Crisis Fund update

OFCF/ODJFS approved 15 applications for SFY 2018 funding for expenses totaling $31,012.49. Services that were reimbursed include: Wraparound, In-Home Parent Child Coaching, Mentoring, Structured Activities to Improve Family Functioning, Rent and Utilities. The fiscal office at OhioMHAS worked with ODJFS and OFCF to refine the reimbursement process. Eligible applications for reimbursement were approved in less than five business days, and the reimbursement of funds moving forward will take less than 10 business days. There is an additional $5 million available for SFY 2019 funding.

Child Protection in the News

Oct. 6 - Collin Raye concert to benefit foster families - Marietta Times

Children committed to foster care have their lives disrupted in ways that need to be witnessed to be imagined. No matter how kind, sympathetic and welcoming their new, temporary homes are, nothing can make up for what they’ve lost.

Sep. 30 – Dozens’ walk for recovery in Athens – The Athens News

The Athens County Prosecutor’s Office held its first-annual Recovery Walk Saturday, with several dozen people walking from the Athens County Courthouse to Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare/Hopewell Health Centers on the city’s west side.