Weekly Update: April 5, 2021 |
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Cordle, Clark promoted at Fairfield County JFS
Fairfield County JFS Director Aunie Cordle has accepted a new position as Deputy County Administrator for Fairfield County effective April 10. Child Support and Workforce Deputy Director Corey Clark has been selected to replace her as director. We congratulate both of them and look forward to working more closely with Director Clark.
Metro counties discuss vaccines, returning to office
PCSAO’s metro counties met for their biweekly check-in on April 1. They discussed vaccine status for employees, the American Rescue Plan funding in their counties, return-to-office policies and Kinship Support Program updates from their agencies. The committee will meet next on April 15.
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Ohio START hiring!
Ohio START is seeking a regional manager to assist with management and implementation of our program, focused on the development and oversight of technical assistance in a specified region of the state. Read more here.
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State and Federal Updates |
Gov. Mike DeWine made the following announcements this week:
- Gov. DeWine announced that the state will begin working with colleges and universities to offer vaccination clinics on campuses across the state. These higher-education vaccination clinics will start next week and will offer the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The goal is to offer on-campus clinics to all of Ohio's college students before the school year ends in May.
- The governor also announced that Ohio will begin working with employers and other organizations to offer workplace vaccination clinics throughout Ohio. Beginning the week of April 12, vaccine providers can allot up to 25 percent of their vaccine allocation to be used to vaccinate their own employees or to partner with local employers, labor unions, and other organizations to vaccinate their employees at their work locations.
- For the past two Thursdays, Ohio's statewide average was just under 150 cases per 100,000 population. The two-week case rate has now risen to 167.1 cases per 100,000. New cases had been relatively flat through the month of March, but cases are beginning to increase once again, which demonstrates the necessity for Ohioans to choose to be vaccinated. To date, nearly 30 percent of Ohioans have received at least one dose of vaccine.
- According to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer at the Ohio Department of Health, variant activity continues to rise, closely mirroring what is occurring in the rest of the nation. Michigan is currently experiencing an increase in cases that is more than 3.5 times what Ohio is seeing, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this increase appears to be driven substantially by variants. Most of Ohio's rising case numbers and variant cases are happening in the area of the state bordering Michigan.
- Gov. DeWine said that as Ohio continues to receive increases in its vaccine allotment, the state will allot more doses to areas that are seeing case spikes or increases in vaccine demand.
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Pre-Clearance: As of April 2, there are no children services-related rules in Pre-Clearance.
Clearance: The following rule is in Clearance until April 12:
Filed with JCARR: The following rule was filed no-change on March 29:
The following rules were final-filed on March 30 with an effective date of May 1:
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Rule 5101:2-42-90 - Information to be provided to children, caregivers, school districts and juvenile courts.
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Rule 5101:2-48-15 - Provision of information to a prospective adoptive parent matched with a specific child.
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Rule 5101:2-48-21 - Child Study inventory.
The following rule was withdrawn on March 30:
The following rules were original-filed on April 1 with a hearing date of May 5:
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Rule 5101:2-47-07 - Notice of right to a hearing for foster care maintenance.
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Rule 5101:5-1-01 - Regional prevention councils operation and regional prevention council member duties.
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Rule 5101:5-1-02 - Regional prevention coordinator duties and selection process.
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Rule 5101:5-1-03 - Boards of county commissioners appointing of regional prevention council members.
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Rule 5101:5-1-04 - Regional prevention council designations.
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Resources
OCA's call for conference presenters closes April 7
The Ohio Children's Alliance is seeking proposals from presenters until April 7 for its annual conference, Transforming Care for Kids, July 26-29. Focus areas will include advocacy and public policy, best practices in child welfare, best practices in behavioral health, diversity and inclusion, and strategy innovation and leadership. Find more information here.
Introductory Center of Excellence webinar April 7
Gov. DeWine’s Office of Children’s Initiatives is offering an introductory overview of Ohio’s new Statewide Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence on April 7 at 1 p.m. The webinar is in conjunction with the Ohio departments of Developmental Disabilities, Health, Job and Family Services, Medicaid, and Mental Health and Addiction Services, Youth Services, along with Ohio Family and Children First. The Center of Excellence will be responsible for building and sustaining a standardized assessment process, evaluating the effectiveness of services, and expanding service and care coordination capacity for children with complex behavioral health needs and their families. It will also provide orientation, training, coaching, mentoring, and other functions/supports as needed to support Ohio’s statewide child-caring provider network. Registration is not required. Use this link to join the Microsoft Teams meeting.
Intersecting pandemics: Opioid epidemic, COVID-19 webinar series
The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Siegal Lifelong Learning Program are offering a free, month-long lecture series that will examine how COVID-19 has impacted the opioid crisis in Ohio. Intersecting Pandemics: The Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19 will take place virtually on Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-noon April 6-27. For questions, contact Dr. Ravenel Richardson. Topics include:
Ohio Commission on Fatherhood offers 'Responsible Fatherhood' grants
Registration opens for ODJFSDA annual training conference
The Ohio Job and Family Services Directors' Association announced that registration for its 2021 annual training conference is now open. All conference sessions were carefully chosen to benefit supervisors, managers, directors, and other current or future leaders across all JFS program areas. The two-day virtual event will be May 6-7 and will offer an opening plenary session, keynote address, three concurrent 60-minute supervisory-focused sessions, and a 30-minute wellness opportunity per day. Participants will also enjoy a 15-minute break between each activity to promote engagement and manage fatigue. The $75 flat rate registration fee includes access to all live sessions as well as optional wellness and engagement activities. Registrants will also have access to available recordings for three months after the event. Each CDJFS will continue to receive two free registrations with their membership dues. View the EVENT SCHEDULE and SESSION DESCRIPTIONS, or SUBMIT YOUR REGISTRATION. Please note: To access and complete the registration form, you will be required to log in or create an account. All registrants will receive an email confirmation that appears to be an invoice but serves only as confirmation of registration. An official invoice will be sent to those paying by check after the event with applicable registration fee adjustments included.
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Child Protection in the News |
In talks with the Defender, community leaders shared their experiences in the field of education for National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
There’s a special pinwheel garden in Boardman Park that will help bring awareness to child abuse. The annual event focuses on placing a pinwheel for each adult that has spoken up and become the voice of a young child suffering from abuse.
Ohio House Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) said his grandmothers raised a number of children in his family, including their own, and one currently is helping to raise a great-grandchild.
School closures and the prolonged isolation of last spring’s stay-at-home orders led to a decrease in child abuse and neglect reports. Parents and child advocates worried that youth were at risk of suffering from depression, suicidal thoughts, hunger or substance abuse.
Ava Lerario lived in a home marked by both love and chaos, even before the walls of the pandemic started closing in on her fractured family.
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Calendar and Job Postings |
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April 7 | Board of Trustees Meeting
April 15 | Northwest District Meeting
April 16 | East Central District Meeting
Note: Meetings will be held via web meeting for the foreseeable future.
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Looking for a career in child protection? Or a new position to challenge yourself?
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