PCSAO Weekly Update: November 5, 2018

A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week

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Weekly Update for November 5, 2018

Association Updates

Rescheduled EDMS-child welfare webinar

Northwoods and DAS are hosting the next monthly EDMS-child welfare webinar to provide the latest updates on Nov. 13, 9-10 a.m. The webinar is being rescheduled from Nov. 12 due to the Veterans’ Day holiday. To join this webinar on Nov. 13 at 9 a.m., please click here .

Ohio START expands

Ohio START is excited to announce the expansion of the pilot program to 17 additional counties. The PCSAs participating in cohort 2 of the pilot program are Ashtabula, Butler, Carroll, Delaware, Erie, Hardin, Lorain, Mercer, Morrow, Muskingum, Ottawa, Richland, Seneca, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Washington. The total number of participating counties is now 34. The pilot program is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office through the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) through federal State Opioid Response (SOR) funding. On Oct. 30, the pilot program held a kick-off event for cohort 2 counties where Children and Family Futures provided training on the seven essential principles of the program. For more information about the expansion, click here . Learn more information about START.

Key meetings move big issues forward

PCSAO staff participated in two key meetings last week, the Child and Family Services Review Program Improvement Plan and Partners for Ohio's Families. At the former, federal monitors and technical assistance providers heard from the 15 CFSR counties about ways to improve practice and meet federal measures. Short-term solutions were discussed for the two-year PIP period, but longer-term needs, such as improvements to CAPMIS and workforce turnover, were understood as key. Similar discussions were had at the PfOF meeting, where public and private partners agreed to focus on communication and coordination needs for major state initiatives, including the PIP, the five-year Child and Family Services Plan, Family First Act implementation, and PCSAO's Children's Continuum of Care Reform.

Rules Review Committee meets

The PCSAO Rules Review Committee met via teleconference Nov. 1. The committee reviewed and discussed two rules currently in clearance: The Master Contract aka Agreement for Title IV-E Agencies and Providers for the Provision of Child Placement, and rules impacted by FCM for Children Placed with a Parent in a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility . The committee also considered anticipated work in 2019. The committee next meets on Dec. 13.

Rules update

As of Nov. 2, no children services rules are in pre-clearance.

Rules in clearance: Review and comment here .

The Master Contract aka Agreement for Title IV-E Agencies and Providers for the Provision of Child Placement, is in clearance through Nov. 8.
Rules impacted by FCM for Children Placed with a Parent in a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility are in clearance through Nov. 9. This is a follow-up to FCASPL 338. The rules impacted are 5101:2-47-11, 5101:2-47-12, 5101:2-47-16, 5101:2-47-23, 5101:2-47-24 (new rule), 5101:2-47-26, 5101:2-47-26.1, 5101:2-47-26.2.
5101:2-1-01, “Children services definitions of terms,” sets forth the definitions of terms used in Chapters 5101:2-5, 5101:2-7, 5101:2-9, 5101:2-33, 5101:2-36, 5101:2-37, 5151:2-38, 5101:2-39, 5101:2-40, 5101:2-42, 5101:2-48, 5101:2-50, 5101:2- 52, and 5101:2-53 of the Administrative Code. This rule has been amended to add or revise the terms of “Adopted young adult, Case plan for direct placements, Emancipation, Independent living arrangement, Sibling, and Substance exposed infant” to the definitions rule. In clearance until Nov. 5.
5101:2-40-02, “Supportive services for prevention of placement, reunification and life skills,” sets forth the requirements for PCSAs to provide or arrange services for families when the PCSA determines the services are necessary. This rule has been reviewed for the five-year review requirement. No changes were made. In clearance until Nov. 5.

HOPE update

Building a Better Future training took place Oct. 17-19. The workshop was well attended with a good mix of primary parents, agency staff and foster parents. Participants were from three HOPE counties, Stark, Montgomery and Fairfield. Karen Ezirim and Rhonda Mayes, HOPE parent partners, served as co-facilitators with Renay Sanders.

Announcements and Resources

Executive transition

Wyandot County JFS has a new child welfare administrator, Megan Rowe. Please join us in welcoming Megan, who replaces Rodney Traxler.

November recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month

National Adoption Month is a federal initiative from the Children's Bureau with a goal to increase awareness and bring attention to the need for permanent families for children and youth in the foster care system. In Ohio, more than 2,800 children are in foster care waiting to be adopted. Nearly half of those children are teenagers, and they have spent, on average, over four years in foster care. More information and resources are available from the Children’s Bureau.

Birth Parent National Network’s fourth virtual convening

The Birth Parent National Network’s (BPNN) fourth virtual convening is set for Nov. 27 and Dec. 4. BPNN members and keynote speakers will share new ideas and strategies that focus on "Putting Families First." Join BPNN and share this information with any organizations and individual parents who may be interested in becoming a BPNN member to take advantage of this virtual convening and other opportunities to learn and connect. To learn more about the BPNN and join, click here .

Innovation Next: Call for applicants

Power to Decide, the campaign to prevent unplanned pregnancy, announced the launch of the third round of its Innovation Next program. Made possible with support from the HHS Office of Adolescent Health, Innovation Next is a unique accelerator program aimed at redefining adolescent sexual health for the 21st century through a focus on technology-enabled ideas. This year, five new teams will be selected to participate in the program. Each team will receive a $70,000 award to apply Design Thinking to the development of an innovative, technology-based sexual health intervention for teens. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 2 and winners will be announced in February 2019. Learn more information and join a webinar on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.

Avoiding burnout in high-stress work environment training event

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. This training is an interactive three-hour session, designed to teach the participants to use the healing modalities of yoga therapy, Reiki, essential oil therapy, nutrition and contemplative care. This curriculum is uniquely designed to treat the classic symptoms of secondary traumatic stress and can be used within, and potentially shared across, any child-serving systems: child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, education, health care. There are six opportunities to attend the training; all sessions are 1-4 p.m.

Nov. 14 – Tuscarawas JFS, 389 16th St. SW, New Philadelphia, OH 44663
Nov. 29 – Cuyahoga County Public Library, 16699 Bagley Rd., Middleburg Hts., OH
Dec. 6 – Ross County DD, 167 W. Main St., Chillicothe, OH
Jan. 17, 2019 – Sandusky Artisans Co-op, 138 E. Market St., Sandusky, OH
Feb. 5, 2019 – Montgomery County ADAMHS, 409 E. Monument Ave., Dayton, OH
March 21, 2019 – SE location TBD

To meet the trainer, Marcia Miller, and to learn more about what to expect at a session, please take a few minutes to watch this introductory webinar . For more information and registration, contact Kimberlyn.Meyer@case.edu .

ACEs Infographic

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University recently released an infographic on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their effects on development. ACEs are tied to toxic stress, which can lead to negative physical and emotional consequences. By working toward meeting children’s basic needs, toxic stress and its negative consequences could be reduced for long-term benefits. View the infographic here .

National foster home report released

The Chronicle of Social Change has published new data on nationwide and state-by-state foster care data. This report was published with concern that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain foster caregivers. According to data, there has been an 18% rise in the number of youth in Ohio entering the foster care system across all placement settings since 2012. Of these youth, fewer are entering non-relative foster care and increasingly being placed with kin or in congregate care. For more information, view the data here .

Child Protection in the News

Nov. 2 – Annual Adoption Day celebrates two families’ willingness to open their homes and hearts – Youngstown Vindicator

Two families celebrated the addition of new members during the fifth annual Adoption Day ceremony at the Mahoning County Probate Court.

Oct. 31 – AG’s START Family Recovery, Intervention Program Expands to 34 Counties – Hannah News

Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Sobriety, Treatment and Reducing Trauma (START) Program for families battling substance abuse is expanding to more than a third of Ohio, even as some areas of the state hardest hit by the opioid epidemic have dropped out of the adult recovery and child intervention initiative.

Oct. 31 – Children services questions commissioners' merger decision – Marietta Times

The Children Services Board held a special board meeting to open a citizen forum concerning the Washington County Commissioners' decision last week to merge Children Services with Washington County's Department of Job and Family Services.

Oct. 31 – Helping Broken Families Heal: Ohio Program Expands (Includes audio) – Public News Service

The opioid crisis has left some parents struggling with addiction, resulting in an overburdened foster-care system. An innovative program is expanding in Ohio to help these parents and their children heal. Highland County is one of the first 17 counties participating in the Ohio START pilot.

Oct. 29 – Ohio to get $56 million to combat opioids, GOP lawmakers announce before election – Cleveland Plain Dealer

State lawmakers are heralding nearly $56 million in federal funding that has been directed to combat the opioid epidemic in Ohio.

Oct. 29 – Drug-addicted babies worry Hancock County judge – The Findlay Courier

Hancock County Juvenile Court Judge Kristen Johnson is worried about babies born with drugs in their systems.

Oct. 28 – Pilot program aims to help parents struggling with substance abuse and keep families together – NBC News

With a severe shortage of foster care options, Ohio authorities developed a pilot program called START to help families impacted by the opioid crisis.