 |
A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
|
|
Weekly Update for July 22, 2019
|
Association Updates
Governor signs budget bill with unprecedented children services investments
On July 18, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Biennial Budget, which includes $237 million in new investments for children and family services. PCSAO expresses its deep appreciation to the Governor, House Speaker Larry Householder and his colleagues, and the Senate for their extraordinary support.
Read more
.
Conference registration opens
Registration for the annual conference scheduled Sept. 25-27 is now open! Check out the
conference registration brochure
for the list of workshops, make your selections, and
register early
to take advantage of discounts. Rates increase after Aug. 17. One- and two-day rates are available in addition to the three-day registration fee. Hotel reservations must be made separately.
Gift baskets are a great opportunity to support the conference in a fun and creative way. This is a chance to highlight unique local offerings like desserts, specialty drinks and more. Gift baskets can be brought to the conference location on Sept. 25. This is one of the major highlights of the conference. We thank you for your contributions and participation!
To learn more about the various sponsorship and exhibitor packages and to register,
click here
. If you have any questions or would like more information about these opportunities to support the child welfare community,
contact Nitina Francis
via email or phone at 614-224-5802. Opportunities for sponsorships and exhibit tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis., so register early, but no later than Sept. 1.
Northwest District meets
Kari Akins of the ODJFS Office of Children Services Transformation and Chelsea Cordonnier of the Governor's Office of Children's Initiatives shared plans for their offices at a July 18 joint meeting of the OJFSDA and PCSAO Northwest District. Turnout was high and the mood was celebratory when announcement came of the Governor's signature on the biennial budget. The group expressed its appreciation for the investments (see story above) and exchanged ideas for maximizing the new funding. The PCSAO district meets next Oct. 17.
Ohio START seeks PCSAs to join Cohort 3
The application for PCSAs to join Ohio START’s 3
rd
cohort is now open and can be
found here
.
The application will close on Aug. 23 and PCSAs will be notified of acceptance by Sept. 5. For any questions, please reach out to
Fawn Gadel
.
Ohio START seeks to fill several positions
PCSAO is looking to build its Ohio START team to continue to support the program as it expands across the state. PCSAO has posted several positions, the details of which can be found below:
- Program Manager: PCSAO seeks a program manager to assist with the management and implementation of the Ohio START program. In this role, the program manager will focus on the oversight and management of technical assistance required and provided to Ohio START grantees. The Ohio START Program Manager will create regional technical assistance hubs, recruit and manage personnel providing direct technical assistance to the grantees and work closely with our national START partners to ensure technical assistance meets model fidelity. In addition, the Ohio START Program Manager will assist the Director of Ohio START with general program management and community collaboration. You can view the position description here and submit your resume, cover letter and three professional references through the application form no later than today.
- Technical Assistance Consultants: PCSAO seeks five regional technical assistance consultants to assist with the implementation and sustainability of the Ohio START program by providing direct technical assistance to Ohio START grantees. The consultant will be responsible for providing technical assistance including adhering to model fidelity and enhancing collaboration among community partners in one of the five Ohio START regions. This is a part-time position and will report to and work closely with the Ohio START Program Manager and other staff as identified. This position will require travel, mainly in an assigned region and to Columbus for meetings. It is estimated that the consultant will work 20-25 hours per week. You can view the position description here and submit your resume, cover letter and three professional references through the application form no later than Aug. 5.
- Family Peer Mentor Consultant: PCSAO seeks a Family Peer Mentor Consultant to assist with the recruitment, certification and management of the Ohio START program’s family peer mentors. The Ohio START Family Peer Mentor Consultant will work with the Director of Ohio START and Ohio START Program Manager to aid local Ohio START grantees to recruit, train and certify family peer mentors. This is a part-time contract position that will report to and work closely with the Ohio START Program Manager and other staff as identified. This position will require travel, possibly across Ohio, to provide technical assistance to Ohio START grantees. It is estimated that the consultant will work 20-25 hours per week. You can view the position description here and submit your resume, cover letter and three professional references through the application form no later than Aug. 5.
Rules update
Pre-Clearance: The following rules within Chapter 5101:2-33, Administrative Requirements, are currently in pre-clearance to five-year review, until Aug. 15. Review and comment
here.
- 5101:2-33-07, Delegation of responsibilities and contracting for the performance of specified agency duties
- 5101:2-33-20, PCSA complaint review and report disposition appeal policy
- 5101:2-33-21, Confidentiality and dissemination of child welfare information
- 5101:2-33-23, Case records for children services
- 5101:2-33-26, The county child abuse and neglect memorandum of understanding
- 5101:2-33-28, Joint planning and sharing of information among the PCSA and CDJFS
Clearance: As of July 19, no children services-related rules were in Clearance.
JCARR:
- 5101:9-6-19, State Child Protection Allocation (SCPA) was final-filed on July 15 and will be effective July 25. Revisions include that for SFY2020, ODJFS will advance one quarter of the allocation in July, one half of the allocation in October, and the final advance in April.
The following rules were final-filed on July 12 and will be effective on Aug. 1:
- 5101:2-49-01, Adoption assistance application process
- 5101:2-49-17, Case record requirements for adoption assistance
- 5101:2-49-21, Reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses for a child with special needs
|
Announcements and Resources
Regional town halls scheduled for kin, adoption navigator program
The Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator Development Project (OhioKAN) is hosting 10 town hall meetings across the state in August and September to collect input on the plan being developed to implement a navigator program based in part on new opportunities under the Family First Prevention Services Act. Kinnect is leading the OhioKAN process and will facilitate the town halls. Attend only one of two sessions to be held on each day, 2-4 p.m. OR 6-8 p.m. No registration is necessary.
- Aug. 27: Athens Branch Library, 30 Home St., Athens (southeast)
- Aug. 28: Hamilton Lane Library, 300 N. Third St., Hamilton (southwest)
- Sept. 4: Hilliard Branch Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard (central)
- Sept. 11: Highland Square Library, 807 W. Market St., Akron (northeast)
- Sept. 17: Kent Branch Library, 3101 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo (northwest)
Kinship caregiver program update
ODJFS is preparing to do the following now that Sub. HB 166 (the 2020-2021 operating budget) is signed:
- Release a procedure letter
- Place draft rules into clearance and file with JCARR simultaneously
- Send SFY2020’s Kinship Caregiver Program allocations to counties
- The program policy will go into effect upon release of the procedure letter, meaning that counties can expend the allocated funds then. The rules will have an effective date of June 1. PCSAO and OJFSDA have reviewed the initial draft rules and provided input to ODJFS. We appreciate this partnership and will continue to work together to make the Kinship Caregiver Program as successful as possible.
- Look for announcement of a Kinship Caregiver webinar, hosted by OJFSDA, by the end of the month.
|
Child Protection in the News
Children Services workers picketing outside the Haines Children’s Center were served court papers around noon by sheriff’s deputies and told they had 30 minutes to break a strike up and either go back to work or take leave.
Kathy Oliver, director of the Seneca County Department of Job & Family Services, requested $250,000 from the Seneca County commissioners Thursday to cover child protection services for the rest of year. She warned that more money may be needed in 2020.
The Public Children Services Association of Ohio praised it as "the single biggest investment in child and family services ever made by the state." Ohio had been operating under a 17-day temporary budget since lawmakers missed the original deadline for the first time since 2009.
Ohio will see its first drop in overdose deaths since the opioid epidemic started, if early national estimates are right. It appears that Hamilton County will see a downturn, too. Estimates show that Ohio's accidental overdose deaths will number 4,002 in 2018, down from 5,135 in 2017, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That's about a 22 percent drop.
I witnessed this trend firsthand when I traveled to Ashtabula County, Ohio in 2017 and shadowed county Children Services caseworker Kerri ...
Under current Ohio regulations, county children services agencies are required to look for relatives who are willing to assume temporary custody of ...
Kim Barker consulted with family members and friends, prayed, swallowed hard and said yes: She and her husband wanted to adopt this yet-unborn child who was about to come into the world dependent on the drugs her biological mother had abused.
In the meantime, county children services has come under heavy criticism from ... Children services said, in accordance with Ohio law, Dylan, who was ...
|
July 22 | Southeast District Meeting
July 22 | Northeast District Meeting
Aug. 2 | Community Education Committee Meeting
|
"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to." -Marian Wright Edelman
|
Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 |
www.pcsao.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
