PCSAO Weekly Update: September 10, 2018

A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week

Endorse PCSAO's Reform Plan

Weekly Update for September 17, 2018

Association Updates

OCWTP reviews UPP evaluation, Citizen Review Panel report

At its monthly meeting Sept. 12, the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program State Steering Committee heard presentations on the University Partnership Program evaluation for 2017-18 and the Citizen Review Panel recommendations. The UPP evaluation, which will be published soon, shows improving curriculum consistency across the eight campuses and wider use of interns and employment of graduates across Ohio’s PCSAs. The central Ohio CRP, which focused on safety and caseworker training, made a number of recommendations that apply to the training program, and the group was able to provide initial feedback to ODJFS. OCWTP also finalized plans for its annual retreat next month, reviewed new licensure board requirements, and received a number of updates.

Rules Review Committee meets

The PCSAO Rules Review Committee met via teleconference Sept. 6. ODJFS staff discussed proposed changes to the foster care licensing rules from chapters 5101:5, 7, and 9 that are currently in pre-clearance, as well as the procedure letter 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 that was in clearance through Sept. 6. The Rules Review Committee will meet next on Oct. 4.

Rules update

Rules in pre-clearance: Review and comment at http://www.ohiorulereview.org/ .

5101:2-40-04, Kinship Permanency Incentive Program, and 5101:2-42-60, Placement Services for Infants of Incarcerated Mothers, are posted until Sept. 10. They are up for five-year review.
40 foster care licensing rules from chapters 5, 7, and 9 are posted until Sept. 15. The Rapback rule 5101:2-33-80 has also been posted. They are up for five-year review.
Chapter 5101:2-42, Substitute Care, is posted until Oct. 8. It is up for five-year review and possible changes due to the Family First Prevention Services Act.

No children services-related rules are in clearance as of Sept. 7.

Helping Ohio Parent Effectively begins fall planning

HOPE members have been in planning mode for most of September. HOPE will present a workshop, Hope for the Future of Parent Engagement, at the PCSAO conference. Succeed will also present Peer Support Groups: Providing Hope, Support and Empowerment for Primary Parents to Succeed. October will bring a three-day training of Building A Better Future (BABF) followed by Training of the Trainers of BABF in December.

PCSAO seeks Ohio START Program Manager

The Ohio START Pilot Program is hiring a second program manager. The Ohio START Program Manager will work with the Director of Ohio START to assist with the implementation and management of the Ohio START Pilot Program. For more information about the Ohio START position, click here .

Ohio START Southern Consortium meets

On Sept. 12, the 17 counties in cohort 1 of the Ohio START Pilot Program met in Ross County. During the meeting, the attendees discussed program successes and challenges, upcoming training and technical assistance opportunities, and a new partnership with Southeast Ohio Legal Services to help START families with civil legal issues. The consortium also discussed program expansion. For more information on joining the pilot, please contact Fawn Gadel . The Ohio START Southern Consortium will meet again Dec. 12 from 1-4 p.m.

Announcements and Resources

PCSA executive transitions

Jennifer Reed has resigned as director of Huron County JFS. She will be a special prosecutor for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office located in Toledo. Lenora Minor will serve as interim director. Please join us in welcoming Lenora and wishing the very best to Jennifer.

Additional organizations endorse PCSAO’s reform plan

Many thanks to the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors' Association and A Place 4 Me, YWCA Greater Cleveland for endorsing the Children’s Continuum of Care Reform. OJFSDA and A Place 4 Me added their name to the growing list of state and national organizations supporting the redesign of the child protection system. Learn more .

SAFeR webinar sponsored by NCPOFFC

Battered parents frequently struggle to secure statutorily permitted child-related relief in civil protection orders. This webinar will introduce one strategy that advocates, attorneys, and survivors can use to close the gap between what the law allows by way of temporary custody in civil protection order cases and what petitioners are able to achieve. The strategy is known as "SAFeR." It is a practical approach to screening, assessing, and responding to the lived experience of intimate partner abuse in child custody disputes. Learn more.

Learn more about UPP at this week’s conference

Please take a minute to stop by the University Partnership Program table at the PCSAO conference! You might recognize some UPP graduates and maybe even some agency staff. We also have new resources available and would love to talk to you about hosting UPP interns. The University Partnership Program recently completed its 2017-2018 evaluation, and it will soon be posted on the PCSAO website. As a result of the evaluation, the UPP Steering Committee held a strategic planning retreat and is in the process of creating a new strategic plan through 2021. Thank you to all public children services agencies that have served as UPP Field Education Sites and to those that have hired UPP graduates! We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 PCSAO conference!

Child Protection in the News

Sept. 13 – Recruiting foster parents: Ohio Child welfare agencies say need is urgent –WBNS

Right now in Ohio, there are almost 16,000 children in foster care. In the last four years, that number has jumped by more than 23 percent.

Sept. 12 – Cuyahoga County Council approves Children and Family Services advisory board, funds other reforms spurred by Aniya Day-Garrett's death – Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County Council on Wednesday approved the formation of a Children and Family Services Advisory Board and approved $1.6 million to implement a series of changes made by an expert panel reviewing the death of 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett. Both measures stem from an effort to address shortcomings at the Division of Children and Family Services after Aniya's death on March 11 in Euclid.

Sept. 12 – County to buy new boilers for jail – Courier

Separately, the commissioners transferred more than $26,000 to Job and Family Services for child placement costs, to assist with foster care and adoption services. Last month, the commissioners met with Diana Hoover, director of Job and Family Services, about a projected $500,000 agency shortfall for the remainder of the year. In response, the commissioners agreed to transfer funds monthly for the remainder of the year.