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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week |
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Weekly Update for September 28, 2020 |
State updates
- Gov. Mike DeWine announced a recommendation that all residential colleges and universities regularly test a sample population of 3% of asymptomatic students.
- The Ohio Department of Health issued an order that will allow intermediate care facilities for Ohioans with developmental disabilities to resume indoor visitation beginning on Sept. 28 if safety standards are met.
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Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can begin allowing indoor visitation on Oct. 12 if safety standards are met. Visits will be limited to two people for 30 minutes in a designated area, which must be cleaned between visits. When visitation resumes, a long-term care facility dashboard will be added to the COVID-19 data dashboard at coronavirus.ohio.gov where users can access facility-specific visitation information.
- Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced that the one-game-per-calendar-day limit on sports competitions has been removed from the current sports order. This change comes over a month after the most recent guidelines were published with evidence showing that events have gone on without any noticeable increase in spread.
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Gov. DeWine unveiled a new case demographics dashboard on coronavirus.ohio.gov that provides data by race or ethnicity.
- Gov. DeWine encouraged Ohioans to answer the call if contacted by a contact tracer. Contact tracing slows the spread of COVID-19 by notifying people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and advising them to monitor their health for signs and symptoms, helping those who may have been exposed get tested, asking people to self-isolate or self-quarantine if appropriate, and helping people identify the resources they need to safely stay at home.
- Lt. Gov. Husted announced that Ford is donating 2 million medical-grade face masks to the state for healthcare providers, first responders, underserved populations, and senior living communities.
Levies on the ballot in seven counties
Voters in seven counties will have children services levies on their ballot when early voting begins next month. Six of the seven levies are renewals. Best of luck to all of the agencies campaigning for this vitally important revenue stream!
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Partners in Progress was a huge success!
PCSAO’s first virtual conference was a success! Thank you to all of our “Partners in Progress” who helped make our 40th anniversary so meaningful (even if it wasn’t the in-person celebration we had hoped for). You can still fill out a conference survey here if you haven't had the chance.
Continuing education training credit is being processed and will be available in the next two weeks to registered participants whose attendance can be verified. If you have questions about the conference, contact Cassandra Freeland.
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Pre-Clearance: As of Sept. 25, there are no children services-related rules in pre-clearance.
Clearance: The following rules from Chapter 5101:2-48 are under five-year review and are open for comments until Sept. 29:
The following rules from Chapter 5101:2-9 are under five-year review and are open for comments until Oct. 8:
The following rules from Chapter 5101:2-33 are under five-year review and are open for comments until Oct. 8:
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Rule 5101:2-33-03 - Procedure for complaints of alleged discriminatory acts, policies or practices in the foster care or adoption process that involve race, color, or national origin.
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Rule 5101:2-33-11 - Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) agency administrative requirements.
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Rule 5101:2-33-13 - Administrative procedures for falsification in adoption.
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Rule 5101:2-33-70 - Statewide automated child welfare information system (SACWIS) access.
Filed with JCARR: The following rules were final-filed on Sept. 18 with an effective date of Oct. 1:
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Rule 5122-29-09.1 - Substance use disorder qualified residential treatment program (QRTP) for youth.
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Rule 5122-30-32 - Qualified residential treatment program (QRTP).
The following rule was final-filed on Sept. 21 with an effective date of Oct. 1:
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Announcements and Resources
Generations United to release 2020 Grandfamilies Report, honor Sen. Brown
Generations United will release its “2020 State of Grandfamilies Report - Facing A Pandemic: Grandfamilies Living Together During COVID-19 and Thriving Beyond” on Sept. 29 from 1-2 p.m. The report seeks to elevate the unique needs of grandfamilies heightened by the pandemic, along with solutions to connect grandfamilies to critical supports during this crisis and to create systems that will continue to serve them well. They will also be honoring Sen. Sherrod Brown with its Grandfamilies Champion Award. Register here.
Children’s hospitals, OhioMHAS, Cardinal Health partner to address youth suicide
The Ohio Children’s Hospital Association has partnered with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Cardinal Health Foundation to bring the Zero Suicide Institute to Ohio. The initiative will leverage resources through a public-private partnership, allowing hospitals to participate in a comprehensive training with the goal of spreading information both throughout the hospitals and into the communities. Read more.
National Institutes of Mental Health director addresses crisis of Black youth suicide
In observance of September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, National Institute of Mental Health Director Joshua M. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., released a message to the field describing NIMH’s efforts to address the rising rates of suicide in the U.S. among Black youth. Read Dr. Gordon’s message.
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Child Protection in the News
Illicit drug use appears to be scaling up in the United States since COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, a newly released report shows. Ohio and Kentucky are in regions that are experiencing even higher rates of positive tests.
State Rep. Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield) today announced her legislation revising the requirements for foster caregiver training in Ohio now heads to Governor DeWine for his signature. House Bill 8 will help potential foster parents to be trained, licensed, and approved more efficiently and effectively.
The US Marshals Service has found 35 missing children in Northeast Ohio in one month during its Operation Safety Net program. The Marshals said in a news release that they partnered with state and local agencies to find and recover the kids - all between the ages of 13 and 18 and considered missing and endangered - during the operation.
The state will begin the process to revoke the license of Sequel Pomegranate – the troubled youth psychiatric facility for teens. The move follows a year’s worth of reporting by 10 Investigates – which exposed incidents of violence and alleged sexual abuse at the facility that treats teens ages 12 to 17.
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PCSAO Families of the Year |
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During our conference, PCSAO honored three families who are making a difference in the lives of children involved in the child protection system. They represent foster and adoptive families and kinship caregivers who have dedicated their lives, opened their homes, and overcome challenges to ensure safety and permanence for children. Read about them here.
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Profiles of Hope and Courage
Lori: The biggest thing people forget is we are not just transportation
Lori is a driver for Lucas County Children Services. Before COVID, she would transport children from home to school, to day care or to the agency for appointments one family at a time.
“The biggest thing people forget is we are not just transportation,” she said. “The kids look at us as friends, confide in us, even share things with us they may not say to their caseworker.”
PCSAO is collecting stories from the front lines of child protection to raise awareness of the challenges our children services professionals, and the families they serve, are facing during this pandemic.
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Oct. 1 | Rules Review Committee Meeting
Oct. 2 | Community Education Committee Meeting
Oct. 7 | Board of Trustees Meeting
Note: Meetings will be held via web meeting for the foreseeable future.
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