Weekly Update: April 4, 2022
Association News
OCTF hosts ‘Dear Leaders’ forum on prevention, parent voice
The Ohio Children’s Trust Fund hosted a day-long forum March 30 entitled “Dear Leaders” to begin prioritizing work for a five-year grant focused on family voice and prevention services. The interactive session gave state government agency, association, and other state-level partners an opportunity to reflect on the current state of child and family services and to envision new ways to engage with families, including focusing on prevention, not just intervention; giving youth a voice; improving strengths-based practice; and institutionalizing family voice. Soon, grant opportunities for PCSAs will be available to begin implementing this vision.

Columbus Dispatch op-ed calls for action on statewide placement crisis
On April 1, the Columbus Dispatch ran an opinion piece authored by PCSAO Executive Director Angela Sausser focused on the placement crisis report released in February. The op-ed is a call to action on the lack of viable placements for children with high-acuity needs, a population that according to a PCSAO survey represents nearly a quarter of those in custody. Read the op-ed.
Wear Blue coming up next week
Wear Blue, our statewide awareness campaign to show support for preventing child abuse and neglect, takes place next week on Wednesday, April 13. Take a photo of yourself and your family, coworkers, friends, neighbors, fellow students, and others wearing blue. Share the photo on your county children services agency’s Facebook page or on the Ohio Wears Blue Facebook page. Use our hashtag: #OhioWearsBlue
Ohio START welcomes Christine Morris
This week, PCSAO and Ohio START welcomed Christine Morris as the new Program Coordinator. Christine comes to us from the Family and Youth Law Center (FYLaw) at Capital University where she spent nearly 17 years in information services, communications and projects. Her work there involved program support for the Ohio Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative as well as creating and maintaining websites and community relations. We are excited to have her
Rules Update
Pre-Clearance: The following rules are open for comments until April 21:
 
The following forms are open for comments until April 21:
 
Clearance: As of April 1, there are no children services-related rules in clearance.

Filed with JCARR: The following rules were final-filed on March 25 with an effective date of April 4:
  • Rule 5101:2-42-19 - Requirements for the provision of independent living services to youth in custody.
  • Rule 5101:2-42-19.2 - Requirements for provision of independent living services to young adults who have emancipated.
 
The following rule was revise-filed on March 29 with a hearing on April 19:
Annual Conference
Presenters sought for 2022 conference
PCSAO is holding its 37th annual conference Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 19-21, 2022, at the Hilton Easton. Our theme, “As Our World Turns,” recognizes that the children services field is in the midst of many changes and can feel like we are spinning so fast, we can’t slow down. At the same time, the theme employs lighthearted humor around soap operas. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, soap operas are radio or television series characterized by melodrama and sentimentality – kind of like a reality show!)

Our call for presenters is now open! Presenters at PCSAO's conference are volunteers; there is no compensation. Find more information about the application here.
Resources and Clips
Resources and Opportunities
Register to vote today!
April 4 (today) is the last day to register to vote. While the date of the primary (or primaries) is up in the air, voter registration is closing today! Register to vote or update your address here.

Office of Families and Children releases kinship publications
The ODFJS Office of Families and Children issued two new publications on kinship supports. Programs Supporting Kinship Caregivers provides an easy-to-read table with an overview of the kinship programs available through ODJFS. Caregiver Permanency Options provides kinship caregivers with a high-level overview of financial supports that may be available for them. It also identifies a pathway for permanency through legal custody or adoption.

Foster alums 18-25 can earn $50 for interviews
Miami University Professor Leah Wasburn-Moses is writing a book on how to support youth aging out of care. She would like to set up 45-minute interviews with youth ages 18-25 who aged out of foster care, and she is able to offer $50 compensation for their time. Youth who are interested can email Dr. Wasburn-Moses.

Kinship Caregiver Tool webinar April 26
Casey Family Programs, the Children’s Defense Fund, Generations United and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law are offering a webinar on April 26 from 2-3 p.m. to explore a new tool called “Kinship Caregiving Options: Considerations for Caregivers.” The tool provides a broad, national overview about the choices and considerations to help caregivers both inside and outside the child welfare system make informed decisions about pathways to pursue. Register here.

Registration opens for 2022 Opioid and Other Drugs Conference
The Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities Foundation, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction, will host Ohio’s 2022 Opiate and Other Drugs Conference June 6-7 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus. The two-day conference will focus on opiates, stimulants, and other substance use disorders, specifically on efforts related to prevention, education, intervention, treatment, recovery, family supports, community engagement, and more. Find more information here, or register here.

Earned income tax credit reminder
This year, due to changes that apply to the 2021 tax year, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is worth as much as $6,728 for a family with three or more children, or up to $1,602 for taxpayers who do not have a qualifying child. Find more information here.
Child Protection in the News
Our children are not okay.
The pandemic highlighted a childhood mental health crisis that has led national organizations to call for an emergency declaration and led the U.S. Surgeon General to issue an advisory citing alarming increases in youth mental health challenges.

While Ohio trails the nation in outcomes for older youths in foster care, a new report also suggests there are reasons for hope. According to the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio, the state is in the bottom 10% of the country on four measures of well-being for 21-year-olds who were in foster care in their teens.
 
March 31 – April to raise child abuse awareness – Youngstown Vindicator
Experts say prevention is the best hope for reducing child abuse and neglect and for improving lives of children and families. In an effort to strengthen families and prevent child abuse, April again will serve as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Sadly, child abuse and neglect are widespread and, too often, invisible.
 
In recognition of National Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, local community groups will plant a pinwheel garden in Boardman Park. The initiative is a collaboration between Akron Children's Hospital Mahoning Valley's Child Advocacy Center and Mahoning County Children Services called Pinwheels for Prevention.
 
Mental and physical disabilities are the only characteristics in state child welfare policies that can be grounds for removal of children, according to a 2017 parental disability report from the University of Minnesota. Everything else, such as addiction, abuse and neglect, are behaviors.

Becoming a foster parent is an immense responsibility that can be very rewarding, but it also comes with its challenges, and that’s why one southwest Ohio organization has stepped up to help.

March is Social Work Month. There is a lack of qualified social workers to meet the needs in this country. That deficit is seen largely in rural areas such as Wayne County.

March 25 – Wear blue to raise awareness of child abuse – Lima Ohio
Wear Blue Day, an annual observation to raise awareness for child abuse prevention, will be held in Lima on April 13. The event is held during April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month across the country. Wear Blue Day is one of the monthly activities at Allen County Children Services to raise awareness for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Calendar and Job Postings
April 6 | Board of Trustees Meeting
April 7 | Rules Review Committee Meeting
April 15 | East Central District Meeting

Note: Some meetings are being held via web and others in-person.
View the full calendar for details.
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