Join webinar to improve supervisory strategies

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is offering a webinar Dec. 6 at 12 noon in response to questions submitted by a variety of people in the child welfare field. Questions ranged from broad questions: “How do we support new employees?” to more specific questions: “New staff seem to be taking longer to be ready to take on a full caseload or are more upset by the work they are asked to do. How can we best prepare the workforce to expect what they will experience in CWS?” This webinar is designed to respond to these and other questions, drawing on the expertise from a panel of presenters, to provide evidence-informed, practical guidance to help anyone in a supervisory position to support new workers. Register here.

Registration opens for AG’s Human Trafficking Summit

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office opened registration Friday for the 2023 Human Trafficking Summit scheduled for Jan. 26 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The summit allows survivors, social workers, victim advocates, police officers, lawyers, prosecutors, judges and other stakeholders to learn how different parts of the state are succeeding in the fight against human trafficking and seeks to inspire them to fill regional gaps in services. Find more information and register here.

Attend Preventing ACEs in Ohio forum

Implementing evidence-informed programs and policies can both prevent and mitigate the effects of childhood adversity and trauma. This forum presented by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio will highlight four key strategies that Ohio policymakers and other stakeholders can support to ensure the economic well-being of families, build resiliency in young children and prevent trauma before it occurs. The forum will take place Dec. 13, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. online. Registration and more information can be found here.

Youth Navigator Network launches

The Youth Navigator Network (YNN) has officially launched and is still recruiting members for the Young Adult Advisory Council (YAAC). YNN is seeking help from organizations and programs that work with young people ages 14-26 to help recruit new members for the YAAC. As a member of the council, the young person would meet once a month with the team to discuss working agendas for the YNN as well as additional goal setting for their personal and professional use. All members are provided a stipend of $20 per hour for their activities and engagement with the YAAC. It is a great personal and professional experience for young adults interested in community engagement and helping to continue to build on the YNN. Any young adult who is interested in joining the YAAC can email Marissa Tuma. The Kinnect website also has information regarding the YAAC.

Congressional Research Service updates

The Child Welfare Brief provides national information for members of Congress on the various federal programs supporting children and their families.

Ohio to continue with crisis academy series

Ohio’s SFY 2023 Crisis Academy series will continue Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. with The EmPATH Model and Behavioral Health Urgent Care. This webinar will focus on both the Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing (EmPATH) and Behavioral Health Urgent Care models and how they are being used within the crisis continuum of care. Dr. Scott Zeller, the developer of the EmPATH model, will be sharing how hospital systems have utilized this model to improve client care while avoiding unnecessary time in traditional emergency departments. Travis Atkinson from TBD Solutions will provide an overview of behavioral health urgent care models. Additionally, two local system of care will share their experiences starting a psychiatric urgent care unit, the challenges and opportunities they have encountered, and how the unit has improved crisis care in their community. CEUs are being requested for Ohio social workers, counselors, SUD treatment and prevention professionals, and peer supporters. Registration and more information can be found here.

Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation to host trainings

Through a federal SAMHSA grant, the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation is offering in-person professional development trainings in the areas of suicide prevention, risk assessment, safety planning, and treatment for mental and behavioral health professionals:

• Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR): Dec. 8 in Cleveland. Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR®) for Health and Behavioral Health Professionals Working in Outpatient Settings (AMSR-Outpatient) formulation model helps clinicians feel confident navigating challenging conversations about suicide. AMSR offers key strategies for providing compassionate care to people at risk for suicide.
• Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS): Dec. 9 in Columbus. CAMS is an evidence-based treatment framework used to assess suicidality and specifically treat suicide risk. CAMS three-part training provides mental health professionals (and other relevant professionals) with essential knowledge in using the CAMS framework to collaborate with patients in the treatment of their suicidal drivers. 
• Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM): Dec.15 in Columbus. Reducing access to lethal means, such as firearms and medication, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies. This course is about how to reduce access to the methods people use to take their lives. It covers who needs lethal means counseling and how to work with people at risk for suicide—and their families—to reduce access.

Attend Kinnect's upcoming training

Kinnect is expanding training offerings throughout the state, offering four open registration trainings with CEUs for $50 per person through the end of 2023. Additionally, if you are interested in bringing a session to your agency, contact Tracy Cordaro. Register and find more information here. Upcoming virtual session: 

• Unpacking the ‘No’: Navigating Family Resistance, Dec. 19, 1-4 p.m.

Upcoming webinar on KGAP offers training, resources

Children services staff, administration, and court personnel are invited to attend “Implementing the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) in Ohio,” an overview scheduled through a Teams Live event Dec. 7, 1-3 p.m. The two-hour training will focus on how kinship caregivers caring for Ohio’s children will now have access to financial and medical benefits when taking legal custody or guardianship of the children in their care. The training team will review PCSA and ODJFS responsibilities, as well as the varied eligibility criteria for KGAP programs. Agencies are encouraged to send staff whose regular work duties and responsibilities include family case planning, kinship care, permanency, and IV-E eligibility. Register for the training HERE. A link will be available after successful registration through a pop-up. This training will be recorded and posted on the Children Services Training and Development Webpage along with all materials and the Q&A. The team also has a Microsoft Stream Channel where content is stored.

Workforce retention conference opens registration

DHCM Consultants is hosting a workforce retention conference Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It will cover topics including supervising for colleague retention, professional development, agency culture and climate, and mental/physical/emotional well-being. Attendees will leave with specific tools to implement immediately into practice. More information about the conference can be found here.

OhioRISE/PCSA open office hours

Virtual open office hours for OhioRISE and children services staff occur weekly on Fridays at 11 a.m. Here is the link to join the Teams meeting.

Nov. 18 - 'It changes the world for that one kid;' Adoption Day brings tears, joy - Dayton Daily News

Three-year-old Hudson Henderson banged the gavel of Montgomery County Probate Court Judge David Brannon on Friday morning to finalize his adoption and the adoption of his two new siblings, Peggy and Jacob. The three were among 14 kids whose adoptions were finalized Friday as part of National Adoption Day, a record number for Montgomery County families.

Nov. 22 - Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds - Kaiser Health News

With more than 200 Americans still dying of drug overdoses each day, states are beginning the high-stakes task of deciding how to spend billions of dollars in settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors. Their decisions will have real-world implications for families and communities across the country that have borne the brunt of the opioid crisis.

Nov. 23 - Ohio leaders encouraging people to consider adoption during Thanksgiving celebrations - Ohio Public Radio

Ohio is launching a campaign to raise awareness about adoption with the hope that families will take time over the holiday weekend to have some important conversations and consider the possibility of adopting a child.

Nov. 23 - Children Services offers paid fellowship to students - Lima News

Allen County Children Services is partnering with Wood County to bring fellowship among students. The organization has begun a new program in Northwest Ohio to pay student workers to be a part of children’s services in several different counties. The hope is to recruit and retain future workers in the field.

Nov. 23 - Foster, adoptive parents learn how to care for hair different from their own - Columbus Dispatch

Each morning, 6-year-old Isaiah stands in the bathroom of his Newark home, chattering excitedly as his mother, Marci Hare, sprays conditioner into his curls.

Nov. 23 - Trickle of Covid Relief Funds Helps Fill Gaps in Rural Kids' Mental Health Services - Kaiser Health News

The Mary Hill Youth and Family Center’s building has long been at a crossroads overlooking this rural Appalachian city, but its purpose has evolved.

Nov. 24 - Encourage Foster Care opens - Akron.com

Officials gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony for Encourage Foster Care, a private foster care and adoption agency.

Nov. 24 - One Church in Gahanna to expand gift card donation drive for Ohio teens in foster care - Columbus Dispatch

Rachel Tilson had only been a member of One Church in Gahanna for three short months in 2019 when the congregation set out to raise donations in order to provide gift cards to Franklin County teenagers in foster care.

Nov. 28 - DeWine releases status update on Children Services Transformation - WTVG

Governor Mike DeWine released a status update on Monday on the implementation of recommendations from the Children's Services Transformation Advisory Council which aims to reform Ohio's children services system. DeWine's office says the Advisory Council includes a wide range of families, youth and subject matter experts from across the state. Since their final report in 2020, 16 recommendations have been fully implemented, 13 have been partially implemented and eight are in progress.

Nov. 29 - Multiple options to bring child tax credit benefits to Ohioans - Ohio Capital Journal 

In a new analysis, an Ohio think tank urges more investment in child tax credits, and sees at least two ways to do so and increase economic security for thousands of families across the state.

Nov. 29 - Sexual assault nurse says children aren't likely to make up allegations - Columbus Dispatch 

Kathleen Hackett was not surprised to read that a 10-year-old Ohio girl had become pregnant as a result of being raped.

Nov. 30 - A journey from fostering to adoption - Lima News

After years of prayers, one family’s long-awaited miracles have arrived. Nate and Rachel Kaser, from Lima, hoped to have children soon after being married in 2006. Unfortunately, it did not happen right away. Rachel Kaser’s sister, from Maryland, introduced the couple to fostering and adoption. In 26 years, Kaser’s sister fostered 84 children and adopted five.

Dec. 1 - Opinion: Anti-trans laws based on fear, ignorance - Cincinnati Enquirer

I am concerned for families in the climate that is currently brewing in our country. There is so much backlash directed toward transgender people in general. Sometimes it comes from religious beliefs that misread the Bible and fail to see the great diversity that is God’s creation. Many times it’s out of fear.

Dec. 2 - Child victims of crime, abuse to get help at new center backed by county, others (Includes video) - Dayton Daily News

The finishing touches are being placed on a Miami County Child Advocacy Center where professional services will be available for children who are victims of crime and/or abuse, and their families.