Association News
Weekly Update: July 5, 2022
PCSAO seeks Initiatives Coordinator
PCSAO is seeking a full-time Initiatives Coordinator to manage grant-related projects and coordinate strategic initiatives that advance children services practice as identified in the Association’s strategic plan. PCSAO is a friendly, collegial team that values diversity. To apply, review the job description for duties and qualifications; submit a cover letter and résumé through the application portal. Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
ODJFS-PCSAO workforce workgroup meets
The ODJFS-PCSAO Workforce Workgroup met on June 30 and prioritized strategies to impact retention and recruitment of the PCSA workforce. Participating counties include Ottawa, Ashtabula, Champaign, Wayne, Carroll, Wood, Geauga, and Jackson as well as (not pictured) Franklin, Lorain, Tuscarawas, Seneca, and Warren. Special thanks to ODJFS Office of Families and Children for hosting this strategy planning meeting. 
Ohio START
Ohio START hosts Foundations 4
This week the Ohio START team hosted Foundations 4: Ohio START Child Welfare Practices. The training was provided to staff who are new to their Ohio START teams and provided an overview of the START Toolkit, family engagement, child safety and permanency, response to return to use, building parental capacity, transition planning, and case closure. 
Rules Update
Pre-Clearance: As of July 1, there are no children services-related rules in pre-clearance.
 
Clearance: The following rules and forms are open for comments until July 12:
  • Rule 5101:2-55-01 - Administration of Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty-One (KGAP C21).
  • Rule 5101:2-55-02 - Eligibility for Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty-One (KGAP C21).
  • Rule 5101:2-55-03 - Payments for Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty-One (KGAP C21).
  • JFS 00137 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Application.
  • JFS 00138 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Notice of Eligibility Approval.
  • JFS 00139 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Agreement.
  • JFS 00140 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Notice of Redetermination.
  • JFS 00141 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Young Adult Semi-annual Assurance of Kinship Caregiver Responsibility and Eligibility for Continued Medicaid Coverage.
  • JFS 00142 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Kinship Caregiver Semi-annual Assurance of Kinship Caregiver Responsibility and Eligibility for Continued Medicaid coverage.
  • JFS 00143 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Notice of Termination.
  • JFS 00144 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Connections to Twenty One (KGAP C21) Notice of Continued Approval.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-01 - Administration of the Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
  • Rule 5101:2-46-02 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Eligibility Criteria.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-03 - Initial Determination of the Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Monthly Payment Amount.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-04 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Agreement and Duration: Provision for Financial Support and Services.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-05 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Monthly Payments.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-06 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance (KGAP) Ongoing Verification.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-07 - Amendment of the Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Agreement.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-08 - Suspension of Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Payment.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-09 - Termination of a Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Agreement.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-10 - Case Record Requirements for Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
  • Rule 5101:2-46-11 - Title XIX Medicaid Coverage for Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Eligible Children.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-12 - Reimbursement of Nonrecurring Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Expenses.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-13 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Intercounty and Interstate Case Management Responsibility.
  • Rule 5101:2-46-14 - Requirements for Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Past Age Eighteen.
  • JFS 00131 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Application for Initial Eligibility.
  • JFS 00133 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Agreement.
  • JFS 00134 - Application for Reimbursement of Nonrecurring Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Expenses.
  • JFS 00134-I - Instructions for Completing JFS 00134, Application for Reimbursement of Nonrecurring Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Expenses.
  • JFS 00135 - Agreement for Payment or Reimbursement for Nonrecurring Expenses Incurred in a Kinship Guardianship Placement.
  • JFS 00136 - Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Annual Assurance of Legal Responsibility, School Attendance and Eligibility for Continued Medicaid Coverage.
  • JFS 00127 - Notice of Adverse Action for the Federal Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
 
The following rules and forms are open for comments until July 13:
  • Rule 5101:2-38-05.2 - PCSA Family Case Plan requirements for Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP). 
  • Rule 5101:2-56-01 - Administration of the State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
  • Rule 5101:2-56-02 - Eligibility for State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
  • Rule 5101:2-56-03 - Public Children Services Agency (PCSA) Eligibility Determination of the State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP).
  • Rule 5101:2-56-04 - Requirements for State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Past Age Eighteen.
  • Rule 5101:2-56-05 - Reimbursement of Nonrecurring State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Expenses.
  • Rule 5101:2-56-06 - Termination of State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Payments.
  • Rule 5101:2-56-07 - State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Record Requirements.
  • JFS 00126 - State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Notice of Adverse Action.
  • JFS 00128 - Application for State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Payments.
  • JFS 00129 - State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program Agreement.
  • JFS 00129-I - Instructions for Completing JFS 00129 State Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) Agreement.
 
Filed with JCARR: The following rules were revise-filed on June 30 with a hearing on July 7:
  • Rule 5101:2-36-12 - PCSA requirement for cross-referring reports of child abuse and/or neglect.
Annual Conference
About the 2022 conference
PCSAO is holding its 37th annual conference Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 19-21 at the Hilton Easton. Our theme, “As Our World Turns,” recognizes that the children services field is in the midst of many changes and it 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.

Become a sponsor!
The PCSAO Annual Conference is an opportunity to network with more than 500 children services professionals across Ohio. See our sponsorship flyer for more information regarding sponsorship levels and benefits. See a preview of the application here. Ready to become a sponsor? Complete this form. Sponsorship closes Sept. 1.

Last chance to submit award nominations
Each year, PCSAO recognizes and celebrates the achievements of our youth and families who have been served by Ohio’s public children services agencies, as well as the achievements of our child protection professionals who have served them. We are now accepting award nominations from public children services agencies for the Leaders of Tomorrow, Family of the Year, and Child Protection Worker, Support Staff and Supervisor of the Year awards. Nominations are due by July 8. The 2022 PCSAO award winners will be announced during the annual conference. Local agencies will notify winners prior to the event and help make their arrangements. Read the descriptions and find nomination links on our awards page.

Thanks to our World Champion Sponsor
Resources and Clips
Resources and Opportunities
Sixth Annual FASD Forum opens call for proposals
Ohio's FASD Planning Committee is accepting workshop proposals for the Sixth Annual FASD Forum, which will be held as a hybrid event on Sept. 9. The deadline to submit a proposal is July 11. Learn more and submit a proposal here.

Health information technology survey opens
The Ohio Children’s Alliance, on behalf of the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (COE), has developed a survey to learn more about health information technology utilization in children services. Responses will contribute to a report providing recommendations on addressing gaps and facilitating system improvements. It is important to understand the current type and level of HIT use in the state so that discussions of efficient and effective expansion can occur. Ohio Children’s Alliance, on behalf of the COE, is inviting county children services agencies and others to participate in important information gathering. The survey should take less than five minutes to complete. Complete the survey.
Child Protection in the News
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services data shows 18 children died while in state custody in 2021. That means a case worker was in charge of them or they were in foster care at the time of death. Spokesperson Bill Teets said the reasons for deaths vary from car accidents to pre-existing medical conditions. He said few of these cases can be traced to child abuse. ODJFS provided WCPO data on the number of children who died in state custody dating back to 2015.

In 2019, Governor Mike DeWine signed the heartbeat bill into law, but it never was enacted. A federal judge struck it down. All that changed when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. That begged the question, are adoption agencies prepared for a potential increase in newborns?
 
Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill is now state law, meaning abortions are illegal in the state after approximately six weeks of pregnancy. So, what will this mean for adoption agencies and children’s services?
 
Seventeen-year-old Amanda waited until after Christmas to tell her family she was nearly seven months pregnant.
Calendar and Job Postings
July 7 | Rule Review Committee Meeting
July 11 | Legislative Committee Meeting
July 15 | East Central District Meeting

Note: Some meetings are being held via web and others in-person.
View the full calendar for details.
Looking for a career in child protection? Or a new position to challenge yourself?