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A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week |
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Weekly Update for August 17, 2020 |
State updates
The following are state updates for this week:
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Gov. Mike DeWine released the final Minority Health Strike Force report and the state's executive response. The Minority Health Strike Force was formed in April to examine the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on minority communities, as well as broader health disparities and racial injustices. The COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint lists recommendations on dismantling racism, removing public health obstacles, improving the social/economic and physical environments, and strengthening data collection to better track disparities.
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In response to the Strike Force's report, Gov. DeWine issued Ohio’s Executive Response: A Plan of Action to Advance Equity. The action plan outlines efforts to reinforce the DeWine Administration's commitment to advancing health equity and establishing Ohio as a model for justice, equity, opportunity, and resilience. Pages 11, 14 and 15 contain recommendations related to foster care and Ohio START.
- As part of his commitment to equity, Gov. DeWine also announced the creation of the new Ohio Governor's Equity Advisory Board. The Board will work to improve Ohio’s work to dismantle racism and promote health equity. Board members will draw on the expertise within Ohio’s communities of color and will represent diverse viewpoints from sectors like education, healthcare, public and private business, community organizations, and members of the criminal justice community.
- Gov. DeWine continued to stress the importance of masks, social distancing, and proper hygiene as Ohio's school students approach the start of the upcoming school year. Currently, Ohio has left the decision to individual school districts on how to approach the new school year.
- According to information gathered by the Ohio Department of Education, 325 public school districts in Ohio are planning to return to school full-time, which equates to approximately 590,000 students. A total of 55 districts representing approximately 398,000 public school students will begin the school year remotely. Approximately 380,000 students in 154 public school districts will start the school year with a hybrid of online and in-person learning.
Ohio START holds second annual summit
Nearly 200 participants attended the second annual Ohio START Summit on Aug. 12. Dr. Nicole Labor, author of The Addictoholic Deconstructed kicked off the sessions with an engaging keynote presentation on the neurobiology of addiction. The general theme of the summit focused on reducing stigma against individuals affected by substance use disorder. Other presentation topics included the role of resource parents in family recovery, the impact of substance exposure on young children, managing conflict, and recovery-oriented systems of care.
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Registration is open!
PCSAO is pleased to offer an exciting schedule of workshops for our "Partners in Progress" Virtual Conference Sept. 16-17. Thanks to support from our generous sponsors, including our 40th Anniversary Sponsor, United Healthcare, our conference is open to all at a modest daily registration fee, with special discounts for PCSAO members and University Partnership Program affiliates. Continuing education training credit is available to licensed social workers, attorneys, and E-Track users. The two-day conference is structured with a welcome and keynote each morning (no credit) followed by a 15-minute break and then a series of concurrent workshops throughout each day. Visit our 2020 Conference Registration page for more information, or download our schedule at a glance.
Become a sponsor!
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Pre-Clearance: The following rules are open for comments until Aug. 27:
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Rule 5101:5-1-01 - Regional prevention councils operation and regional prevention council member duties.
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Rule 5101:5-1-02 - Regional prevention coordinator duties and selection process (to be rescinded).
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Rule 5101:5-1-03 - Boards of county commissioners appointing of regional prevention council members.
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Rule 5101:5-1-04 - Regional prevention council designations (to be rescinded).
Clearance: The following rule regarding form changes to Title IV-E Single Cost Report Form and instructions is open for comments until Aug. 18:
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Rule 5101:2-47-26.1 - Title IV-E cost report filing requirements, record retention requirements and related party disclosure requirements for Title IV-E agencies, private child placing agencies (PCPA), private noncustodial agencies (PNA), residential care facilities, substance use disorder (SUD) facilities and a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP).
Filed with JCARR: The following rules were original-filed on Aug. 13 with a hearing date of Sept. 16:
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Rule 5101:2-47-10 - Reimbursement for Title IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) costs for a foster home.
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Rule 5101: 2-47-11 - Reimbursement for Title IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) costs for children's residential centers (CRC), group homes, maternity homes, residential parenting facilities, private foster homes, and substance use disorder (SUD) residential facilities.
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Rule 5101:2-47-11.1 - Reimbursement for Title IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) costs for a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP) certified after Oct. 1, 2020.
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Rule 51501:2-47-16 - Title IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) program: Reimbursable placement settings.
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Rule 5101:2-47-26 - Title IV-E agencies, private child placing agencies (PCPA), private noncustodial agencies (PNA), residential care facilities, substance use disorder (SUD) residential facilities: penalties for failure to comply with fiscal accountability procedures.
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Rule 5101:2-47-26.1 - Public children services agencies (PCSA), private child placing agencies (PCPA), private noncustodial agencies (PNA), residential care facilities, substance use disorder (SUD) residential facilities: Title IV-E cost report filing requirements, record retention requirements and related party disclosure requirements.
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Rule 5101:2-47-26.2 - Cost report “Agreed Upon Procedures” engagement.
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Announcements and Resources
PCSAO, DYS, Human Trafficking Task Force offer webinar series
The Ohio Department of Youth Services, Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and PCSAO are partnering to present the Human Trafficking Awareness & Identification Online Training Series. The following sessions are available:
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Aug. 18, 2-3:30 p.m. - Justice System-Based Interventions for Survivors of Human Trafficking. Vanessa Perkins and Emily Dunlap will look at interventions available through the adult and juvenile justice systems to support survivors of human trafficking. Many adult and minor survivors are forced to engage in criminal activity as part of their trafficking situations. As a result, they need trauma-informed supports through the adult and juvenile justice systems. This webinar will provide information about how Ohio’s Safe Harbor Law can be used to support juveniles and how specialized court programming like CATCH Court can be used to support adults.
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Aug. 25, 1-2:30 p.m. - Dynamics of Exploitation in Human Trafficking: Hollie Daniels, Rebekkah O'Bryan and Bhumika Patel will provide participants with a foundational understanding of how traffickers exploit victims. They will explore how this exploitation may render survivors dependent on their traffickers and wary of supportive systems, and how service providers can work to empower survivors toward recovery.
Attorney General’s Office offers Linking Systems of Care series in September
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is offering a Linking Systems of Care for Ohio’s Youth Virtual Research Series throughout September. Each week will showcase two of the symposium presentations, highlighting innovative work across Ohio that bridges the gap between research and practice. Presentations will last 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes for Q&A with the presenters. Sessions include:
- Sept. 1, 1-2 p.m.: Who Experiences Violent Victimizations and Who Accesses Services? Findings from NCVS for Expanding Our Reach
- Sept. 3, 1-2 p.m.: Joining Forces for Children: Using a Collective Impact Approach to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Sept. 10, Noon-1 p.m.: Leveraging Linked Data to Maximize Healthcare Delivery for Foster Youth
- Sept. 15, 1-2 p.m.: The Needs Portal: A Resource Referral and Management Information System
- Sept. 22, 1-2 p.m.: Promoting Racial Equity in Child Welfare CQI and Evaluation
- Sept. 24, 1-2 p.m.: Public- Private Collaboration to Transform Child Welfare Systems for LGBTQ+ Youth Thriving
- Sept. 29, 1-2 p.m.: Focusing on Services Gaps and Needs for Ohio’s Traumatized Youth and Crime Victims
Capacity Building Center for the States offers webinar on IV-E prevention services
The Capacity Building Center for the States will hold a webinar called “Tools to Support Effective Collaboration for Strengthening Families” Aug. 26 from 1-2:30 p.m. It will cover using Planning Title IV-E Prevention Services: A Toolkit for States and other frameworks to meaningfully collaborate with public and community partners in building prevention-focused systems. Attendees will:
- Hear how agencies and community partners have operationalized trusting partnerships and learn approaches to effective collaboration.
- Examine strategies for establishing common values and collaborating to identify and fund community-based solutions to strengthen families.
- Learn approaches to using data for continuous quality improvement and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of a partnership.
ODJFS and Supreme Court of Ohio offer Red Book Training Course
The Supreme Court of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services are partnering to provide the Red Book Training Course (RBTC) virtually for people involved in the legal side of child welfare in Ohio. RBTC follows the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) publication “Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect and Custody Proceedings.” It explores the intersection of federal law and state practice and serves as an overall review of core dependency competency areas. The training has been delivered nationwide and is consistently praised for providing valuable information on a broad array of pertinent topics in child welfare law. It will be held once a week in the evening for seven weeks beginning Sept. 9. The target audience is judges, magistrates, court staff, PCSA attorneys, public defenders, CASAs, GALs, appointed counsel, and prosecutors. For information, contact Debra Copeland or Tequilla Washington. For registration questions, contact the Court's Children and Families section.
APSAC to hold virtual colloquium Sept. 22-24
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children is holding a virtual colloquium Sept. 22-24. It will bring high-quality learning opportunities to child maltreatment researchers and practitioners across experience levels and professions. Sessions will be designated as beginning, intermediate, or advanced level content. Tracks include:
- Cultural Diversity Institute/Workshops
- Ethics and Intervention
- Family Violence, Media, and Trauma
- Interviewing
- Investigation/Prosecution
- Medical
- Mental Health and Mindfulness
- Overcoming Parental Alienation Allegations
- Prevention
Sessions will be designed for professionals in mental health, social work, medicine and nursing, law, education, law enforcement, prevention, research, advocacy, child protective services, and allied fields. Register here.
ODJFS adoption website now features children’s profiles
Ohio’s foster care and adoption website now includes profiles of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. The profiles include children’s first names and ages, as well as hobbies, strengths and activities that reflect their personality and interests. The website features information for prospective adoptive families as well as an interactive map that links them to local agencies that can help them decide if adoption is right for their family. County public children services agencies can upload children’s profiles into a portal for ODJFS staff to review and post to the website. If families are interested in learning more about a child after reading their profile, they can forward their information to the child’s caseworker through the website.
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Child Protection in the News
Ohio’s adoption website now includes profiles of children waiting for homes. But unlike such sites in other states, viewers won’t see photos of the kids.
As young adults prepare to move into a new housing development designed for formerly homeless youths, community members welcomed them with a drive-through housewarming event.
With myriad public health and economic challenges looming, a new report offers local leaders in Ohio pre-pandemic data on child well-being to help guide the path forward. New 2020 Kids Count County Profiles released yesterday by the Children's Defense Fund Ohio feature research on financial security, health, safety and education -- all of which is timely and relevant, said CDF Ohio Kids Count Project Director Kim Eckhart.
Many members of Congress view COVID-19 relief legislation as an opportunity to grab money for any number of pet projects unrelated to the epidemic. But one proposed amendment, introduced by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, is entirely appropriate.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) called racism a public health crisis while releasing a report from a task force created to look into how COVID-19 is hitting people of color disproportionately. The minority health strike force identified dozens of issues to address disparities when it comes to health issues for people of color, known as social determinants of health. He called for changes in many sectors including higher education, foster care, and environmental protection.
About 5% of school-aged children live with seniors in Ohio. Lyric was in her daisy-print, summer pajamas on Friday morning when she got up and burst into song.
Raising a child has its challenges and raising a child with developmental disabilities is often even harder. It can drain caregivers physically, emotionally, and financially, and some parents don’t have enough resources, support, or funds to continue to take care of their children. When they run out of options and money, parents often turn to the last available solution: giving up custody of their child so the state of Ohio will step in and provide those resources.
Where does one begin to talk about something so wrong? Go to https://newspunch.com and find the article with the headline, "Three Mothers Arrested in Ohio for Giving Their Kids to Pedophiles in Exchange for Drugs." Parental substance use can affect how parenting is handled. Impairments, physical or mental, caused by alcohol or drugs, interfere with parenting. Priorities get mixed up and family life becomes chaotic, unpredictable. Children's basic needs are not met, things like healthy nutrition, nurturing and proper supervision. And now we can add child sex trafficking to that list.
The Scioto County Commissioners held their regularly scheduled Thursday meeting, with many questions from residents about Scioto County Children Services.
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Profiles of Hope and Courage:
Children Services in the Era of COVID-19
Blair: 'The good moments in this job are so rewarding, when you see children running to their families and hugging them'
Blair is a 30 Days to Family caseworker in Hamilton County. He has a degree in criminal justice and served a year in the AmeriCorps program. He stumbled into children services after that, starting in investigations and spending two years as a traditional caseworker. He transitioned to his 30 Days to Family role a year ago.
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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Sept. 2 | Board of Trustees Meeting
Sept. 3 | Rules Review Committee Meeting
Sept. 16-17 | PCSAO "Partners in Progress" Annual Conference
Note: Meetings will be held via web meeting for the foreseeable future.
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Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 | www.pcsao.org
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