Weekly Update: April 19, 2021
Association News
Metro counties discuss MCOs, kinship payments
PCSAO’s metro counties met for their biweekly check-in on April 15. They discussed the managed care associations chosen by the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Kinship Support Program payments and the idea of temporary disaster relief jobs funded at PCSAs. The metros will meet next on April 29. 

House Finance hears final pitch on children services funding
The Ohio House Finance Committee released a substitute budget bill last week. Missing from the changes was PCSAO’s joint request with the County Commissioners’ Association of Ohio for $50 million to be added to the State Child Protection Allocation. Executive Director Angela Sausser testified before the committee April 15 to reiterate the request to increase SCPA funding. Read more.

PCSAO testifies on HB 4
Director of Public Policy Mary Wachtel offered interested party testimony on HB 4 on April 15, sharing insights and suggesting changes to ensure the bill can work effectively. Watch the testimony here, starting at the 10:00 mark.

PCSAO hosts Ohio Children's Budget Coalition Facebook Live event
Director of Public Policy Mary Wachtel and Communications and Events Manager Cass Freeland hosted this week's Ohio Children's Budget Coalition's WholeChildBudget Facebook Live event. They talked about the Family First Act and the fundamental change it represents in child protection, including offering prevention services and implementing the new Qualified Residential Treatment Program standards. View the recorded event here. 

JFSHRA covers questions about leave guidance, encourages survey completion
At its monthly meeting April 13, the Job and Family Services Human Resources Association welcomed attorneys from Clemans Nelson to answer county HR questions regarding updated federal guidance on extended FMLA and other leave, vaccination policies, and more. Participants were encouraged to complete the workforce/HR survey sent to all county agencies by the associations last week. The next meeting is May 11.

OCWTP steering committee meets
The Ohio Child Welfare Training Program State Steering Committee met April 14 to hear updates from ODJFS, PCSAO, the Regional Training Centers, and the vendor, Ohio’s University Consortium for Child and Adult Services (OUCCAS). Other discussion included deliverables and work plans as well as licensure and credit. The next meeting is May 12.

Northwest District meets
PCSAO’s and OJFSDA’s Northwest District met April 15 to hear updates from Northwoods, report on treatment foster care and other regional efforts, and discuss PCSAO board and staff activities. The PCSAO district will meet next on July 15 at 9:30 via web meeting.

East Central District meets
The PCSAO East Central District met on April 16 and discussed trauma-informed care training needs for staff with Kim Kehl from OhioMHAS. The district received budget, policy, and other updates from PCSAO. East Central RTC discussed the virtual reality headsets, and several counties shared how impactful they have been. Laura Graf from ODJFS was introduced to the district, and she explained her role with the OCWTP. Much of the district’s remaining discussion was focused on Family First, best practices funding, the Chafee stimulus funds and workforce challenges. The district plans to meet in person with a hybrid option on July 16. 
Ohio START
START offers Foundations 2 training
Children and Family Futures and Ohio START provided a one-day virtual “Foundations 2” training on April 14 to Cohort 4 counties and staff from other cohorts who may have missed prior offerings. The training focused specifically on the family peer mentor recovery support process along with hands-on examination of the structure and support needed for hiring, training, and supervising the family peer mentor. The training provided Ohio START teams an opportunity to assess their implementation and receive technical support to develop an action plan for moving their program forward.

Come work with us!
Ohio START is seeking a regional manager to assist with management and implementation of our program, focused on the development and oversight of technical assistance in a specified region of the state. Read more and apply here.
Tenth Annual Wear Blue event a success
Around the state, PCSAs and other partners supporting children and families recognized the tenth annual Wear Blue day on April 14. Over 1,000 posts were shared with our hashtag, #OhioWearsBlue. Agencies found creative ways to recognize Wear Blue during the pandemic, from a flag raising to pinwheel displays to goody bag distribution.
Visit the Ohio Wears Blue Facebook page to see a collection of photos.
Rules Update
Pre-Clearance: The following rule is open for comments until April 29:
 
The following rules are open for comments until April 27:
 
Clearance: As of April 16, there are no children services rules in Clearance.
 
Filed with JCARR: The following rules were original-filed on April 9 with a hearing date of May 12:
  • Rule 5101:2-47-01 - Administration of the Title IV-E foster care maintenance program (FCM).
  • Rule 5101:2-47-09 - Case record requirements for foster care maintenance (FCM).
  • Rule 5101:2-47-12 - Foster care maintenance: Initial determination of program eligibility and reimbursability.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-13 - Foster care maintenance program eligibility: Legal responsibility requirements.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-14 - Foster care maintenance program eligibility: ADC-relatedness.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-15 - Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: authorization for foster care maintenance and auxiliary payment reimbursements.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-16 - Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: Reimbursable placement settings.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-19 - Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: payments, reimbursements, graduation expenses and personal incidentals.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-20 - Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: Supplemental reimbursements for the cost of care for the child of a Title IV-E recipient parent.
  • Rule 5101:2-47-21 - Title IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) reimbursement for a child placed into a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP).
  • Rule 5101:2-47-23 - Beginning date of reimbursability for foster care maintenance.
State and Federal Updates
Gov. DeWine announced this week:

  • Gov. Mike DeWine provided an update on Ohio's vaccination plans following the decision to pause use of the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine. The majority of Ohio's Johnson and Johnson doses were directed to mass vaccination clinics and to 63 public and private four-year colleges and universities, most of which have already completed their student vaccinations. 
  • There are many local providers with open appointments for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov to look for open appointments. 
  • Several sites are also accepting walk-in appointments including the mass vaccination clinic at Summit County's fairgrounds, Franklin County's regional mass vaccination clinic, and the Youngstown clinics at the Covelli Centre and Congregation Rodef Sholom Temple.
  • Ohio's mass vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland is also opening a satellite vaccination clinic in Maple Heights, which has many open appointments for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. 
  • Gov. DeWine announced that more than 36 percent of Ohioans have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. However, Ohio's statewide case incidence number has reached 200 cases per 100,000 people as compared to 144 cases per 100,000 people four weeks ago. There are currently more than 1,300 COVID-positive patients in Ohio's hospitals.
  • The majority of the counties with the highest incidence of cases in Ohio are in the northern region of the state, which is seeing a high level of variant cases. 

COVID vaccine appointments can be scheduled by visiting gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov or by calling 1-833-427-5634 (1-833-4-ASK-ODH). 
Resources and Clips
Resources

Center for Innovative Practice offers safety planning workshop
The Center for Innovative Practice (CIP) is offering a virtual workshop on Safety Planning and Lethal Means Counseling on April 28 from 1-4:15 p.m. The workshop will explore current issues and concerns around youth and young adult suicidality, identify critical elements in suicide safety planning and examine the importance of counseling on access to lethal means. Safety plans are designed to support suicide prevention by providing action steps an individual can take when feeling suicidal. Register here. The training is part of a series of System of Care Best Practice training events designed to support home- and community-based behavioral health services across Ohio. These trainings are free to providers and are supported by OhioMHAS. All events are virtual and require advance registration. Find more information here.

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health COE webinar recording
In case you missed the April 7 introductory webinar highlighting Ohio’s new Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, the webinar recording and PowerPoint slides are now available online. Responses to questions asked during the webinar will be available soon.

DODD, OCALI develop online training for serving multi-system youth
The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities together with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence have developed a virtual training series called “Supporting Youth with Intensive and Complex Needs” for serving the multi-system youth population. The training could benefit both PCSA staff and resource parents. A brief overview video can be found here. Anyone can create an account to log in and take the online training. The training includes nine modules and takes several hours to complete. So far, more than 300 people in multiple systems have completed the training. Find the training itself here.
Child Protection in the News
A yearlong pandemic has magnified already-prevalent child welfare challenges in Muskingum County.
 
This April, Lucas County Children Services is hopeful that Child Abuse Prevention Month is the dawning of a new day.
 
Sarah Newland, the newly-appointed executive director of the Allen County Children’s Services, shared with members of the Kiwanis Club of Lima information about programs in place to help children and families who in many cases are experiencing the most troubling and difficult periods of their lives.

It’s April, so it’s time to remind the community once more, that they are the “key” to preventing child abuse and neglect.
 
April 12 – County overdoses rising – Warren Tribune Chronicle
Trumbull County is experiencing an increase in overdose deaths fueled by the soaring availability of the drug fentanyl, according to local health officials.
 
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to spread awareness and help strengthen families to prevent child abuse and neglect in our community.
 
They are mandated by the State of Ohio to protect the children of Allen County from abuse and neglect while trying to keep the family unit intact.

In nearly half of states, judges can sever children irrevocably from their families without any court-appointed lawyer to advise, represent or defend low-income parents struggling to keep or regain their sons and daughters. That was the scenario confronting Erica Starkey, who was stunned in 2018 when she received adoption papers from the aunt and uncle of her then-3-year-old twin boys. 
 
Lucas County Children's Services needs your help with their new inclusive play area. The organization is holding a design day with three different sessions to get input on what should go into their new accessible playground.
 
April is childhood abuse prevention month and experts want you to remember if you see something, say something.
 
April 10 – DeWine talks with DJFS about resources program – Times Leader
Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services Director Jeff Felton weighed in as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced plans to launch the Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence program to benefit children.

During the lockdowns of the past year, children’s services have received fewer reports of child abuse and neglect. Much of that is likely due to a decrease in reports from educators, who weren’t seeing kids because of distance learning.
 
April is also Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness Month with many activities planned. Wear Blue Day approaching for Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness Month.
 
Portage County Children Services is asking voters for additional funding after losing grant dollars while dealing with the rising costs of caring for abused and neglected children.
 
Athens County Children Services announced plans to bring ‘Kidfest at Home’ to children in Athens County.
Calendar and Job Postings
April 19 | Legislative Committee Meeting
April 26 | Southeast District Meeting
April 26 | Northeast District Meeting
April 28 | Ohio START Leadership Council

Note: Meetings will be held via web meeting until further notice.
Looking for a career in child protection? Or a new position to challenge yourself?