Workforce retention conference opens registration

DHCM Consultants is hosting a workforce retention conference that will take place Jan. 31 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and 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.

Youth-Centered Permanency Roundtables offers Annual Symposium

The virtual YCPRT Symposium, "Recharging for Permanency," will take place Nov. 18, 9 a.m.-12 noon.  The symposium speakers, Matt Vant Anderson and Kinnect's own Heather Jamison, will lead discussions on the importance of listening to youth, "remembering our why," and refueling to stay focused on permanency. If interested in attending, email Kat Mueller for the link.

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. More information and registration can be found here.
• 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. More information and registration can be found here.
• 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. More information and registration can be found here.

Join foster youth, alums in Thanksgiving Together

Those who have experienced foster care firsthand know that the holidays can be a painful reminder of lost connections. This is why, ever since 2007, Thanksgiving has been a time for Ohio’s current and former foster youth to gather in November for Thanksgiving Together. Thanksgiving Together welcomes current foster care youth ages 14+ and former foster care youth ages 18+. Youth and alumni are welcome to bring one or more guests. Thanksgivings will be held in Xenia and Columbus. Registration is free, but required. Register here.

• Southwest Ohio Thanksgiving Dinner: Nov. 12, 12:30-3 p.m. at Emerge Banquet Center, 2690 West Enon Road, Xenia 45385 (associated with the Emerge Emancipation Program). 
• Central Ohio Thanksgiving Dinner: Nov. 20, 1-4 p.m., Reynoldsburg High School’s Summit Campus, 8579 Summit Road, Reynoldsburg 43068. 

Attend Kinnect's upcoming trainings

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 sessions: 

• Identifying System Barriers to Family Engagement and Strategies to Overcoming Them, Nov. 21, 1-4 p.m.
• Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression SOGIE 101, Nov. 30, 1-4 p.m.
• Unpacking the ‘No’: Navigating Family Resistance, Dec. 19, 1-4 p.m.

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.

Oct. 28 - Commissioners honor Vuksic - Marietta Times

The Washington County Commissioners’ meeting room Thursday morning was filled with colleagues of Jamie Vuksic, who is retiring after 20 years of service with Washington County Children’s Services.

Oct. 31 - November is National Adoption Month - Richland Source

November is National Adoption Month. This month and throughout the year, Richland County Children Services (RCCS) urges all communities to remain committed to finding permanency for all youth in foster care.

Nov. 1 - CPS levy finds bipartisan support - Portsmouth Daily Times

A levy will be on the ballot this November to replace an existing levy with a new one, in order to improve programming for local Children Services. The ballot will read: “A replacement of 1 mill of an existing levy and an increase of 2 mills to constitute a tax for the benefit of Scioto County Children Services for the purpose of the support of the children services and for the care and placement of abused, neglected and dependent children in Scioto County, Ohio at a rate not exceeding 3 mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to $0.30 for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for 10 years, commencing in 2022, first due in calendar year 2023.”

Nov. 2 - Newly certified Child Abduction Response Team in Delaware County ready to help statewide - Columbus Dispatch

When a child is missing or abducted in Ohio, Delaware County's multiagency Child Abduction Response Team might be called on to help. While the team comprises a number of central Ohio agencies, Lt. Dave Buttler of the Delaware County Sheriff's Office said, it has responded to incidents elsewhere in the state, as well. On Nov. 1, the sheriff's office announced that the team had received CART certification from the U.S. Department of Justice, a procedure that Buttler said took two years to complete and makes the Delaware County team the only one certified in Ohio.

Nov. 3 - Baby Box is a Crisis Option - Daily Standard

Embedded within the southwest corner of the Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center's emergency department is a temperature-controlled black box, specifically a Safe Haven Baby Box. The box is a safety device provided for under Ohio's Safe Haven Law and legally permits a mother in crisis to safely, securely and anonymously surrender her baby if she is unable to care for the newborn, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes' website. Lima's location is the state's seventh Safe Haven Baby Box and the 125th location nationally, according to a news release from Mercy Health. The box is climate controlled and features a silent alarm that notifies first responders of a surrender, allowing personnel to respond within five minutes to perform a medical evaluation.

Nov. 3 - As fentanyl drives overdose deaths, mistaken beliefs persist - Associated Press

Lillianna Alfaro was a recent high school graduate raising a toddler and considering joining the Army when she and a friend bought what they thought was the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in December 2020.

Nov. 3 - Harrison DJFS helping to support its staff - The Times Leader

In an effort to recruit and retain its staff, the Harrison County Department of Job and Family Services hired a counselor to offer support to its employees.

Nov. 4 - OD deaths in kids prompt Cincinnati Children's to open clinic for opioid-addicted - Cincinnati Enquirer

Older teens and young adults in the Cincinnati area have a new option in medication treatment for opioid use disorder, as overdose deaths in this younger population have escalated in southwest Ohio and the nation. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has opened an outpatient clinic for people ages 16 to 21.