PCSAO Weekly Update: March 11, 2024

Weekly Update: March 11, 2024

Association News

Board of Trustees meet

The PCSAO Board of Trustees met virtually March 6 and approved February meeting minutes and January 2024 financial report. The Board reviewed and approved recommendations from the Finance Committee. The Board debriefed the Executive Membership Meeting, received updates on efforts pertaining to the placement/treatment crisis and discussed the federal kinship licensing rules and workforce crisis strategies. PCSAO staff provided updates pertaining to prevention services, QRTP, Chapter 36 rules, Tiered Foster Care, and NW Treatment Foster Care initiative. The Board of Trustees meet in person on April 3.

Rules Committee meets

The PCSAO Rules Committee met on March 7. DCY provided updates and discussions on several topics including continuous certification, Ohio CCWIS, team Ohio, kinship support Intervention (KSI), adoption assistance rule packages, and final Chapter 36 rules. The Rules Committee will hold its next meeting on April 4.

Community Education Committee meets

The PCSAO Community Education Committee met virtually on March 8 to hear updates from the Ohio Children's Trust Fund on April Child Abuse Prevention Month initiatives, review upcoming levies, and share county updates. The Community Education Committee meets next in person on May 3.

Ohio START

Save the date: 2024 Ohio START Annual Summit

The 2024 Ohio START Summit will take place May 2 at Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center near Columbus. This event brings together caseworkers, supervisors, behavioral health providers, and family peer mentors for a day of networking and learning how best to serve Ohio's families struggling with co-occurring child maltreatment and substance use disorder. Registration is anticipated to open in March. Please contact anne@pcsao.org with any questions.

Ohio START Summit keynote speaker announced

Stefanie Robinson will deliver a keynote at the summit titled "Thriving Beyond Challenges: The Transformative Power of Recovery." Stefanie Robinson, Founding Executive Director of Hope Recovery Community, has over 15 years in recovery from drugs and alcohol, mental health and an eating disorder. After seeing the addiction issues in her own community were not getting better but getting worse, Stefanie decided to focus on Medina County. She spent several years doing recovery peer support in the Medina County Drug Court, and in 2016 Stefanie was instrumental alongside the Medina County Adult Probation Department and the Medina County Court of Common Pleas in launching the Recovery Center of Medina County. In 2018, Stefanie organized and founded Medina’s first Recovery Community Organization, Hope Recovery Community. Stefanie has recieved many awards over the years for her work in recovery.

Sponsorships opportunities

The Ohio START Summit is a great opportunity to reach Ohio professionals serving families affected by substance use and child maltreatment. Sponsors benefit from face-to-face networking, brand promotion, and more! Learn more and sign up to be a sponsor on the 2024 Ohio START Summit event website. Sponsorships will close March 28.

Rules Update

Clearance

As of March 8, there are no children services-related rules in clearance.

Filed with JCARR

The following rule was original-filed on March 7 with a hearing on April 11:

Rule 5101:2-47-23.1 - Title IV-E agency contracting and contract monitoring.
Rule 5101:2-47-24 - Title IV-E agency contract and contract monitoring requirements for placement of children with a parent in a substance use disorder (SUD) residential facility.

The following rules were final-filed on March 7 with an effective date of March 17:

Rule 5160-59-03.4 - OhioRISE: behavioral health respite service.
Rule 5160-59-03.5 - OhioRISE: primary flex funds.
Rule 5160-59-05.1 - OhioRISE home and community-based services waiver: out-of-home respite.
Rule 5160-59-05.2 - OhioRISE home and community-based services waiver: transitional services and supports.

Resources and Clips

Resources and Opportunities

OhioDCY children services updates

The Ohio Department of Health, in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, has posted a competitive solicitation seeking a vendor to develop and implement an Alliance on Innovation in Maternal Health (AIM) Care for Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Substance Use Disorder Patient Safety Bundle. The solicitation can be found on the OhioBuys website. The inquiry period ends March 22 at 8 a.m. All questions must be submitted through OhioBuys. Applications are due by March 29 at 1 p.m.

DCY updates and guidance letters:

OneOhio Recovery Foundation webinar series

OneOhio Recovery Foundation announced three webinars it will hold in March to support applicants as they prepare funding requests. Each webinar will focus on an abatement strategy that grant applicants may apply for funding under. The second webinar will take place on March 11. Visit the OneOhio Recovery Foundation's website for more information concerning the grants and the webinar series. For any questions concerning the grants, contact Apply@oneohiofoundation.com. See the remaining webinar dates below:

March 11 at 2:30 p.m. - Recovery Supports
March 20 at 10:30 a.m. - Prevention

Volunteers needed to test Community Response Guide

Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning and Summit counties are implementing a Community Response Guide–a tool to help mandated reporters determine whether their concern rises to the level of making a referral of abuse or neglect. The project is seeking volunteers this month to help field-test and test the inter-rater reliability of the tool throughout the spring. Volunteers will access virtual training (about one hour) and spend time testing (about another hour) on their own schedule. Testers can include mandated reporters of all types, those with lived experience, and concerned citizens. Preferably, volunteers will live in, work in, or have some regular contact with one of the five counties. Learn more and complete this form to indicate your interest in volunteering as a tester.

Behavioral health services at St. Vincent Family Services

St. Vincent Family Services offers 24/7/365 trauma-informed residential treatment care for children ages 5-12 in their newly renovated QRTP center in Columbus, Ohio. They are actively accepting placement requests for children from every Ohio county. Services include daily academic instruction, day treatment care, evidence-based treatment interventions, individual and family counseling, on-site OSU community health center providing psychiatric care, medication management and primary care health services, and short-term respite care. The Prep Academy day treatment program is also available in Franklin County for children ages 3-12 struggling in traditional school/preschool settings due to behavioral and social-emotional challenges. Families can walk in for same-day access to care, or appointments and referrals can be made online or by phone at (614) 824-KIDS (5437). See the residential treatment flyer and the Prep Academy flyer to learn more.

OJFSDA Annual Training Conference

Featuring an opening keynote from Matt Selker, the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors' Association (OJFSDA) Annual Training Conference will be held on May 9-10 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. This two-day event offers 59 breakout sessions including several that will be county-led on the topics of contract monitoring, the power of social media, maximizing allocations, workforce best practices, and more. Learn more and register here. Early bird registration ends April 12.

Trauma-Informed Care Summit

The 11th Annual TIC Summit is hosted by the Ohio Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OHMAS), Developmental Disabilities (DODD), Health (ODH), and Youth Services (DYS). This event provides space to reflect, adapt and innovate beyond being trauma informed to providing trauma-responsive and competent care. The summit will be held May 8-9. Registration details to come.

Child Protection in the News

March 7 – Montgomery County gets $10M from opioid settlements – Dayton 24/7

The Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners announced that the county will receive $10 million in direct opioid settlement funds that are allocated for local governments. The three main areas the money will go to are the Montgomery County Jail, a health information portal and local nonprofits.

March 6 – Conference helps parents work through stresses of adoption – Journal News

Thousands of children in Ohio are looking to be adopted. Nearly 14,000 children are being cared for away from their parents. More than 8,000 are living with foster parents, and the rest are in residential care or living with friends or relatives, also known as kinship caregivers, according to AdoptUsKids.org. More than 3,300 children in Ohio are waiting to be adopted, and nearly a third are teenagers.

March 6 – Keeping families together is aim of new, expanding addiction recovery programs in Columbus – Columbus Dispatch

When Christina Perry runs out to her car to get something, she no longer sees her 10-year-old daughter Karen watching from the window, making sure she comes back.

March 4 – Belmont County DJFS looks to improve services – Times Leader

Jeff Felton, Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services director, told county commissioners that his office is implementing a new practice model called "Practice in Action Together." "Our statewide association, Public Children's Services Association of Ohio, has been working for a couple of years on a practice model for child welfare, which we don't currently have throughout the state," he said. Felton said the new model focuses on building relationships between clients and Children Services staff.

March 2 – Belmont Pines expands reach with partnerships – Business Journal Daily

Belmont Pines Hospital increased its reach in 2023 by 14% as it served more than 2,500 patients, ages 6 to 17, from all of Ohio’s 88 counties and 22 states. That reach is about to expand further.

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