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During April National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we recognize the importance of healing families to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children. Wear blue April 10 to raise awareness and post your pictures with the hashtag #OhioWearsBlue2024.
“Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.” – Jim Rohn
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From the Field: County Highlights | |
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Ashtabula
New Family Peer Mentor, Tanya Hill, has joined the Ashtabula County START team. Welcome, Tanya!
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Perry
Perry's County's first dyad is being trained to take START cases and hope to take their first case by August.
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Hamilton
Hamilton County successfully closed multiple START cases in March.
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2024 Ohio START Summit
May 2, 2024
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Registration now open
The 2024 Ohio START Summit will take place May 2 at Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center near Columbus. This event brings together more than 200 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. Visit the event website to see the full agenda and register by April 22. Please contact anne@pcsao.org with any questions.
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Keynote Speaker: Stefanie Robinson
Stefanie 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.
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Thank you to our sponsors!
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Ohio START Director Speaks in D.C. | |
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Fawn Gadel, Director of Ohio START, traveled to Washington D.C. on April 5 to speak to the United States House Ways and Means Committee staff during an educational briefing on families involved with child protection due to parental substance use. During the briefing, Fawn along with practitioners from three other states shared innovative projects from across the country that are achieving success with the families they partner with. Fawn took the opportunity to share the great work and successes of Ohio START.
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A recent article from the Perry County Tribune highlights the unique approach of the Ohio START model and the encouraging results seen for families around the state. Thank you to Perry County for submitting this story!
Pictured: Amanda Snellings, Perry County family peer mentor (left) and Sarah Kunkler, Perry County Ohio START caseworker (right)
Read the article.
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Data Supports Expanding START to More Families | |
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New data published in the Children and Youth Services Review shows that Ohio START has been effective in serving families with children of all ages.
The National Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) model is an evidence-supported intervention for families with at least one child under age 6 involved in the child welfare system due to substance misuse. Ohio’s adaptation of START extends the model to serve all eligible families regardless of the age of children in the household. We are excited to see data supporting the expansion of the National START model to serve more families!
Read the article.
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Warren County Success Story
Meet Erin, the most recent graduate of the START program in Warren County! She helped teach the Warren County team how to make the program run more smoothly, and they were grateful for her input. Even during difficult times, Erin would pause to reflect and would then reach out to her caseworker and family peer mentor to have discussions about any issues. Erin was always one to let you know how she felt, so there was no guessing if she was upset, happy, or indifferent. Congratulations, Erin!
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Share your success story to be featured in the next newsletter here.
Nominate an Ohio START staff member to be spotlighted here.
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START is being implemented in 8 states and 107 local jurisdictions! Throughout the US, there are around 122 dyads and over 3,700 families have been served. Click here for more information about START’s national reach.
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Please Share Upon Completion of Ohio START
You can now participate in a phone interview study about your experience. If you participate in an interview from Ohio University or Ohio State University, you will receive a $75 gift card.
If you are co-parenting, each parent that completes Ohio START can participate and receive a gift card. Your participation is voluntary. Interviews can be over the phone or via video conference call.
To schedule an interview text or call: 740-486-0065
Each interview will last approximately 45 minutes.
Or email: OhioSTART.parentinterview@gmail.com
IRB Number: 19-F-40
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Ohio START Job Postings
Do you have an open Ohio START position? Please send the details of your open positions to christine@pcsao.org to post on the Ohio START website.
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National START Workers Affinity Group | April 10, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Mark your calendars for the next convening of the inter-state affinity group for START child welfare workers. This role-specific peer learning opportunity is designed for networking, shared learning, and quality improvement planning while building a nationwide community of practice to support improved outcomes for children and families affected by parental substance use disorders. The topic for this meeting will be engaging families through communication, collaboration, and culturally competent strategies. The targeted audience is START child welfare workers. Register here.
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Upcoming Emotional CPR (eCPR) Certification Opportunities
The P.E.E.R. Center, with support from OhioMHAS, has announced new dates for its Emotional CPR (eCPR) certification trainings. eCPR is an educational program developed by the recovery movement designed to teach people to assist others through an emotional crisis by three simple steps: C = Connecting, P = emPowering, and R = Revitalizing. Upcoming certification classes will be offered on April 30-May 1 and June 5 and 7. Click the button below for more information and to register. Email info@thepeercenter.org with questions.
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Save the Date: Ohio's 2024 Mental Health & Addiction Conference
Save the date for Ohio’s 2024 Mental Health and Addiction Conference: Building the Systems of Care hosted by OACBHA, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Ohio Department of Health on June 3-4 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus. Previously known as the Opiates and Other Addictions Conference, this two-day conference will focus on efforts related to mental health, opiate and other addiction prevention, education, intervention, treatment, recovery, family supports, community engagement, and more.
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Learning Community Discussions 2024 Schedule
Here are the 2024 dates for Learning Community Calls for caseworkers, supervisors, administrators, behavioral health workers, and family peer mentors. Please note that future dates are subject to change.
Caseworkers
Calls will occur on the third Wednesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. Here is the Zoom link. Calls will be based on county size, divided into the following three groups: Metro/Large, Medium, and Small.
- Metro/Large call: April 17, July 17, Oct. 16
- Medium: May 15, Aug. 21, Nov. 20
- Small: June 19, Sept. 18, Dec. 18
Supervisors
Calls will occur bi-monthly on the third Thursday of the month from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. The dates are as follows: May 16, July 18, and Sept. 19. Here is the Zoom link.
Administrators
Calls will occur quarterly on the third Thursday of the month from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. The dates are as follows: May 16, and Aug.15. Here is the Zoom link.
Behavioral health workers
Calls will occur quarterly on the third Thursday of the month from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. The dates are as follows: April 18, July 18, and Oct. 17. Here is the Zoom link.
Family peer mentors
Calls will occur monthly on the last Wednesday of the month from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The dates are as follows: April 24, May 29, June 26, July 31, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 30, and Nov. 27. Here is the Zoom link.
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Visit the training calendar below to register | |
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Drug Testing in Child Welfare
April 12 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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Family Team Meetings: Facilitator Skills
April 16 from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
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Trauma-Informed Resiliency-Oriented Supervision
April 17 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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Introduction to START for New Staff
April 18 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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Motivational Interviewing Refresher
April 24 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
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Trauma Informed Family Engagement: Understanding the Impact of Implicit Bias and Structural Racism
April 25 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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Substance Use Disorder 101
April 26 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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Ohio START is a program of PCSAO and an affiliate of the National START Model
Our Mission: We approach Substance Use Disorders with compassion, understanding and hope for recovery. We work as a team, supporting and holding each other accountable. We believe in family, love, equity, and redemption.
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