Marion County Children Services

Written by – Tabitha Clark – The Marion Star

MARION – On April 1, Marion County Children Services began Differential Response, which allows the agency to take one of two paths when working with families – traditional response or alternative response.

Terrie Robinson, placement services and community education coordinator for Marion County Children Services, said traditional response deals with more severe cases where the agency needs to label a perpetrator and provide information to law enforcement.

“Alternative response, that’s more of the hand-holding with the family,” Robinson said.

“It doesn’t compromise the safety of the child, but allows us to work one-on-one with the family to overcome the issues that may have caused the abuse in the first place.”

Robinson said alternative response works best with families that are more receptive to services.

“With them being more receptive, we can help link them to more community services that may help them get over the initial issues.”

Some things that have been found in other agencies employing alternative response is that the families are more satisfied with their services, and they have found a reduction in the number of children that require foster care placement, Robinson said.

“Also, they have seen a reduction of subsequent reports of child maltreatment for children who have gone through this approach.

“It’s not a new program,” she said. “It’s a new way of doing old business. We’re still doing the investigations we’ve done all along, but now we can decide what path to go down.”

There will be a Community Forum to discuss this new response and the agency’s efforts on April 24 from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Guthery Room in Maynard Hall on the campus of The Ohio State University at Marion.

MARION -Hundreds of children gathered to play on inflatables, play games and participate in an Easter egg hunt Saturday at Marion County Children Services.

April is Child Abuse Awareness month, and the fifth annual Pinwheel Play Day provided the community with a free family fun day, while also raising awareness, said Jacqueline Ringer, director of Marion County Children Services.

Through the merriment, children made their way to the trees in front of the Children Services offices to help volunteers plant pinwheels – 679 of them.

The idea for the pinwheels came from the national campaign, “Pinwheels for Prevention.”

“The pinwheel was chosen because it is a symbol that represents kids and serves as a visual reminder for communities that abuse is real,” Ringer said.

Each pinwheel stands for one investigation that was finished by the agency in 2011. There were 679 investigations finished in 2011, up from 647 in 2010.

“The pinwheels also represent the voices of those who spoke up on behalf of children,” said Terrie Robinson, placement services and community education coordinator for Marion County Children Services.

“We like to say ‘awareness’ instead of ‘prevention,'” said Robinson. “We can’t get involved with the families until a report is made. We can only provide education on the preventative side. We can only work with families after something has happened.”

The agency members stress the importance of reporting suspected abuse.

“It is important to report suspicious behavior,” said Anna Tinnerello, intake and assessment supervisor for Marion County Children Services.

“The caller may make a difference and assist in getting families the services they need. That may be education or services in the community. Ultimately, they are making a difference in the life of that child.

“The most important thing is to not assume that something that seems obvious is common knowledge.”

Tinnerello said if residents suspect abuse or neglect, they should report it.

“Those that are concerned can call in to our agency (740-389-2317), or they can come out to our agency (1680 Marion-Waldo Road).”

She said the agency has staff on call all the time.

“After hours, we have someone who can be contacted through the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.” This is for emergency situations only.

After a resident makes an initial call to report suspicious behavior, Children Services will determine if it meets the criteria of the law. Then, they investigate.

“We are then able to determine if a child is safe or not,” Tinnerello said. “It allows intervention to occur if necessary.”

Tinnerello said the goal of Children Services is not to break families apart. “We want to strengthen to them so they can stay united.”

“Of course, if a child is in danger, we have to take measures to ensure their safety. We then build services around the family.”

In 2011, Marion County Children Services provided services to 1,471 children.

“That is one in 10 children in Marion County,” Ringer said.

During investigations, Ringer said, there are indicators that many of the families coming in contact with Children Services face: Single head of household, economic problems, substance abuse, caretaker abused as a child, and family violence.

Out of the 679 investigations, 80 children were taken into agency custody in 2011.

Robinson said the children who are taken into agency custody are placed in licensed facilities.

“Any time that we take custody of a child, they are placed in a licensed facility, either a treatment facility or a foster home.”

Of the 80 children that were placed with the agency, Ringer said the majority were placed in the agency’s foster homes.

“Not all were able to be placed in foster care in Marion County. Some of our children were placed in residential facilities, a last ditch effort,” she said.

Ringer said the agency recruits, trains and licenses foster care providers.

“We have 34 providers, and we are always looking for more,” she said.

Robinson said foster parents provide for the basic needs of the child as far as food, clothing and shelter.

“They take them to appointments, get them enrolled in school, transport them to and from the agency for visitation with parents. They basically provide everything they would for their own children.”

Robinson said the role of foster parent is huge. She said having local foster homes can possibly keep children in their school district and their community.

“The more options we have, the better. That way, we can make good matches the first time around, and the children won’t have to move.”

“All these children that come into custody have been abused or neglected,” Ringer said . “They present their own needs. If we have a child with a lot of needs, we may have to search out foster homes in another network or agency. That is why it is so important to continue to recruit.”

For information about fostering a child, call Marion County Children Services at 740-389-2317.

There is also information on fostering, adoption and other educational items on the agency’s website,www.marionkids.com.

Written by Tabitha Clark, The Marion Star

SCHEDULE

Pinwheel Play Day

• 8:30 a.m. – Race registration opens
• 9:30 a.m. – Kids Fun Run
• 10 a.m. – Adult 5k Run/Walk
• 10 a.m. – Games, inflatables and concession stand opens
• 11:30 a.m. – “Our Community, Our Kids” Balloon launch
• 12 p.m. – Easter egg hunt begins

REGISTRATION FOR 5K

Registration for the BGC of Marion Adult 5k Run/Walk:

• Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. with the race at 10 a.m.
• Residents can register online at premier races.com, at the Boys and Girls Club main office, 370 E. Mark St., or at any Fahey Bank branch office.
• Early registration is $20. Registration the day of the race is $25.

For information, contact Director Allison Miracle at 740-387-3462 or allison@bgcmarion.org.

MARION – On Saturday, 679 pinwheels will be placed on the lawn at Marion County Children Services as part of the 5th Annual Pinwheel Play Day. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Marion County Children Services.

“The pinwheels serve as a visual reminder of child maltreatment in the community,” said Jacqueline Ringer, director of Marion County Children Services.

She said the event gives families a chance to relax and have fun.

“It just provides the community with a free family fun day. That’s important to us, too.”

Ringer said Children Services has worked with other agencies to bring the event together. The agency collaborated with the Boys and Girls Club of Marion County, the First Church of the Nazarene and Clear Channel.

“During the whole day, we will have the Pinwheel Play Day with inflatables, stations for the kids, and information for the parents.”

There will be an “Our Community, Our Kids” balloon launch at 11:30 a.m., and the Easter egg hunt, sponsored by Clear Channel, will start at noon.

One part of the event will be the Adult 5k Run/Walk fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Marion County.

Allison Miracle said the collaboration with Children Services was perfect because the BGC understands the importance of keeping Marion’s youths safe.

“The Club serves close to 600 youth a year, and we are mandated reporters,” Miracle said.

“We support bringing awareness to the needs of Marion’s children and the services that Children Services provides.”

Registration for the 5k starts at 8:30 a.m. with the race beginning at 10 a.m.

“Our route will begin and end at Children Services,” said Miracle, “It is 3.16 miles. The police will be on hand to watch out for the well-being of the runners.”

There will be awards given out for the overall top male and female, and the top male and female in each age group.

The race will be chip-timed to accurately record every participant’s time.

Miracle said Modern Woodmen of America is doing a match up to $2,500 for the fundraiser, and as of Tuesday, there were already 100 racers registered.

There will also be a Kids Fun Run starting at 9:30 a.m. That race is free, and there is no registration.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has selected Marion County Children Services in the 2012 expansion of Ohio’s Differential Response Program. Based on the results of a successful Supreme Court of Ohio and ODJFS pilot project, the recently enacted state budget bill requires a plan for the statewide expansion of the Differential Response Program. The recent competitive application process resulted in selection of seven counties to participate in the next phase of the project’s expansion – Marion, Allen, Belmont, Clinton, Lake, Stark, and Vinton – bringing the number of participating counties to 40.

Ohio’s Differential Response system provides two pathways recognizing the varied nature of reports and offering the opportunity to respond differentially through either a traditional response or an alternative response. Currently, Marion County Children Services completes traditional response investigations on all accepted child abuse and neglect referrals. Traditional response can be considered adversarial in nature with use of “victim” and “perpetrator” labels and the determination of fault. The investigation process requires a significant amount of time and attention obtaining the specifics of the reported incident. While some cases are transferred to another caseworker for ongoing services due to the high level of risk of future maltreatment, the majority of investigations are closed with recommendations and referrals made to service providers in order to address areas of need. However, upon case closure it is the family’s discretion to follow-through with the services recommended by the caseworker or not.

Alternative response emphasizes creating a working partnership among families and child welfare and community agencies. It focuses on identifying concerns and finding solutions, not on assigning blame, finding fault, gathering evidence or applying negative labels. Alternative response allows caseworkers to work jointly with families to identify and use their strengths to address their concerns and to make certain that they and their children are, and can remain, safe. Addressing family-identified concerns and needs and using agency and community resources to support family are key elements in the service design. Families may voluntarily remain open through the collaborative development of a family service plan to accomplish goals identified by the family.

It is important to recognize that alternative response is neither better than, nor supplants, the need for and use of traditional response. Traditional response will always be the preferred pathway for all reports which could result in potential criminal charges and/or is necessary to determine whether serious incidents of child maltreatment occurred. Also, alternative response is not outreach or diversion programming. Child abuse and neglect reports assigned alternative response must meet the threshold of law required for Marion County Children Services intervention.

In this first year of implementation, Marion County Children Services will primarily target reports of child neglect for the alternative response. The agency recognizes the importance of continuity of services. By adopting the one-worker one-family model, families will be further benefited by the established trust and rapport of the existing caseworker and family relationship. The caseworker initially assigned will remain with the family through the life of the alternative response case.

Ohio first piloted alternative response in 2008 and the results shows better outcomes for not only children and families but local communities as well. By working jointly with the family, caseworkers were able to successfully link them to social service programs that might meet their needs. Families that received an alternative response approach were more likely to report that they were very satisfied with treatment by their workers. In addition, agencies experienced the reduction of children requiring foster care placement and subsequent reports of child maltreatment, resulting in long-term cost savings to the community. More importantly, child safety was not compromised.

The results are consistent with a comparable study on alternative response in Minnesota. Many other states have found – and Ohio’s early results indicate – that Differential Response helps keep families together by engaging families in services and reducing the level of intervention necessary to keep children safe. “Differential Response helps keep families together, which leads to better outcomes and happier children,” said ODJFS Director Michael Colbert. “It fundamentally changes the way we do business and allows us and our county partners to provide a better service to children and families at a lower cost to taxpayers.”

Steve Hanson, manager of the Supreme Court’s Children, Families and the Courts Programs, said the benefits of the program also extend to the court system. “Some families require the full attention of the court system to ensure the safety of children and oversee the family’s response to services. Differential Response helps reduce court dockets allowing judges to give greater attention to those families that require formal court involvement.”

Complete results and evaluation of the initial AR pilot can be found in the Executive Summary Report on our website. Marion County Children Services will begin implementation of Differential Response on April 1, 2012. The agency invites you to learn more about it’s efforts by attending a Community Forum on April 24th from 8:00am-10:00am in the Guthery Room of Morrill Hall at The Ohio State University at Marion. Please contact Ruth Johnson at 740-389-SAFE to reserve your seating for the event.

Article written by: Anna Tinnerello, Intake/Assessment Supervisor, MCCS

I’m going to begin my letter with a true story that may leave you wondering what this has to do with November being Adoption Awareness Month.  Hopefully by the time I close, it will come together.

This past spring, my children and I decided we wanted to adopt a kitten from our local animal shelter, after passing their sign every day advertising a need for good homes. Upon arriving, I was told there were approximately 700 kittens alone that come through the shelter every spring. After looking in the eyes of many, I found a kitten I could not break my gaze away from. After the attendant allowed me to hold her, she instantly started purring madly and hugging me tightly. I could barely put her down in order to fill out the application and pay a reasonable adoption fee. Two days later she was ours! Being too young to receive her sterilization surgery at the time of her adoption, I had to make an appointment to bring her back in 8 weeks. So, as scheduled, I bring her back in for her appointment. While dropping her off, I stated to the attendant, “I’m glad we’re getting this taken care of, I think I saw the neighbor cat prowling around.” The attendant’s head WHIPS UP, and she says to me, “WHY WAS THE CAT OUTSIDE?” So, after that tongue lashing, I stutter, “Well, well…she’s a cat and she likes to go outside and play and get fresh air too??!!”  At that point I was PROMPTLY told their cats are indoor friends only, and if I was going to continue to allow my cat outdoors, I would have to bring her back.

Being a mom to 3 adopted children, I’ve thought a lot about this scenario.  Number one, wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if we could pass a sign daily, reminding people of the number of children who are adequately taken care of, but still, not part of a PERMANENT loving family? I’ve often thought, as a society, we have more “animal rights” awareness, than we do “children’s rights” awareness. It seems to me, we have become a society of being too politically correct, and it makes people uncomfortable to think about children not having loving, permanent homes. So as I think of my beautiful pure white cat with one blue eye and one green eye, who is very loved, overfed, and who, yes, goes outside to play as she wishes, I’m reminded that while I’m not the perfect parent to my cat, there is NO DOUBT, she has HER perfect life.

And if you believe that you can’t make a difference in a child’s life, you are wrong. Where there is a will, there is a way! The resources are out there, to give you the tools to be successful. My best advice is start by contacting Marion County Children Services. They can best advise and educate you on the process of fostering and adopting and get you started.

Yes indeed, Kitty and I sleep well at night.  I know there is ONE LESS homeless lost Kitty “in the system.”

I hope upon reflection, it was obvious I used the story of my adopted kitten, to convey the thought; you do NOT have to be perfect, to be the perfect parent.

Jodi Fidler is a foster and adoptive parent with Marion County Children Services. Potential parents are reminded that children in foster care don’t need perfection; they need the commitment and love a “forever family” can provide.  To learn more contact the Placement Unit at 740-389-2317. Or visit www.marionkids.com.