News from Franklin County Children Services

While our agency has a wide array of service providers ready to help the children and families who come into our care, it can be tough for even the most-seasoned caseworker to remember all of the organizations and providers FCCS has contracts and contacts with.  So a collaborative effort between the Provider Services and the Evaluations teams has resulted in a searchable directory to make it easier to find what families need. “We are very resource rich,” said Jennifer Andria, Associate Director of our Placement & Provider Services team. “It’s always been a struggle to keep track of what’s going on in the community.’  The Community Provider Directory allows caseworkers to take full advantage of those resources by having them all in one place to access. “It’s a one stop shop to see what’s out in the community,” added Ms. Andria.   The portal includes a listing of more than 200 service providers that are contracted with FCCS as well as other community-based provider...

Hoping to instill more of the Team FCCS Culture from day one, New Employee Orientation has been updated to include new initiatives like the FCCS Way, our agency’s Calls to Action, and training on being Safer Together both physically and online. “We have to keep a pulse on what upper administration sees as the big picture,” said Amy Fields a trainer from the Professional Development team who’s worked with the curriculum for more than two years. All new employees go through the two-day orientation, designed to give an overview of the agency, its principles and policies, and employee benefits. Over the past several months, the team recognized a need to update the training to better reflect how FCCS has evolved its mission and message. “It’s just more organized, and it’s put in a way that’s easier to grasp at the fundamental level,” said Bethany Workman, one of the trainers for New Employee Orientation (NEO). She also noted how the updates align with our Call to Action on Valuing...

The National Partnership for Child Safety (NPCS) continues to grow in both membership and leadership.  This member-led quality improvement collaborative recently announced that Demetrius Starling, Senior Deputy Director of the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services’ Children’s Services Administration, was elected as a new Co-Chair, serving alongside current Co-Chair Chip Spinning, Executive Director of Franklin County Children Services. The Partnership also welcomed four distinguished leaders to its nine-member Executive Advisory Group: Dr. Alger M. Studstill, Jr., Executive Director of the Social Services Administration, Maryland Department of Human Services Ashley Deckert, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families Donalda Charboneau, Director of Spirit Lake Tribal Social Services, North Dakota (elected to the Executive Advisory Group in May) Heidi E. Mueller, Director of the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services Together...

To help more children in foster care find permanency in their placement, Franklin County Children Services is providing access to more supports and long-term financial resources to families willing to commit to adoption. “I think support is very important for families,” stressed Raquel Breckenridge, Family Services Director for Permanency at FCCS. Over the past year, her Adoptions team has connected 123 children previously in the agency’s care with “forever families.” November is National Adoption Month, an opportunity to increase awareness and support for children in the foster care system who are waiting for permanent, loving families. “Over the years, we have seen an increase in permanency achieved through kinship adoptions,” pointed out Ms. Breckenridge. She adds that grandparents, aunts and uncles, other relatives and family friends often start out caring for children who can no longer safely remain in the custody of their parents. To help these kinship caregivers take the next st...

Hoping to learn more from the lived experiences of the youth we serve - along with our staff and community partners who work closest with them - Franklin County Children Services is teaming up with Partnership 4 Success (P4S) to pilot a new Developmental Relationships Survey. Simply put, this DR Survey is designed to measure the collective impact our system is having in supporting the “whole” needs of children and teens in our care. “I’m excited for us to use the Developmental Relationship Survey because it shines a light on the heart of our work: the relationships we build everyday with children and families,” shared Emily Green, our Family Services Director for Screening, Intake, Ongoing, and Provider Services.  Developmental Relationships are the close connections we create with others which help to shape our lives and teach us to engage with and contribute to the world around us. The national Search Institute has identified 5 elements that make relationships impactful, includin...

With Ohio’s new State Budget set to make historic investments in children services – including nearly $23 million for Franklin County Children Services over the next two years through the State Child Protection Allocation – child welfare advocates across the state will be watching how these new dollars and new rules help address new challenges that agencies like ours are facing. “Since Governor DeWine took office in January 2019, the dollars budgeted for the State Child Protection Allocation - which is used by county agencies to assist in supporting child welfare functions, supports, and services to their children and families - have drastically increased,” shared Dan Shook, our Chief Financial Officer. “Prior to his 2020 budget, this allocation was equal to about $64 million statewide.” Mr. Shook calculates that the current budget has raised the annual State Child Protection Allocation to more than $185 million in 2027. Of this total, FCCS receives approximately 6.5%. That means FCCS ...