Judge leads local team during Southeastern Ohio Panel Presentation

On Feb. 20, Juvenile Court Judge Van Blanchard II opened the Southeastern Ohio Regional Meeting of Juvenile Court and Child Welfare teams during a presentation at the Ohio University Inn at Athens.

ATHENS – On Feb. 20, Juvenile Court Judge Van Blanchard II opened the Southeastern Ohio Regional Meeting of Juvenile Court and Child Welfare teams during a presentation at the Ohio University Inn at Athens. The Coshocton County Juvenile Court and local systems partners in the Statewide System Improvement Program (SSIP) Initiative gave updates on progress as related to improving outcomes for families affected by substance use.

Coshocton County was initially selected as one of seven counties to be a Phase I Pilot site for testing strategies and infusing best practice into the child welfare docket. As a result, the court has experienced significant expansion of its Family Dependency Drug Court Docket and has worked to implement a family centered approach while tracking data related to recommended engagement strategies for better outcomes for children.

As part of the SSIP initiative, the Court and local agencies developed a governance structure, held regular Core Team Meetings, implemented strategies to early-engage child welfare clients, enhanced compliance and monitoring requirements, and continue to track outcomes for clients in the Family Dependency Drug Court Program.

Accomplishments highlighted in the Coshocton presentation included:

– Child Welfare implemented an early screening tool as part of a five-pronged approach to for identification for substance use issues in all child welfare referrals, recognizing that some 179 parents needed additional assessment due to concerns identified. Over 592 parents have been screened in the past two and a half years.

– Expanded drug testing has allowed for weekend screening, so drug testing for program compliance is available seven days a week.

– Early identification and engagement strategies at the court has led to an increase in the FDC program participation with 54 accepted participants and 20 completing the program.

– Over 130 clients were identified for possible inclusion in expanded programming in the past three years.

– Expanded court monitoring of civil cases is under development to assure treatment compliance for parents.

– Agency collaboration and communication has improved access to treatment and compliance reporting.

– Acquiring a Federal Grant to test strategies on Plans of Safe Care for Infants and Toddlers impacted by parental substance use, the court is also working with numerous local agencies and hospital maternity wards to test strategies for possible implementation in Ohio and across the country.

Ongoing technical assistance and training combined with regular local meetings and conference calls with Children & Family Futures and the Specialized Dockets Section of the Supreme Court of Ohio allowed Coshocton County to become a mentor for other sites in the central and eastern Ohio region.

Team presentation members included: Van Blanchard II, judge; Leondra Davis, QIC coordinator; JoAnn Uhlig, FDC coordinator; Doug Schonauer, court administrator; Jenn Selders, Coshocton DJFS ongoing supervisor; and Beth Cormack, executive director of Coshocton Behavioral Health Choices.

Category: Government