Ohio Family and Children First CABINET COUNCIL ORIENTATION April 20, 2007

History of OFCF  Began as “Cluster” during the Celeste Administration with a focus on the placement of children with multi-system needs  In 1991, Ohio Family and Children First was developed as an initiative of the Governor’s Office  In 1993, OFCF was codified in statute, established OFCF Cabinet Council and 88 county FCFCs (ORC )  Focus during the Voinovich Administration was primarily Early Childhood with Early Intervention, Early Start, and Welcome Home Programs  More recent initiatives include Help Me Grow; Partnerships for Success; and Access to Better Care; as well as strengthening the accountability of OFCF/FCFCs through statutory changes

OFCF TODAY New Mission and Vision Commitments to Child Well-Being Restructured OFCF around Core Functions

OFCF Mission and Vision MISSION A collaborative partnership of state and local government, communities and families that enhances the well being of Ohio’s children and families through building community capacity, coordinating systems and services, and engaging and empowering families. VISION Ohio’s families and children thrive and succeed

Commitments to Child Well-Being  Expectant parents and newborns thrive  Infants and toddlers thrive  Children are ready for school  Children and youth succeed in school  Youth choose healthy behaviors  Youth successfully transition into adulthood

OFCF Core Functions Shared Accountability for OFCF’s Vision Coordinate Systems & Services Engage and Empower Families Build Community Capacity Impact

Restructuring OFCF Staff Shared Accountability for OFCF’s Vision Lead: Angela Co-Lead: All Coordinate Systems & Services Lead: Teresa Reed-McGlashan Co-Lead: Sherry Ward Engage and Empower Families Lead: Janice Houchins Co-Lead: Cindy Lafollett Build Community Capacity Lead: Joyce Calland Co-Lead: Janice Houchins

OFCF Cabinet Council Per statute, Cabinet Council is comprised of the Directors of: Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services Budget & Management Education Health Job & Family Services Mental Health Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Youth Services Along with: A representative of the Governor’s Office First Lady The Governor or the Governor’s Designee serves as Chair.

County FCF Councils The Board of County Commissioners establish the county FCFC with the following mandated county members per statute: At least three family representatives not employed by an agency on FCFC Alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services board director Board of health commissioner or designee Department of job and family services director Public children services agency executive director Mental retardation and developmental disabilities board superintendent School district (largest district) superintendent School district (other districts) superintendent City (largest) municipal corporation County commissioners board president or designee ODYS regional office representative Head Start agency representative Early intervention collaborative representative Nonprofit entity representative

OFCF – Sharing A Common Purpose with the Local FCFCs

Exploring OFCF Core Functions OFCF Cabinet Council responsibilities County FCFC responsibilities Local examples Shared Accountability for OFCF’s Vision Build Community Capacity Coordinate Systems & Services Engage and Empower Families

Building Community Capacity OFCF Cabinet and County FCFCs are statutorily responsible for: Mobilizing child and family serving partners to address the needs of children and families through planning and implementing feasible and effective programs and services Build Community Capacity

Building Community Capacity OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Partnerships for Success (PfS) – PfS is the operating system for 39 county FCFCs. With PfS assistance, FCFCs are able to:  Mobilize their communities around issues related to families and children;  Reduce duplication of effort between and among state and local agencies;  Make better decisions that lead to better investments of public dollars;  Evaluate the impact of these investments; and,  Provide for long-term sustainability of effective programs and services

Building Community Capacity OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  H.B. 289  Effective August 18,  Requires OFCF and FCFCs to develop and implement strategies to improve children and youth outcomes most important to each county.  Strengthens the planning, reporting, and accountability functions of OFCF and FCFCs  First annual plan due July 2,  First annual report due July 2008.

Building Community Capacity Build Community Capacity OFCF and FCFC Key Activities: Access to Better Care Early Childhood, including Help Me Grow/ Early Childhood Collaborative Prevention Activities Ohio Commission on Fatherhood After School Juvenile Justice/ Reentry Workforce

Building Community Capacity COUNTY FCFC PERSPECTIVES: Muskingum County FCFC Clark County FCFC Build Community Capacity

Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF Cabinet and County FCFCs are statutorily responsible for: Providing a formalized venue to facilitate the alignment of resources, policies, and services with and for children and families. Coordinating Systems & Services

Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Alignment of Resources & Policies  OFCF Cabinet Council contributes to the operations of OFCF office through an interagency agreement  Pooled funding at state and local level for initiatives, programs and services  Pooled funding at the local level to support county FCFCs operations and services  Improve the efficiency of state and local government by aligning policies, rules, and regulations to better serve children and families

Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Alignment of Services  Improve the delivery of services at the state level for children and families with multiple needs through statewide initiatives and projects  County FCFCs coordinate services and supports for children and families with multiple needs as identified in OFCF’s Service Coordination Mechanism

Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  ESCORE (Electronic–Service Coordination, Outcomes, Results, Evaluation) Web-based database being created for all 88 FCFCs to:  Report the total number of children receiving FCFC service coordination  Evaluate the capacity of service coordination  Identify the child and family outcomes gained  Assess the effectiveness of FCFC Service Coordination

Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  High Fidelity Wraparound Ohio  Enhances the traditional FCFC service coordination process by placing greater value on family involvement and decision making  Relies on the collaborative partnerships among, formal and informal services/supports, and access to effective treatments/ interventions as needed.  Well defined set of trainings and implementation and evaluation tools exist with fidelity measures.  Piloting High Fidelity Wraparound

Coordinating Systems & Services Coordinating Systems & Services OFCF and FCFC Key Activities: Access to Better Care Early Childhood, including Help Me Grow Prevention Activities Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Juvenile Justice/ Reentry Workforce

Coordinating Systems & Services COUNTY FCFC PERSPECTIVES: Butler County FCFC Jackson County FCFC Athens County FCFC Logan/Champaign Counties FCFCs Coordinating Systems & Services

Engaging & Empowering Families OFCF Cabinet and County FCFCs are statutorily responsible for: Recruiting and supporting families to be active contributing members on FCFCs and advocate on behalf of children and families Engaging and Empowering Families

Engaging & Empowering Families OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Engaging and Supporting Family Representatives  At least 3 families must serve on county FCFCs as family representatives  3 families will serve on the to-be established OFCF Advisory Council per H.B. 289  OFCF hosts Regional Family Network Meetings to hear the thoughts, concerns, issues and ideas for local family representatives  Provided training on “ Making Room at the Table ”

Engaging & Empowering Families OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Family Advocacy  Families entering FCFC Service Coordination should be offered a family advocate to provide support to the family and assist with navigating systems  Parent Advocacy Connection  Will be establishing a Center for Family Engagement and Empowerment through Access to Better Care Initiative

Engaging & Empowering Families Engaging & Empowering Families OFCF and FCFC Key Activities: Access to Better Care Early Childhood, including Help Me Grow H.B. 289 planning & reporting FCFC Operational Capacity Building Funds Grant FCFC Service Coordination, along with a Service Coordination Guide for Families and Children’s Rights Guide Kinship Advisory Council Ohio Commission on Fatherhood

Engaging & Empowering Families COUNTY FCFC PERSPECTIVES: Stark County FCFC Lucas County FCFC Engaging & Empowering Families

Shared Accountability OFCF Cabinet and County FCFCs are statutorily responsible for: Monitoring, evaluating, and communicating progress and successes with the commitments assuring that all families and children thrive. Shared Accountability For OFCF’s Vision

Shared Accountability OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Statutory Mandates  ORC specifies the mandates for OFCF Cabinet Council and the 88 county FCFCs  Describes OFCF and FCF Council structures; membership; oversight; and mandated attendance  Identifies the role of the Administrative Agent

Shared Accountability OFCF and FCFC Key Activities:  Child Well-Being Indicators & Commitments  6 Commitments to Child Well-Being – spanning 0 – 21; some the life span  72 indicators related to the commitments  State level cross-system data group  County FCFCs are required to annually report their contribution to improve child well-being outcomes as related to the six commitments

Shared Accountability OFCF and FCFC Key Activities: Statutory Mandates Child Well-Being Indicators & Outcomes OFCF and FCFC Structure, including the OFCF Advisory Council Communication Operational Capacity Building Funds Grant Fiscal Audits Shared Accountability for OFCF’s Vision

Shared Accountability COUNTY FCFC PERSPECTIVES: Logan County FCFC Clark County FCFC Shared Accountability

Past Successes of OFCF Children’s budget for Ohio; Establishing the six commitments to child well- being with indicators to measure progress; Conceptualizing, developing and implementing Partnerships for Success (PfS); Creating cross-system state initiatives focusing on early childhood development (Help Me Grow, Head Start), literacy, and behavioral health (Access to Better Care initiative); and, Providing mobilization and council capacity building strategies that enlist council participation from non-traditional partners, such as civic and faith-based organizations, youth, and private foundations.

Current Successes of OFCF Operationalizing the Access to Better Care Initiative statewide Partnering with the state youth workforce development system to begin ensuring youth with social service needs are able to gain and sustain employment; Engaging 39 counties in PfS to positively impact children and families through the development of feasible and effective activities, programs, and services; Passing legislation (HB 289) to increase FCFC’s accountability by requiring annual planning and the reporting on Ohio’s progress to improve Ohio’s child well-being; Strengthening and governing the Help Me Grow system; and, Developing program and community monitoring and evaluation strategies with FCFCs that promote investing in activities and programs demonstrating success.

Current State Initiatives Access to Better Care, including Early Childhood Mental Health; Trauma Informed Care Help Me Grow Prevention Activities, including Interagency Prevention Partnership; Suicide Prevention Foundation Children’s Trust Fund Child Health Well-Being Initiative (EPSDT) Juvenile Justice / Comprehensive Sex Offenders Management Reentry Youth Workforce

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Ohio Family and Children First CLOSING REMARKS THANK YOU!