Tools Developed by PCSAO

Public Relations Resources and Tools:

• Foster care support and recruitment: Strategies for Success in Recruitment, Certication and Support of Foster Caregivers.

• Campaign Toolkit for Ohio's Children Services Agencies: "Choose Your Partner Carefully"

• Effectively Communicate with the Public, provides suggestions on how to cultivate a positive relationship with the media and the general public.

• Family's Guide to Fostering, Foster-to-Adopt and Adoption with Ohio's public child protection system. (available in English and Spanish)

• Levy resources:

  • Levy Guide Update as of October 2010

  • Levy related resources: Casey Family Programs Ohio Levy Campaign Brief (2/2010),  County Commissioner Survey on Tax Levy (1/2007), PCSAO Levy Survey (updated 8/2005), and Levy Campaign Guide  (1/2005)

• Media Guide (6/2008)

• Strategic Communications Resource Library provides sample P/R materials that can be adapted and customized to your needs.

HR and Safety Resources:

• Combined Wage and Benefit Survey for 2007

• County Child Protection Workload Analysis.  This is an analysis of the activities and workloads of children services professionals.  This information serves as a foundation for developing workload standards, unit costs, and determining human resource use and needs.

• Human Resources Standards for Effective Practice on Recruitment and Retention.

• Ohio Public Children Service Agency Staff-Elements of a Quality Workforce.

• PCSAs Staff Turnover Survey (2006 and 2007 surveys)

• Salary Surveys:

  • PCSAO & OCDA Salary Survey, for review ONLY.

  • PCSAO Salary Surveys - 2010

  • PCSAO Salary Surveys: 2006 PCSAO Salary Survey  (Published on 1/31/2007),  2004 PCSAO Salary Survey  (Published on 10/27/2005)

• PCSA Safety Incident Report

• Sample Position Descriptions

Resources and Tools for Best Practices:

• Access to Better Care (ABC) Materials

• Adoption Resources and Accessing Records

• Alternative Response:

  • Alternative Response Pilot Project, and AR RFP Responses to Prospective Applicants Questions

  • Alternative Response Questions and Answers Related to RFA (Requests for Applications)

• Collateral Sources--In Non-Emergency Investigations

• Data Tools for Ohio Leaders in Child Welfare - Using data to control costs and keep children safe.

• Drug Endangered Children Protocol Tool Kit

• Erie CDJFS AA Guide for Parents (2/2006)

• Family Centered, Neighborhood Based Practice

• HIPAA and Child Welfare  

• Human Trafficking – Resource Guide

• Kinship Support

• LEADS and Protecting Children  

• Minority Disproportionality (10/2005) Minority disproportionality in the child welfare system is a nationwide problem that affects Native Americans, Asian Americans, African American, and Latino American in Ohio as well.

• Ohio Caseload Analysis Initiative including Children Services Visitation / Family Access Guide  

• Peer Mentoring Resources: A program which assists foster youth in developing healthy connections with their mentor and with other youth and young adults to help stabilize and strengthen the life of a young person in foster care, as well as develop leadership skills in the young adult mentor. 

• Sample Community Training Grant  

• Socio-Legal CPS Committee recommendations contain information on how to improve the partnership between prosecuting/staff attorneys and social workers, including guidelines for social work documentation.

• SACWIS Tips Suggestions for agencies to consider prior to going live, from Columbiana County DJFS - 03/2007 

• Standards for Effective Practice were written by child protection professionals to detail best practice in the areas of administration, adoption, intake, independent living, protective and out-of-home care services.  

  •  Child Services Intake Screening Tool

    • Intake Form (developed by Greene County CS)

  • PCSAO Intake Screening Task Force Members

Other resources:

• Acronyms used in the child protection and human services fields.

• Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) is a residential training program which provides leaders of public and nonprofit organizations with new knowledge and skills to steer their organizations through an increasingly competitive and collaborative environment.05)

• Financial Management Manual for Public Children Services Agencies offers suggestions for executives and financial managers to consider in building and implementing their annual child protection budgets.

• HB 79 New Requirement for Sharing Information with ODE

• HB 484 confidentiality Issues for Drug and Alcohol services and Child Welfare

• Investing TANF in Child Welfare

• IRS Tax Law--by Wendy Speelman (posted 11/21/2006)

• PL110-353 Fostering Connections to Success Act signed by President!

• ProtectOhio Title IV-E Waiver enhances child welfare outcomes

• Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rule Updates as of January-April 2009

• Targeting Changes in Child Welfare Presentation by Bryan Samuels, Commissioner, Administration on Child, Youth and Families (April 2011)

• The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care