OHIO
Children's services program lauded
State officials say the Lake County Job and Family Services Department is doing a quality job when it comes to children protection services.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services recently completed an oversight and evaluation review of the county agency. "The Lake County Department of Job and Family Services is commended for their compliance with all contract requirements reviewed," wrote Cheryl O'Brien, lead reviewer for the state agency. "The agency is not required to submit a Quality Improvement Plan."
Officials in Lake County were pleased with the detailed 24-page report issued last week. "It was exceptional in the sense that only three counties out of 88 were not required, and we were one of the three," said Matt Battiato, director for the Lake County JFS.
Reviews are conducted by the state every two years and include items such as the absences of maltreatment reoccurrence and child abuse and neglect while in foster care, and permanency outcomes that may measure timeliness of reunification of children who have been removed from their family, he said. If a child can't be reunified, officials look at the timeliness of obtaining permanent custody and placing them into an adoptive home, Battiato said.
"What was exceptional about this is in every single outcome measure, we surpassed the percentage they were looking for or we were at 100 percent," he said. "They review all of our records when they come in and make a determination in how successful we are in meeting those measures."
Whenever there is a case involving alleged child abuse or neglect, federal laws must be followed. Those include making sure everyone who lives with the child is interviewed in a timely manner.
"In the past, there were some things we didn't document as well as we should have, such as being able to meet an outcome measure," he said. "Sometimes we had to put different policies and procedures in place. Obviously, the policies and procedures in place that we put in there were effective."
Battiato and Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy said much of the department's success regarding child protection services can be credited to countywide voters' approval of a five-year, 0.7-mill levy that generates about $3.5 million annually through 2013. "A lot of that is because of the support of the voters with their children services levy and they support that well, in the eyes of the state," Troy said.
Battiato said the department always welcomes feedback to find ways to do things better. "We do see this as a positive thing when the state comes out because we're always looking to improve and provide the best services we can," he said. "These critiques are welcome."
John Arthur Hutchison
9 March 2010
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/03/09/news/nh2204771.txt
