The fate of children in foster care can be decided by a room full of adults who barely know them. The required court hearing lasts less than an hour. They are not present and their names are not even mentioned.
But that has now changed in Portage County, said Juvenile Judge Patricia Smith during the recent annual Summit on Kids.
This year’s summit took place on August 1 at NEOMED’s NEW Center. The event focused on new programs and initiatives to improve the lives of at-risk and disadvantaged youth and their families.
Smith outlined new procedures for hearings in Portage County Juvenile Court, which ask more questions about the child’s physical and mental health, educational needs and family time. To reduce or eliminate the need for adjournments, all hearings are held in the courtroom, with all parties present.
Court records now include parents’ case planning goals, case progress, child concerns and best interests, and one judge (instead of several) presides over all cases for a particular child.
Smith described the new procedure as one of several her court has recently introduced.
Case managers are now helping the court find a timely, permanent solution: a permanent, stable housing situation for children in foster care, ideally with family ties. The case managers are working with the families and community partners and providing Smith with regular updates.
The court now also offers a range of clinical services and a holistic, family-centered approach for youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system.
Thanks to more than $1 million in grants, people on parole can now take advantage of five new programs: cognitive-behavioral substance abuse interventions, the Townhall II active parenting program, prosocial activities, the King-Kennedy Center mentoring program, and a victim compensation program.
The court has also implemented a program for at-risk truants and reduced barriers to meeting with youth and their families. The ROOTS (Rehabilitation, Opportunity, Outreach, Treatment and Support) counseling program, introduced by Director of Mental Health Services Darla Scott, provides comprehensive clinical services for youth who have been in contact with the juvenile justice system but are otherwise off-duty and have faced barriers to treatment.
Four other local agencies also announced new programs and initiatives during the summit.
Service Center Work and Family
Job and Family Services of Portage County oversees welfare, child support enforcement, child and adult protective services, and OhioMeansJobs Portage County. Its mission is to help children and their families, as well as older adults.
In 2023, JFS handled 3,397 calls for abuse, neglect, and families in need of assistance. The agency admitted 828 cases. Portage County Children’s Services cared for, mentored, or assisted 1,675 youth. Approximately 300 youth in need of a safe, stable living environment were placed in alternative facilities, an effort that cost JFS more than $5.5 million.
New as of April 3 is child support for primary caregivers of children who are not their own. Before House Bill 83, which Ohio Governor Mike DeWine included in the 2024-25 state budget, caregivers had to have custody of a minor child to receive child support payments from parents.
The need for HB 83 arose when Ohio lawmakers realized that many adults who have custody of minor children lack the financial means to obtain custody. Adults who believe they may be eligible for this program can contact JFS at 330-297-3791.
Also new is the JFS child care voucher program, which helps qualified families afford quality child care. Family income can exceed the state minimum for publicly funded child care.
DeWine created the voucher program in April to help families who earn more than the state’s publicly funded child care program and whose gross monthly income is between 146 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. Even with that income, the cost of child care is often unaffordable.
JFS’s Family Center on Chestnut Street in Ravenna has hired a new full-time driver to take children to and from visits, counseling sessions and doctor’s appointments. The center is designed to create more opportunities for parent-child time together.
JFS has also recently entered into new contracts with Children’s Advantage for art therapy and leased property to safely house certain youth with developmental disabilities.
In addition, JFS recently partnered with Goodwill Industries to offer two programs. A Goodwill Parenting Program focuses on in-home parenting training and support, while a Home-Based Parenting Plus Program helps parents improve home safety, create a structured environment, and develop a plan to avoid future conflicts with child welfare.
And JFS is now also able to offer income-tested services to parents, non-custodial parents and guardians who need supervised child care.
Mental Health and Recovery Panel
The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County will begin construction on a new crisis center this fall. The facility will replace Coleman Health Service’s current crisis center on Lovers Lane in Ravenna and will include a step-down unit with 10 single beds and private bathrooms and space for residents to group together if needed.
Also new are four children’s rooms. The children’s rooms are separate from the adult rooms and allow the children’s carers to stay with them during what CEO John Garrity called a “critical time”.
As before, clients could stay in the step-down unit for up to two weeks as an alternative to hospitalization, Garrity said.
New to Portage County is a 23-hour detention facility for adults and children that provides a local alternative to admissions to emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. (Twenty-three hours because Ohio law requires that people held for 24 hours must be transferred to a hospital.)
The unit is designed to provide a safe environment for clients while providing immediate relief from their crisis symptoms. Staff can monitor clients, determine appropriate levels of care and avoid unnecessary higher levels of care, Garrity said.
Coleman Health Services will staff the crisis center with mental health care and an on-site nurse who can meet some of the clients’ medical needs. This staffing will relieve the “almost constant” use of the UH Portage emergency department, Garrity said.
Portage County Developmental Disabilities Committee
The Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities now offers short-term care at a facility in Ravenna and a private home in Kent. Both options reduce gaps in Portage County’s care system and could prevent out-of-home placement, said John Vennetti, director of the Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Buckeye Residential Solutions is open six days a week at varying times. Opening in January 2023, the private home welcomes two youth who can stay overnight, for a weekend, or longer, for either scheduled or emergency visits.
Taken together, the two respite options help families and service providers cope with children with developmental disabilities, Vennetti said.
“Children with greater needs end up being placed in another county or another state,” Vennetti said. “It’s expensive and often a stopgap measure. We want children and parents to succeed here in Portage County.”
Family and Community Services
In collaboration with the Ohio Family and Children First (OCFC) initiative, FCS staff recently completed a youth sequential intercept map (SIM). Each SIM is designed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the county’s service and reinforce needed interventions, said Youth Program Director Melissa Marzek.
Marzek also announced the creation of a new, statewide Youth Council comprised of youth and young adults ages 14 to 24. Members will influence local services and voice concerns of their generation while developing important life skills such as communication, teamwork, networking and leadership.
The Second Annual Children’s Summit was sponsored by Portage County Probate and Juvenile Court Judge Patricia J. Smith, Portage County Developmental Disabilities Committee, Portage County Mental Health and Recovery Committee, Family & Community Services, Inc., CASA of Portage County, and Portage County Job & Family Services.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former reporter for Record Publishing Co. and a contributing writer for The Portager.
