The Warren County Commissioners invite you to participate in an important community meeting to learn about ways to address the opioid crisis in our county. The forum will take place on Tuesday, July 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Warren County Career Center in Lebanon.
The commissioners will present details from a recent study conducted by the Addiction Policy Forum and outline the organization’s recommendations for implementing a comprehensive blueprint for the county’s opioid response.
An increase in the number of pain medicine prescriptions and rising access to heroin caused growing opioid abuse over the past several decades. According to a report by the county’s Opioid Reduction Task Force, from 1991 to 2011 opioid prescriptions in the U.S. rose from 76 million to 219 million. In Warren County, there were more than 10.6 million annualized opioid prescriptions written in 2015, the equivalent of 48 doses per person. Additionally, the number of overdose deaths in the county rose 264 percent from 2004 to 2014.
The Addiction Policy Forum is a partnership of organizations, policymakers and stakeholders working to increase awareness about addiction and encourage a holistic response that includes prevention, treatment, recovery and criminal justice reform.
To RSVP for the meeting, email commissioners@co.warren.oh.us. You can also learn more about the Addiction Policy Forum’s recommendations for Warren County online.
AG DeWine, OCHA, Ohio AAP announce third phase of Ohio children’s hospitals’ collaboration
Columbus, Ohio —Today Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA) announced a new collaboration to further spread interventions and findings to reduce the occurrence of child abuse in infants six months and younger by enlisting pediatric practices.
Eight large pediatric practices across Ohio, representing more than 30,000 patients and families and recruited through a partnership with the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, will be joining children’s and community hospitals in implementing proven interventions to identify potential signs of abuse and prevent further abuse in Ohio’s youngest and most vulnerable children.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine funded the Timely Recognition of Abusive Injuries (TRAIN) Collaborative with a $1 million grant from settlement funds to OCHA in 2015. The purpose of TRAIN is to prevent repeat child abuse in the most vulnerable population, infants six months and younger.
The TRAIN Collaborative analyzed what the medical community refers to as “sentinel injuries.” Sentinel injuries are minor injuries known to the medical provider that should prompt concern that the child is being abused. Unfortunately, sentinel injuries are often missed by medical providers placing the infant at risk for further abuse. The TRAIN Collaborative identified the specific injuries that should be suspect and developed a specific process – or “bundle of care” that reduces repeat instances of child abuse. If a medical provider discovers a sentinel injury, they use the prescribed “bundle,” to assist in the identification of abuse and to ensure the infant receives appropriate follow-up care. The “bundle” includes a skeletal survey of the infant, psychosocial assessment of the caregivers and pediatric consultation.
In 2016, children’s hospitals in Ohio determined that one in 10 Ohio children seen for child abuse has been seen previously with a sentinel injury.
In 2016, children’s hospitals in Ohio determined that one in 10 Ohio children seen for child abuse has been seen previously with a sentinel injury and less than one in three receives the necessary physical examination and follow-up. They worked together to create and test the “bundle” within their own hospitals, and then spread the process to 19 community hospitals across the state. This third phase will teach eight pediatric practices about the “bundle” and help them implement it within their practice.
Sentinel injuries are often missed by medical providers placing the infant at risk for further abuse.
“We have some of the best minds in pediatric healthcare in the country right here in Ohio. I am proud that we could bring these minds together to identify a proven process to help children who are too young to understand their injuries or even to speak for themselves,” said DeWine. “Spreading this important process to more pediatricians throughout Ohio will mean more children are spared from further abuse – and that has been my goal with this program from day one.”
The learning here in Ohio has been spread beyond the state’s borders, as leaders from TRAIN have been asked to present their findings at national conferences, including the Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem conference.
“Attorney General DeWine has always been a strong advocate for Ohio’s children, and this initiative would not have been possible without his commitment and support. We are grateful to be able to take our learning into a third phase to spread this valuable process even further in our state and beyond,” said Nick Lashutka, President and CEO of OCHA.
Dan and Viola Rice with their six children, five of whom have been adopted. (Photo taken in November 2016)
Clermont County, Ohio – That’s the theme of 2017’s National Adoption Awareness Month, which is recognized nationally and in Clermont County in November every year. And finding homes for older children, particularly teens, can be difficult, said Julie Jordan, Adoption Supervisor at Children’s Protective Services.
“Most of the children we have waiting for adoption are 12 and older,” Jordan said. “Parents often think that older children are more challenging, but that is not necessarily the case. Their need for a home is just as great as it is for a younger child.”
Commissioners and staff of Clermont Children’s Protective Services on Oct. 25, 2017, as Commissioners proclaimed November Adoption Awareness Month.
“This is a critical time for these kids,” Jordan said. “They need support and guidance, just like any other teen.”
According to the most recent report from the Children’s Bureau, which advocates for the welfare of children and families, more than 110,000 children and youth in foster care are waiting to be adopted across the United States, and close to 12,500 of them are between the ages of 15 and 17 years old.
Currently, Clermont County has 19 children awaiting adoption. These are children who were removed from their parents’ home due to abuse and/or neglect. Most of these children then entered foster care. After parental rights were terminated – typically after two years, when parents fail to take the steps necessary for reunification – the children can be adopted.
One pathway to adopting older children is to become a foster parent first.
In Clermont County, these teens include Clarissa, who is 16, and Kennedy, 17; Caleb who is 14, and Jayden, who is 13. Brief biographies can be found on each child at http://www.clermontforkids.org/waiting-children/.
The opioid crisis in Clermont County has contributed to the cases of abuse and neglect that compel CPS to remove children from their parents’ home, Jordan said. And that’s also a reason why there are more tweens and teens waiting for a family.
One pathway to adopting older children is to become a foster parent first. The adoption team at Children’s Protective Services promotes foster-to-adopt certification as the best way to offer children a stable and nurturing home. Dan and Viola Rice of Mount Orab, who have adopted five children through CPS’s foster-to-adopt, and have fostered more than 40 children, are strong advocates of this method.
“We love being foster care parents,” Dan says. “We ask our friends, or those we are just meeting – have you ever thought about foster-to-adopt?”
In 2017, 38 children have been adopted by 23 families to date.
To find out more about foster care or adoption through Clermont County Children’s Protective Services, please call 513.732.7765. The website www.clermontforkids.org has information on the foster-to- adopt process, and also has a list of children currently waiting for a forever family.
