Ongoing Case Management
General information
When the Intake unit assesses that a family would benefit from continued involvement with Crawford County Child Protective Services, the family’s case will be transferred to the Ongoing unit.
A family’s case will remain open as long as there is a safety threat and the family is in need of services and support. The primary goal of ongoing services is to provide support to a family in a way that addresses threats to the safety and well-being of the children and decreases the likelihood that future concerns will exist.
Prior to transferring the case to the Ongoing unit, the Intake unit develops a case plan specific to the family’s needs. Families are encouraged to be involved in the development of their plan. A caseworker will support the family as they complete the plan and monitor their progress.
Ongoing case management activities include:
- Referrals to community service providers such as counseling, drug and alcohol abuse services, mental health services, and others
- Noting a parent’s progress towards completing recommended or court-ordered programs
- Monitoring each stage of a child’s development so that interventions can be made if concerns are identified
Once a family has addressed the concerns and reduced significant risk to the well-being of the children, Crawford County Child Protective Services will prepare to end its formal involvement with the family.
There are times when special accommodations are needed to ensure that children can meet with their families in a safe environment. Agency staff or a designee facilitate visitation between these children and their families. The visits occur at the agency until the family can move to unsupervised visits. This occurs after the family has made significant progress on their case plan.
Independent Living
The Independent Living Program assists adolescents in foster care in preparation for self-sufficiency. Independent living services are provided to youth in agency custody ages 14 and up.
These services include:
- Completing a life skills assessment within 60 days of the youth’s 14 birthday or within 60 days of them coming into care if they are over age 14
- Completing an Independent Living Plan based on the life skills assessment within 30 days of the completion of the life skills assessment. The youth must sign and receive a copy of the plan.
- Developing a final transition plan with youth at least 90 days prior to emancipation.
Multi-System Youth Program
The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), in partnership with a multi-system team composed of child/youth serving agencies, is offering technical assistance and funding to families through County Family and Children First Councils (FCFCs).
The goal of this technical assistance and funding is to prevent custody relinquishment of children and youth solely for the purpose of obtaining needed treatment, and to assist local entities with obtaining services that support children and youth who have been relinquished and are transitioning back to community and/or non-custody settings.
An application for assistance for a child or youth with multi-system needs may be made by a family or any local agency. Technical assistance can be requested to help coordinate clinically appropriate services, supports, and resources for children/youth and their families.
If you would like more information about this program you can contact Service Coordinator, Katy Blum, at the Family and Children First Council, phone – 419.562.1631, email – [email protected]. The Family and Children First Council is located at the Crawford County Public Health Building at 1520 Isaac Beal Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820.
