Meeting called to order

The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) meeting started late at 4:12 p.m. due to technical difficulties with Microsoft Teams. The meeting was called to order by Chair Angela Newman-White, and each board member introduced themselves.

Board members in attendance:

• Lakecia Wild
• Daniel Smith
• Debra Rex
• Newman-White (chair)
• Andrew Garner
• Verna Darby
• Bianca Crawford
• David Crampton
• Beverly Charles
• M. Gabriella Celeste

Meeting minutes

Prior to the vote to approve the meeting minutes from Dec. 3, 2025, Debra Rex requested her name be added since she attended the meeting. Her name was added, and the meeting minutes were approved.

OhioGuidestone Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) presentation

Tiffany Banks, assistant regional vice president of community counseling, and Larraine Stehlik, assistant regional vice president of operations, were in attendance from OhioGuidstone. Banks gave a brief introduction, and Stehlik gave a presentation on what MRSS is, who they serve, and the services they provide. MRSS focuses on keeping families together and children in the home as youth, young adults, and their families navigate through a behavioral health crisis.

MRSS is a free service that started three years ago in limited locations. At the request of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the services are now offered in 18 regions, covering all 88 counties. OhioGuidestone serves regions 3, 9 and 11. It serves Cuyahoga County and other counties.

The OhioGuidestone MRSS hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, including holidays. The goal is to be 24/7/365 by 2028. It’s preferred if MRSS is contacted through 988, the Suicide and Crisis Hotline, but OhioGuidestone can be contacted directly. Once contact has been made with MRSS, mobile responders will be onsite within 60 minutes. Telehealth services are provided after business hours, and an in-person response will be provided on the next business day. MRSS can be contacted by the youth/young adult in crisis, family, school staff, law enforcement, emergency departments, and others. 

Changes to parental consent

There have been some recent changes regarding consent, Stehlik said. In the past, parental/guardian consent was required for minors, but now consent is not required for initial assistance. If the youth in crisis is 14 or older, they can receive some additional assistance without their parent’s/guardian’s consent. 

The services provided through MRSS include de-escalation, crisis intervention, initial assessment, Columbia suicide screening assessment, safety planning, psychiatric consult, linkage to providers and other resources, and a stabilization plan. 

During the presentation, several of the board members asked questions. Unfortunately, due to the poor visibility of the conference room on Microsoft Teams, it was not possible to identify who was speaking. Some of the questions asked covered the use of peer support, how many responses occurred last year, how kids in county custody can access MRSS, what MRSS needs and how DCFS can assist, and what barriers kids face after stabilization.

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There are currently no peer supports on the team for Cuyahoga County, Stehlik said, adding that they prefer to train peers or people with lived experience as behavioral health specialists. During the discussion, Stehlik emphasized that there is power in people with lived experience connecting with the person in crisis.

Since Sept. 2, 2025, when the initiative started in the county, there have been over 400 responses; Stehlik said that might be the most in the state. 

Families are given a DCFS resource card that has a listing for MRSS, according to DCFS Director Jacqueline Fletcher. While the youth/young adult is in county custody, MRSS can still be contacted.

Stehlik said MRSS is fully funded without insurance dollars. Stehlik said there is a need to educate the community on 988, the Suicide and Crisis Hotline, since it’s the preferred method to connect individuals and families to MRSS. The current 988 provider for Ohio is FrontLine Service. When 988 is called, there is a screening and immediate triage. If MRSS is warranted, FrontLine performs a “warm handoff” to MRSS.

Banks said the primary barriers post-stabilization include insurance co-payments, what insurance will cover, and a lack of consistent transportation. 

At the end of the presentation, board members thanked Banks and Stehlik and said they would like to see how they could work together.

Director’s Report

DCFS Director Jacqueline Fletcher 

A significant portion of the director’s report focused on staffing. Staffing is down 19 employees. Of those, 15 were Level 3 Social Workers, which Fletcher called “critical” positions. Prior to the start of the hiring freeze in August of last year, there were 752 full-time employees. If they compare to staffing levels before the freeze, DCFS would have more than 40 open positions. Because of necessary adjustments, that number is 19, Fletcher said.

Employees’ case loads are being tracked to ensure they are manageable. Fletcher said DCFS hopes to implement a recruitment plan when the hiring freeze ends, adding that DCFS doesn’t want a record level of open positions like a few years ago.

On a more positive note, there were 261 finalized adoptions last year, up from 198 in 2024.

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Fletcher was asked about the status of updating the DCFS on-site childcare room and what is being done to protect immigrant children. The childcare room hasn’t been updated. Safety is the primary concern. It’s hoped that the space will no longer be needed soon and will be closed. Very few children and families in county care have been impacted by the Trump Administration’s new immigration policies, Fletcher said. DCFS is offering resources to other counties that are being impacted.

Governance Sub-Committee Update

Angela M. Newman-White

Next year, seven of the 10 board members’ terms will end. To ensure that historical knowledge is not lost, three board members are stepping down this year. Those board members are Angela Newman-White, Debra Rex and Beverly Charles. Rex said once she steps down, it will end her 44 years of involvement with DCFS. Three new candidates have been identified.

Intervention Sub-Committee Update

Bianca Crawfard

The committee’s focus is on respite care.

Information Sub-Committee Update

Rachael Amick, senior business intelligence analyst at Cuyahoga County Department of Health and Human Services

Amick gave a detailed overview of the DCFS Dashboard for the last quarter of 2025. Crampton made a motion to approve the dashboard so that it may be placed on DCFS’s website. The motion was approved.

Prevention Sub-Committee Update

M. Gabriella Celeste

The focus has been on children, respite care and crisis, and it’s the reason why there was a presentation on MRSS.

Information sharing

On Jan. 1, First Year Cleveland was awarded $5.1 million, said Newman-White, who is the organization’s executive director. About $4.7 million of that will go to the community.

Crawford, founder of Motivated and Empowered Inc., said the organization received money to assist teen moms. There’s been an increase of moms and infants served by the organization’s staple program going to doctors’ appointments. Station Bloom, a housing phase of the program, will soon open in East Cleveland and is set to provide housing for 10 moms and two children per mom. 

Adjourn 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:44 p.m.  

These notes are by Documenter Sabrina Adams.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.