Sept. 4: Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services Advisory Board
Covered by Documenters Kellie Morris (notes), Courtney Green (notes), and Regina Samuels (live tweets)
Updates on Cuyahoga County child wellness campus and recent outcomes
The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services Advisory Board received updates from David Gray and Dawnya Underwood of the Cleveland Christian Home on current and future programs to support at-risk youth. Gray said the T-Suites program, which opened in early 2023 to offer emergency beds for teens in crisis situations, has now served more than 100 teens.
Underwood went into detail on the new child wellness campus currently being developed at Cleveland Christian Home on the city’s West Side. Underwood said construction at the new campus is underway to create “a trauma-informed, home-like environment [where children] are able to ebb and flow and vacillate from least restrictive to most restrictive environment, depending on their need.”
Other immediate goals for the wellness campus include making improvements to data collection and reporting, integrating behavioral health services into the programming, and increasing staff development and training.
Underwood said other areas around the state are “intrigued” by the child wellness campus model and are looking to replicate it.
The new wellness campus is expected to be fully operational within three years, Underwood said.
Success in hiring child protection specialists at DCFS
Director of DCFS Jacqueline Fletcher told the board that the agency hired 22 child protection specialists in August, leaving 12 staff vacancies overall. In December 2023, DCFS officials reported 152 vacancies in contrast to the 401 case worker positions it was then budgeted for.
Fletcher credited the hiring success to a salary increase, with the new starting wage being $27.32 per hour. More than a dozen employees are set to join the DCFS team in October, Fletcher added. The average caseload for a DCFS child protection specialist is now 10 to 12 cases per worker, down from upwards of 20.
“Folks are interested in child welfare, child protection, and we’re getting them through the doors,” said Fletcher.
Upcoming DCFS community listening events
Fletcher also spoke to the board about the results of community listening and engagement sessions DCFS recently hosted to inform members of the community about child protection resources and to find out what services may need support. A common request was for information on respite care for parents. Fletcher referenced a recent report by the U.S. Surgeon General on parenting/caregiver stress, saying stress is a big factor in some of the issues DCFS sees.
Fletcher announced the next two community listening events will be held Sept. 12 at Friendly Inn and Sept. 19 at St. Martin de Porres Family Center, both at 5 p.m.
Read the notes from Documenter Kellie Morris
Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Regina Samuels:
Read the notes from Documenter Courtney Green:
