Who We Are
The Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies is a state-wide network of public and private child and family serving agencies.
What We Do
OACCA represents member interests to the Ohio General Assembly and other areas of the state government. We also take an active approach to federal and local issues that affect our member agencies.
A Proud Member Of:
Child Welfare League of America
Foster Family-Based Treatment Association
Alliance for Children & Families
National Organization of State Associations for Children
 | OACCA Urges U.S. Senate to Pass Medicaid Moratoria LegislationMay 12, 2008 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service has proposed regulations that would reduce federal Medicaid reimbursement to states significantly -- stripping away from $15 to $50 billion in federal dollars over the next five years. Ohioans are losing their homes in record numbers, gasoline prices are climbing out of sight and healthcare is too expensive, unavailable or rationed by corporate executives to fill the gap that will grow even wider if these regulations go into effect. Fortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5613, which would place a one-year moratorium on the Medicaid regulations. The Senate now has the opportunity to pass H.R. 5613 or a similar bill, S. 2819, to prevent these regulations from being implemented in Ohio. OACCA has written a letter to U.S. Senator George Voinovich from Ohio [download] outlining our support for the bill. OACCA urges its member agencies to also submit letters to Senator Voinovich by using this template [download]. Note: U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown already has expressed his support for the legislation. |
 | Ohio General Assembly Passes SB 163April 29, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OACCA is Pleased with General Assembly’s Passage of SB 163 and Removal of Foster Child Community Notification Language OACCA is pleased that Ohio General Assembly passed SB 163 today, the last of two bills that reform the state foster care system. We are especially thrilled that State Senators concurred that excluding language that would require community notification for foster children is the right course of action. During the past 12 months, OACCA has lead efforts urging state legislators to strip from SB 163 the community notification language, which was amended into the bill last June by Senator Tim Grendell. We testified to the Senate and House about our views, coordinated a letter-writing campaign, and drafted a sign-on letter with eight other agencies and associations. By passing SB 163, the Ohio General Assembly completes the foster care legislative reform effort, which also includes HB 214, a bill already signed by Governor Strickland that focuses on training of foster parents. We are proud of the proactive and collaborative work that Senator Tom Niehaus and Representative Jeff Wagner (the sponsors of SB 163 and HB 214, respectively) provided during the past two years to craft these bills. For months, the legislators solicited feedback from interested parties, which included foster parents, provider agencies, public agencies, associations, and state agencies. We would also like to recognize the crucial support that many legislators provided for the foster care legislation, including Senators Gary Cates, Kevin Coughlin, Bill Seitz, and Bill Harris, as well as Representatives Courtney Combs, Tim DeGeeter, John White, Tracy Heard, and Jon Husted. Lastly, we are fortunate for the support that Governor Strickland and his staff have provided for the reform effort. OACCA looks forward to working with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Attorney General Marc Dann to implement SB 163. |
 | OACCA Pleased with Supreme Court DecisionApril 18, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OACCA Pleased with Supreme Court Decision Foster Parent Information Will Remain Confidential The Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies (OACCA) is pleased with the decision of the Ohio Supreme Court that foster parent information covered by confidentiality requirements in state and federal law is not public record. This is the same message that we communicated to the Supreme Court in our amicus curiae brief, filed on October 15, 2007. In the brief [download], we stated that “the names and addresses of foster care parents, as well as other information maintained by ODJFS about foster care parents receiving foster care maintenance payments and social services under Title IV-E, is required to be kept confidential by both federal and state law” (R.C. 5101.27, 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(8)). Our brief also asserted that “the court should deny [the Cincinnati Enquirer’s] request for a writ of mandamus because the information it seeks is required to be kept confidential”. We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized these facts in their decision [download] by stating that “As amici curiae Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies and Ohio Family Care Association note, ‘[w]hile the dependent child is the beneficiary of funds and services made available through Title IV-E, the foster care parent is the recipient, on behalf of the child in his or her case, of the assistance provided.’” OACCA looks forward to working with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to ensure that only the information of foster parents not covered by the state and federal legal exclusions cited in the Supreme Court decision, if any, are released as public record. Furthermore, we commend State Representative Jeff Wagner and Governor Ted Strickland for sponsoring and signing HB 214 into law, effective May 15, 2008, which ensures that all foster parent information remains confidential and is exempted from public record. The General Assembly, Governor, and now Supreme Court continue to recognize the importance of foster parents and the vital services they provide to Ohio’s 19,000 foster youth. The Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies was founded in 1973 in Columbus, Ohio as a statewide association of private not-for-profit, for-profit, and public agencies that provide a wide array of services to children and families in crisis across the state. Access the OACCA amicus curiae brief here. Access the Supreme Court decision here. # # # If you would like more information about the views of OACCA on foster care, please contact us. |
 | OACCA 2008 Public Policy Agenda ReleasedApril 08, 2008 The Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies has released its 2008 Public Policy Agenda that lists our priorities for county, state, and federal public policies. Access the Public Policy Agenda here.  The Public Policy Agenda will be distributed to members of county governments in Ohio, as well as members of the Ohio General Assembly, other state offices, and Members of Congress from Ohio. For more information on OACCA or our public policy priorities, you can contact us at (614) 461-0014 or mmecum@oacca.org. |
 | SACWIS Information and UpdatesThe Ohio Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) is being developed by ODJFS pursuant to SB 238 of the 126th Ohio General Assembly and the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993. This area of our website will serve as a central database of SACWIS related resources and updates. Articles Letters Links |
 | OACCA Announces Leadership Award RecipientsMarch 19, 2008 STATE ASSOCIATION FOR CHILDREN ANNOUNCES AWARD RECIPIENTS Annuals Awards Presented at March Advocacy Conference in Columbus On March 4-5, 2008, the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies (OACCA) presented leadership awards to outstanding individuals that provide services to children and youth at its annual advocacy conference at the Hyatt on Capitol Square in Columbus. The Virginia Colson Award for Service to Ohio’s Children and Families is presented to Doris Edelmann, Aftercare Coordinator at Montgomery County Children’s Services and to Lisa Dickson of the Foster Care Alumni of America, Ohio chapter. The Public Partner of the Year Award is presented to Jim McCafferty, Director of Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. The George Stevens Award for Service to OACCA is presented to Jim Miller, Executive Director of The Village Network, a foster care agency based in Wooster, Ohio. The Colson award honors a person whose continued service to families and children exemplifies the qualities of Virginia Colson, the founding Executive Director of OACCA. Colson’s passionate and tireless effort to build and strengthen quality services to children and families is nationally recognized and is her legacy to OACCA. This year’s recipients, Doris Edlemann and Lisa Dickson, are chosen for their dedication and outstanding advocacy to meet the needs of youth in care in order to achieve successful adulthood. Their work is never ending, and neither is the love they have for the youth they serve. The Public Partner of the Year Award honors a person employed at a public agency that works closely with OACCA in collaboration with public and private children’s agencies to improve the lives of Ohio’s children. This year’s recipient, Jim McCafferty, is chosen to recognize the strong, supportive partnership he has worked to create with private children’s agencies in order to improve the system of care for Ohio’s disadvantaged children. The George Stevens Award for Service to OACCA honors a person whose continued service to OACCA exemplifies the qualities of George Stevens, former Executive Director of Oesterlen Services for Youth and founder of OACCA. Stevens was sincerely committed to the need for a strong, unified voice for private child caring agencies and the mission of OACCA. He was a charter member of the Association and gave freely of his time, energy, and staff resources in our early years. His efforts and dedication made OACCA a reality. This year’s recipient, Jim Miller, is chosen for his dedication, advocacy and leadership to OACCA and children and families across Ohio. If you would like more information about the awards or the recipients, please contact Mark Mecum at (614) 461-0014 or mmecum@oacca.org. |
 | OACCA Political Connections SurveyIn order to effectively advocate and lobby our concerns to the legislature and state departments, we often try to locate member agency staff that has already developed relationships with key policy makers to assist us in our efforts. In order to organize and collect information on the relationships that you have developed with policy makers, we urge you to complete the OACCA Political Connections Survey today. To access the online survey, click here. The survey will take approximately 5-10 minutes to finish. Email Mark with any problems or questions. |
 | Update Your Agency and Program ProfilesTo update information about your agency and the programs that you offer, please log-in. There is one username and password assigned per agency to administer your agency and program profiles and to access other members-only information. (Email Lindsay to find your username and password.) Please distribute the log-in information to all staff that you wish to have access. |
