OACCA: Initiatives

OACCA Outcomes Data Project

OACCA takes an active role to ensure that Ohio’s evolving public policy results in a system that is fully integrated, efficient, cost effective and beneficial to those that matter most - Ohio’s at-risk children and families. Every year in Ohio more than 33,000 children are placed in out-of-home care to meet their needs for a safe and healthy living environment. For more than half of these children, more intensive treatment is needed to heal the damage inflicted by horrific abuse and significant neglect. This treatment is provided in substitute care settings such as treatment foster homes or residential treatment facilities.

As financial resources shrink, both purchasers of services and providers are obligated by their missions and ethical standards to be accountable – to children and their families, agency Board members, donors, taxpayers, and policy-makers. Accountability means they must achieve positive outcomes. They must be able to demonstrate that they use their resources effectively, efficiently and produce lasting results. The OACCA Outcomes Data Project (ODP) is a valuable tool for agencies to use to measure their program performance and provide an objective basis for clinical and financial decision making. Service providers will have information never before available to them that will allow them to maximize the benefits their resources can produce and to invest them effectively so that the children they serve have the best possible chance to become productive citizens and good parents to their own healthy children.

For more information, click here.

Ohio Adoption Advocacy Day - Filling Family Portraits

All children deserve a loving, permanent home. That is the motivation behind the Ohio Adoption Advocacy Day celebration, held annually at the Ohio Statehouse in recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month. The event celebrates and promotes adoption awareness for waiting children and urges the state government to follow through on its commitment to foster children waiting for forever families. During the program, hundreds of empty frames are displayed on the to symbolize those children without permanent family connections.

- 2010 Photos
- 2010 Event Flyer
- 2009 Media Coverage: Columbus Dispatch, “Vanishing Family Faces”, November 7, 2009; Youtube Video

Learning Community - Children's Residential Facilities

OACCA leads the Children's Residential Facilities Learning Community for Seclusion and Restraint Reduction which consists of 14 private, primarily non-profit, children’s residential treatment agencies. The agencies represent both urban and rural locations and serve a coed population who are 7 to 18 years of age. These children/youth have significant behavioral health issues and other co-occurring conditions (abuse, neglect, poverty and witnessing violence).

The goal of the Learning Community is to create violence-free and coercion-free treatment environments by reducing the need for seclusion and physical restraint.

The Initial training was provided to Ohio agencies by The National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) funded by SAMHSA. The curriculum incorporates the concepts of trauma informed care, structured plans, culture change, commitment, shared data and data analysis. The Learning Community also shares information, education, and implementation ideas. Members participate in work groups; share training opportunities and technical assistance; help each other promote performance improvement; and promote learning opportunities.

In planning for reducing restraint and seclusion, NTAC identifies six best practices: Workforce Development/Safety, Trauma Informed Care, Debriefing, Consumer Involvement, Witnessing, and Use of Data.

Download: Learning Community Data Form 2011

Treatment Standards for Juvenile Sex Offenders

Recognizing the challenges posed by managing juvenile sex offenders, the members of the OACCA Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee worked as the policy-level team to assess Ohio’s current policy and practice for managing juvenile sex offenders – adjudicated and non-adjudicated – to identify the strengths and gaps in our management system, and to develop strategies to safely manage juvenile sex offenders in Ohio.

We face numerous challenges involving the assessment, treatment, re-entry, supervision, registration, and community notification of these juvenile sexual offenders. Specifically:

Our standards specify that individualized treatment plans be developed by a multi-disciplinary treatment team and that the plans be based on a comprehensive assessment with participation from the youth, his or her family and the victim, when appropriate.

The standards were developed to include all stages of management, including assessment, treatment, supervision, transition and re-entry into the community.

We helped to develop a system map to illustrate all decision points in Ohio’s juvenile justice process, to identify the decision makers at each point, and the flow of juveniles through the process

The standards are based on statewide Implementation of the J-SOAP II – the best risk assessment tool available today.

We have developed community education training outlines for community members, agencies and organizations that will promote that successful management of juvenile sex offenders in their communities in order to prevent future victimization, which is in the best interest of all. We will also coordinate statewide trainings to enable provider agencies to meet the new juvenile sex offender treatment program certification standards.

- View Map of Certified JSO Treatment Programs
- View all JSO Certified Treatment Programs
- View OACCA Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment Standards
- View FAQ on Treatment Standards certification trainings
- Adam Walsh Act State by State Central Registry Information

Ohio Reach

OACCA is a founding member of Ohio Reach, an initiative that address recruitment and retention of former foster youth in Ohio’s higher education system. Ohio Reach hosts an annual conference, often free of charge, for child welfare and higher education professionals. Click here for more information.



	Initiatives Outcomes Data Project Ohio Adoption Advocacy Day - Filling Family Portraits Learning Community - Children's Residential Facilities Treatment Standards for Juvenile Sex Offenders Ohio Reach	OACCA Outcomes Data Project OACCA takes an active role to ensure that Ohio’s evolving public policy results in a system that is fully integrated, efficient, cost effective and beneficial to those that matter most - Ohio’s at-risk children and families. Every year in Ohio more than 33,000 children are placed in out-of-home care to meet their needs for a safe and healthy living environment. For more than half of these children, more intensive treatment is needed to heal the damage inflicted by horrific abuse and significant neglect. This treatment is provided in substitute care settings such as treatment foster homes or residential treatment facilities. As financial resources shrink, both purchasers of services and providers are obligated by their missions and ethical standards to be accountable – to children and their families, agency Board members, donors, taxpayers, and policy-makers. Accountability means they must achieve positive outcomes. They must be able to demonstrate that they use their resources effectively, efficiently and produce lasting results. The OACCA Outcomes Data Project (ODP) is a valuable tool for agencies to use to measure their program performance and provide an objective basis for clinical and financial decision making. Service providers will have information never before available to them that will allow them to maximize the benefits their resources can produce and to invest them effectively so that the children they serve have the best possible chance to become productive citizens and good parents to their own healthy children. For more information, click here. Ohio Adoption Advocacy Day - Filling Family Portraits All children deserve a loving, permanent home. That is the motivation behind the Ohio Adoption Advocacy Day celebration, held annually at the Ohio Statehouse in recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month. The event celebrates and promotes adoption awareness for waiting children and urges the state government to follow through on its commitment to foster children waiting for forever families. During the program, hundreds of empty frames are displayed on the to symbolize those children without permanent family connections. - 2010 Photos - 2010 Event Flyer - 2009 Media Coverage: Columbus Dispatch, “Vanishing Family Faces”, November 7, 2009; Youtube Video Learning Community - Children's Residential Facilities OACCA leads the Children's Residential Facilities Learning Community for Seclusion and Restraint Reduction which consists of 14 private, primarily non-profit, children’s residential treatment agencies. The agencies represent both urban and rural locations and serve a coed population who are 7 to 18 years of age. These children/youth have significant behavioral health issues and other co-occurring conditions (abuse, neglect, poverty and witnessing violence). The goal of the Learning Community is to create violence-free and coercion-free treatment environments by reducing the need for seclusion and physical restraint. The Initial training was provided to Ohio agencies by The National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) funded by SAMHSA. The curriculum incorporates the concepts of trauma informed care, structured plans, culture change, commitment, shared data and data analysis. The Learning Community also shares information, education, and implementation ideas. Members participate in work groups; share training opportunities and technical assistance; help each other promote performance improvement; and promote learning opportunities. In planning for reducing restraint and seclusion, NTAC identifies six best practices: Workforce Development/Safety, Trauma Informed Care, Debriefing, Consumer Involvement, Witnessing, and Use of Data. Download: Learning Community Data Form 2011 Treatment Standards for Juvenile Sex Offenders Recognizing the challenges posed by managing juvenile sex offenders, the members of the OACCA Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee worked as the policy-level team to assess Ohio’s current policy and practice for managing juvenile sex offenders – adjudicated and non-adjudicated – to identify the strengths and gaps in our management system, and to develop strategies to safely manage juvenile sex offenders in Ohio. We face numerous challenges involving the assessment, treatment, re-entry, supervision, registration, and community notification of these juvenile sexual offenders. Specifically: Our standards specify that individualized treatment plans be developed by a multi-disciplinary treatment team and that the plans be based on a comprehensive assessment with participation from the youth, his or her family and the victim, when appropriate. The standards were developed to include all stages of management, including assessment, treatment, supervision, transition and re-entry into the community. We helped to develop a system map to illustrate all decision points in Ohio’s juvenile justice process, to identify the decision makers at each point, and the flow of juveniles through the process The standards are based on statewide Implementation of the J-SOAP II – the best risk assessment tool available today. We have developed community education training outlines for community members, agencies and organizations that will promote that successful management of juvenile sex offenders in their communities in order to prevent future victimization, which is in the best interest of all. We will also coordinate statewide trainings to enable provider agencies to meet the new juvenile sex offender treatment program certification standards. - View Map of Certified JSO Treatment Programs - View all JSO Certified Treatment Programs - View OACCA Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment Standards - View FAQ on Treatment Standards certification trainings - Adam Walsh Act State by State Central Registry Information Ohio Reach OACCA is a founding member of Ohio Reach, an initiative that address recruitment and retention of former foster youth in Ohio’s higher education system. Ohio Reach hosts an annual conference, often free of charge, for child welfare and higher education professionals. Click here for more information.
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