|
The Intake Department is responsible for receiving, screening
and assessing referrals involving the possible abuse, neglect or dependency of
children in Mahoning County.
The year 2008 was a year where staff fine tuned both their technological as well
as assessment skills under the microscope of ever increasingly tight time
constraints. The addition of a second intake screener to the Department has
greatly enhanced staff’s ability to conduct comprehensive assessments, which
increases the protection of children who may have been in abusive or neglectful
situations.
Our agency’s partnership with the Child Advocacy Center continues to strengthen
our response to the complex needs of child victims. The Akron Children’s
Hospital has assumed the medical component of the Child Advocacy Center,
providing specialized services to children in need. This transition has
proceeded smoothly and has also expanded services to include required physicals
for children entering substitute care.
Through our contract with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, the deputies
continue to do a fine job of investigating the criminal components of abuse and
neglect, while insuring protection of staff in the field. They, along with many
other juvenile officers of other law enforcement agencies, work closely with the
prosecutor’s office in obtaining convictions of those whose level of abuse or
neglect rise to the level of criminality.
It is with great pride that our staff focus on their role of “social workers
first” and work diligently to resolve crisis issues through connecting family
with appropriate drug, alcohol, or financial counseling. Working closely with
the Rescue Mission, Daybreak, and other shelters for the protection of children
and families, emergency housing services are a key component in providing crisis
intervention.
In many ways 2008 was a typical year where dedicated workers and supervisors go
about their daily assignments expecting little fanfare, sustained with the
knowledge of completing a “job well done.”
|
|
