Team Effort Leads to Recognition

I feel very honored today to find out that I am among several local outstanding women chosen as finalists for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Celebrate awards honoring women for their achievement, innovation, social responsibility and mentoring. I cannot say enough: this is a team effort!

I was chosen as a finalist in the Social Media Innovator of the Year category. As you can see here, this year’s finalists contains an incredible group of women. I was surprised and feel very fortunate to be among them.

My passion for social media is an offshoot of my passion for transparency and accountability. Our customers, the providers we work with, the taxpayers who fund us — they all deserve to know what we are doing and why we are doing it.

As a non-profit, Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services has to find inexpensive ways to get its messages to the public. Social media is the perfect vehicle for an organization like ours. Our communications group has embraced it with passion and I have done all I can to support those efforts. It is nice to receive recognition, but this is truly a team effort. Thanks to all who have contributed!

Food Assistance Recipients Look Familiar

This story on today’s food assistance recipients echoes what we are seeing at our agency. They are increasingly someone you know.

http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=cincinnati&sParam=31959665.story

About a third of the food stamp recipients we see now have not been to our office before or have not been there in at least five years. These are people who have had jobs that have enabled them to make ends meet, but today’s economy has put them in a situation where they need help with food.

Some have lost their jobs. Others have jobs that just don’t pay as much as before. It is important to note that most of the people who receive food assistance work. They just do not earn enough to pay for
everything and have to make tough choices — do I put gas in the car or buy groceries this week?

One in seven people in this county now receives food stamps. That is more than 110,000 people. I know there is a stereotype out there about the people who receive help from Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services, but that statistic should tell you the stereotype is wrong. We are helping your neighbors, co-worker and some of the families at your children’s school.

National Adoption Month: Good Things for Children in Our Care

Later this month, we will celebrate National Adoption Month with a mass adoption ceremony at Hamilton County’s Probate Court. Several children will join new families on Nov. 20.

This is one of the most exciting times of the year for me and for our staff. Often, this is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work to find the right family for a child who has experienced a tough life. Seeing that work result in what is often an emotional, touching ceremony is an uplifting moment for our staff.

Hamilton County investigates more than 6,000 reports of child abuse and neglect a year. When intensive services fail and a child can no longer remain safe in a parent’s care, the county will seek custody of the child and attempt to find a safe and loving adoptive home. That sometimes takes months or years.

The Nov. 20 ceremony stands as a symbol for all of the adoptions we do – so far 70 in 2009.

We also have several adoption-related events planned for this month to say thanks to our adoptive parents, several appearances on local media outlets and you will see us out and about beating the drum on adoption because we still have more than 200 children who need adoptive homes.

Among the events:

• A skating party on Nov. 7 from noon to 3 p.m. at The Skatin’ Place in Colerain. Not only is this a chance for many of our kids to skate, we will use it as a recruitment event for prospective adoptive parents.

• An adoption appreciation event for our adoptive families and children at the Jewish Community Center. The Amazing Portable Circus will be on hand for kids to enjoy carnival games, dancing, music, an aerial show, food and more!

• An official proclamation from the Hamilton County Commissioners proclaiming November National Adoption Month in Hamilton County.

I urge you to take a quick look at our foster care and adoption Web site, www.hckids.org, and see all the cute, smiling children who are still waiting for homes. Some are growing old waiting for a home to call their own. It is heartbreaking.

Yes, many of them have issues because of things that have happened in their lives, but many of them are just children who need someone loving to help and guide them. Even those with issues could overcome and thrive with the right kind of love and support.

If you or anyone you know is interested in adopting, please contact us by phone, (513) 632-6366, or e-mail, adoption@jfs.hamilton-co.org.

Prescription Drug Discount Card Helping County Residents

Our new prescription drug discount drug card program is rolling along. A record number of users purchased prescriptions with the card in September, saving more than $16,000.

Last month, 764 users purchased 996 prescriptions with the card, saving an average of $9.95 per purchase. Since the program’s launch in January, 5,691 users have purchased 11,622 purchases with the card, saving a total of $109,446. This is an average cost savings of $9.42 per purchase and more than 21 percent off of regular prices.

I am not surprised by this. With the economy what ist is, many county residents are looking to cut costs wherever they can. If they can save a little on prescription drugs, it helps when they are faced with an electric bill or putting gas in their car or putting food on their table.

The prescription drug discount cards are available under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo). There is no cost to the taxpayer for the program.

The cards may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income, or existing health coverage, and are accepted at most pharmacies throughout the county. More than 1,000 counties throughout the country participate in the program and a national network of more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies will honor the NACo prescription discount card.

Among those who benefit from the program:

• County residents who are uninsured.
• County residents who are insured but a drug may not be covered on their insurance plan.
• County residents who must buy human drugs for their pets.

The cards are available at the County’s Job and Family Services Department, 222 E. Central Parkway or 237 William Howard Taft Road, at branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, YMCA branches, the Council on Aging of Southwest Ohio and many social service agencies, such as the FreeStore Foodbank and Talbert House. Residents can also call 946-1010 or visit www.HamiltonCountyRx.com for more information.

We are very happy that we are able to help in any small part we can.

A Plug for Super Jobs

A lot of people are out of work right now. This community is hurting.

I am surprised by how many people do not know about our one-stop employment center, the Super Jobs Center. We are very proud of the work they do there.

If you are out of work, this is the place to be. Job seekers can use the computers with internet access, copy machine, fax machine and job search resources.

They can also participate in job-readiness workshops that help with resume preparation, interview preparation, job-search help and other topics. You can receive career coaching and get the jump on job leads.

Most importantly, the Super Jobs Center has a relationship with many employers in the area. For example, Children’s Hospital Medical Center uses the Super Jobs Center extensively. Going through the Super Jobs Center will help you land jobs with key employers.

The Super Jobs is located at 1916 Central Parkway. You can learn more at www.superjobs.com. Good luck!

Consolidating Into Our Downtown Office

We are slowly consolidating our two main offices, moving our operations from 237 William Howard Taft Road to our downtown office at 222 E. Central Parkway. We expect the consolidation to be complete by the end of the year.

Traffic at the Taft location has been very light, and it no longer made sense to keep it open. We have fewer staff now and operating two offices is expensive in light of deep cuts to our operating expenses. The two facilities are only separated by a couple of miles, so we feel confident this is not an inconvenience for our customers.

So, if you are planning to visit us soon, please come to our downtown location. If you previously visited our Taft location for child support or child care services, you will find child care on the third floor of our Central Parkway office and child support on the sixth floor.

Thanks for your patience!

Former Foster Child to Discuss Positive Role Foster Parents Play

We have an exciting event coming up that will be a “must see” for foster parents and potential foster parents. But it is open to everyone, so I want all of you to be aware and mark your calendars.

Selena Burks, a professional filmmaker and former foster child, will show her film Saving Jackie and share her life’s story at an Oct. 13 event designed to benefit the area’s foster care community.

The documentary Saving Jackie is an intimate portrait of a middle-class family destroyed by the abusive nature of drug addiction. Selena’s mother, Jackie – a 42 year-old recovering crack-cocaine addict – takes an intense look at her life through the course of the film. She eventually acknowledges and accepts responsibility for the deterioration of her relationships with her two daughters.

Selena spent time in the child welfare system and will discuss how a loving foster mother helped her during troubled times.

Saving Jackie premiered at the 2005 Sundance International Film Festival and was also an Official Selection of the 2005 Cleveland International Film Festival, 2005 Urbanworld Film Festival, First Annual Black Eyed Susan Film Festival, the 2005 Black Harvest Film Festival and the 2005 African American Film Marketplace. More information on the film can be found at www.savingjackie.org.

Burks, a Rockefeller Foundation grant winner who has worked with famous film producer Oliver Stone, shows her film to foster parents, churches, drug rehabilitation centers, youth groups, high schools and universities in an attempt to convey the message of forgiveness portrayed in the film.

The presentation, scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center, 8485 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, is being hosted by the Everyday Heroes’ collaborative of foster care providers.

The Everyday Heroes collaborative is a partnership between Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services and several private foster care agencies with a goal of recruiting more foster families for the region’s foster children. In Hamilton County alone, more than 800 children a day need temporary homes with loving families because they are the victims of abuse or neglect. The department also has about 215 children available for adoption.

The event is open to foster parents, friends of foster parents and members of the public who are interested in becoming foster parents. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent and want to hear this presentation, please call 946-7587 to register. Seating is limited.

Busy Times Lead to Request for Lobby Relief

We have never been busier in our public assistance programs.

Even when I talk to some of those who have been here much longer than my 17 years, they do not remember being this busy. We do not have records going back into the early 1980s and late 1970s, but I am fairly confident in saying that some of the numbers we are seeing today are records for this agency. We have 110,000 people in this county receiving food assistance. That is one in seven county residents. Even more — 135,000 — receive Medicaid. The economy has definitely taken its toll on this community.

Right now, about 56,000 people a month come through our doors at 222 E. Central Parkway. We will soon close our 237 William H. Taft Road office, so the numbers will increase. As you can imagine, it gets very crowded at times. I would like to solicit your help in alleviating this problem. We offer a number of alternatives to face-to-face visits at our downtown locations. Please help us spread the word about these alternatives:

– Quick answers to basic questions about our programs and services are available by visiting our Web site, www.hcjfs.org. There is a wealth of information about Medicaid, food assistance, cash assistance, child support, child care, child protection and other services, as well as commonly-used forms and applications for services at the site’s Online Service Center. There are also online calculators to help determine if someone qualifies for services. Customers can report a change to a case, ask a question or make a suggestion.

– Another way to do business with us is through a partnership with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Residents who want to access our services can fax applications and verification forms (copies of birth certificates, divorce decrees, etc.) at any library branch.

– We also offer biweekly live chats on our Web site. Here, Hamilton County residents can ask a question and get an immediate response to inquiries about how programs work. They also can learn from answers to questions asked by others.

– Child Support provides private one-on-one chats from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. Customers can access the chats from our Web site’s Child Support page and get quick, confidential answers to questions about their cases.

– We also provide presentations and informational tables for events and organizations through our Speakers Bureau. Our speakers can help with how to best access our services and answer basic questions about how the programs work. Those interested can request a speaker through our Speaker Request form under Contact Us on the Web site.

– In recent months, we have taken advantage of free social media platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, BlogTalkRadio – to help people better understand our programs and services. There are links on the home page of our Web site. This is another quick way to learn about our services and programs.

Please help spread the word about these other avenues for accessing JFS. It is not just a benefit to our agency, it saves residents a trip downtown, including gas money and the time they would spend in our increasingly long lines.

Help Available for Uninsured

I was alarmed to see this story about nearly 235,000 local residents without health insurance:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090921/NEWS01/909220350/1168/NEWS0101/234+000+lack+health+insurance

It is sad to see so many people in need. Do you realize that 140,00 people in this county receive Medicaid? That is one in six county residents.

I have a feeling some of the people in this 235,000 crowd would qualify for Medicaid, but do not apply. The program is available for low-income residents who are disabled, for children and their mothers, for those over 65 and some others. Please visit our Web site, www.hcjfs.org for more information and, if you qualify, please reach out to us.

Agency employee wins PCSAO award

I am proud to announce that Gail Merkle, a Hamilton County Children’s Services caseworker, received the Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio’s (PCSAO) Child Protection Worker of the Year Award last week during the association’s conference. The award is given annually to a Children’s Services caseworker in Ohio who shows the ability to develop positive relationships with children and families; shows leadership, initiative, commitment and independency; and is an effective advocate for children and families. Gail was nominated by her supervisor, Natrasha Christian-Beasley, and her section chief, Denise Orchard.

Gail, who has worked as a caseworker in Hamilton County for three years, is a perfect example of an advocate for our agency’s children and families. One specific case where Gail showed compassion and dedication was that of a 2-year-old boy who while in the process of moving towards permanent custody, experienced what was believed to be a seizure. For weeks, his condition changed from day-to-day; he would show periods of recovery and then with no cause, slip backwards. What was once a developmentally-on-target child was changing in front of Gail’s eyes.

Remarkably, each time Gail would visit, the child showed improvement. The doctors and the nurses informed her that the boy’s improvements usually occurred when she was with him. So what does a caseworker do when doctors tell her this about a child, but also knowing she has other families and children who need her help? For Gail, it was a no-brainer. She worked her other cases as before and visited the child every day (sometimes in the early morning or late evening).

“After months of worry and uncertainty, the young boy is now healthy, thanks to the care and concern of Ms. Merkle,” Christian-Beasley wrote in the nomination. “This is just one story that epitomizes Ms. Merkle’s passion for helping others less fortunate and more important, and understanding of her role to advocate on a child’s behalf for their well-being.”

Gail has been a constant in the child’s life and she is doing what any parent/guardian would do. Thank you, Gail, for the hard work and dedication you show towards the agency’s children and families.