Each October, the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO) asks its member county agencies to reach out to their elected representatives and invite them to “ride along” with caseworkers doing the hard job of ensuring the safety of children. The hope is that legislators will become more familiar with the needs of children services agencies and child welfare caseworkers and will use that knowledge when developing or voting on new legislation.
On October 20, LCCS welcomed state senator Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo); Lori Brodie, Northwest Ohio Regional Director for U.S. Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio); and Roy Palmer, Northwest Ohio Reginal Representative for U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). LCCS Training and Development manager Melonny King led the guests through a virtual reality exercise that LCCS uses to train incoming caseworkers. The tool is projected onto a virtual reality headset and simulates a typical child welfare investigation, starting with the caseworker knocking on the front door and interviewing adult characters about the allegations facing them. The responsibility of gathering information to make the best decisions for this “family” had a profound impact on the participants.
Once they had a chance to debrief about the virtual reality scenario, the representatives hit the road with LCCS caseworkers. Caseworkers Nicole Dembski and Angela Jones shared their experiences and challenges they face every day. Both Ms. Brodie and Mr. Palmer were impressed with the knowledge and professionalism that our caseworkers displayed.
The visit wrapped up with a one-on-one meeting between the guests and LCCS executive director Randall Muth, and agency counsel Shelby Cully. Both guests reported that this experience left them with a lot to think about, and that they would use the knowledge they had gained as they worked on future legislation.