Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) is leading the way in building a community-wide network of supportive services to keep families from becoming involved with child protection.
The 211 Warmline Pilot will, “shift from reporting to supporting.” According to its purpose statement, once implemented, Warmline will, “offer families, community members and mandated reporters easier, more welcoming ways to connect with helpful services, community resources and the support they need to thrive.” LCCS is one of five Ohio public children services agencies (PCSAs)selected by Casey Family Programs to participate in this pilot.
Today, calls or referrals for suspected child maltreatment are either opened because they contain enough information of concern to justify an investigation, or they are screened out, usually because the allegation lacks sufficient evidence that a child is at risk. However, families that are the subjects of the call may still need help, even if the allegations against them don’t meet reporting guidelines. The Warmline” framework will provide a way to get families the help they need to resolve their problems without involving a children services agency.
So far, representatives from nearly two dozen community resources and service organizations are participating in Lucas County’s online and in-person meetings. There are a lot of details to address, most significantly, identifying ways to maintain the level of confidentiality that families have a right to expect. However, the initiative has enough momentum to hopefully launch late this year.