Highland County participates in an innovative, differential approach to serving the families of abused children. While child safety is always the number one goal, the Alternative Response approach recognizes the different levels of severity with child welfare cases and the fact that they can be treated in different ways. It does not replace the agency’s traditional response, but offers another path to connect identified families with the community organizations and agencies which can provide the services they need.
The hope is that Alternative Response will increase child safety and also meet the following goals:
- Fewer repeat cases of abuse and neglect
- Lower placement rates of children in foster care
- Reduction in costs over time
- Increased satisfaction, both by the families involved with the child welfare system and the caseworkers
The chart below outlines key differences in the two approaches:
ASSESSMENT (ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE PATHWAY) |
INVESTIGATION (TRADITIONAL PATHWAY) |
|
---|---|---|
FOCUS |
|
|
TYPES OF MALTREATMENT |
|
|
PURPOSE |
|
|
SUBSTANTIATION |
|
|
SERVICES |
|
|
AREAS OF COMMONALITY |
|
*Adapted from a document developed by AIM, The Supreme Court of Ohio, ODJFS, Casey Family Programs and the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund.
HCJFS 7812 (REV. 3-12)