Oct. 14, 2009
Ohio Team to Participate in National Children Protection Summit
Judicial, education and child welfare leaders in Ohio will attend a national conference this week to devise a state-specific plan for improving the child protection process and outcomes for neglected and abused children.
The Third National Judicial Leadership Summit on the Protection of Children – sponsored by the Conference of Chief Justices, Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), the Texas Judiciary and the National Center for State Courts – seeks to build on innovative collaborative actions by courts and child protection programs resulting from previous summits in 2005 and 2007. This year’s summit also seeks to broaden the scope of collaboration to include state education agencies, among other objectives.
Attending from Ohio are:
- Marion County Family Court Judge Deborah A. Alspach, co-chair of the Advisory Committee on Children, Families and the Courts
- Douglas E. Lumpkin, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
- Jane M. Wiechel, associate superintendent of the Ohio Department of Education
- Kristin Gilbert, Justice Services administrator with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
- Michele Timmons, director of the Care Team Collaborative, Muskingum Valley Educational Services Center
Similar in concept to the Ohio Summit on Children, participation by Ohio team members will help bring a national perspective to some of the challenges Ohio faces, according to Steve Hanson, manager of the Children, Families and the Courts programs. Hanson also said that the Care Team Collaborative will be showcased at the national summit as a model program for linking schools, parents, students and community agencies to achieve academic success.
Steven C. Hollon, Supreme Court administrative director, will serve on a panel and discuss how Ohio courts are integrating portions of the new Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act federal legislation. Hollon also serves as president of COSCA.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow, 614.387.9250.