Child Welfare Staff Connect, Nov. 1, 2023

Oregon Department of Human Services sent this bulletin at 11/01/2023 03:40 PM PDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

In this Edition

From the Director: Sharing our progress
Kudos to Dr. Dan Leonhardt and the ORCAH Training Team
Safe Sleep Awareness: Tips for Infants
Domestic Violence Awareness: Everyone Deserves to be Safe
ICYMI: Tribal-State ICWA Conference Photos
Welcome, new employees!

From the Director: Sharing our progress

Child Welfare is committed to tracking the progress we make each year in realizing our Vision for Transformation, which guides us as we refocus our work to prioritize what is in the best interest of each family we serve.

As part of reviewing our work, we create several annual reports. One is to meet federal requirements. Another is an annual report highlighting progress made under each of the three Guiding Principles in our Vision for Transformation.

Child Welfare’s most recent annual progress report on the Vision for Transformation is now available. I hope you’ll take a minute to look at it and celebrate the role you played in making these accomplishments possible.

Areas of focus in 2022 that continued this year included Youth Transitions, Continuous Quality Improvement, targeted resource parent recruitment and ongoing efforts to use a family preservation and prevention approach.

Your passion and hard work is reflected in this report. Most importantly, it is reflected in change and progress. When we listen to and center the perspectives of Tribes, communities, youth and families, our policies and programs begin to transform. Our work moving forward is to continue this progress and share it with you.

Best regards,

Aprille

Kudos to Dr. Dan Leonhardt and the ORCAH Training Team

Kudos to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline (ORCAH)’s Training Team and Dr. Dan Leonhardt from Cares Northwest for delivering 21 rounds of training to new screeners in their Screening Training Academy. Dr. Leonhardt obtained his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. In 2009 he became a board-certified Child Abuse Pediatrician, the first year that the specialization was awarded.

Dr. Leonhardt’s service to ORCAH and his commitment in delivering this training for the past four years has increased the team’s forensic understanding of physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, medical abuse, and medical neglect.

Thank you, Dr. Leonhardt!

Safe Sleep Awareness: Tips for Infants

While some forms of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) rates have substantially decreased in the past 30 years, others such as Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed (ASSB) have increased.

Fortunately, these deaths can be prevented.

Here are a few tips to remember following October's Safe Sleep Awareness Month:

Ensure sleep areas are firm and flat, and area is free of stuffed animals, pillows and blankets.
Separate infants from others on the sleep surface.

ODHS Child Welfare’s Child Fatality Prevention and Review Program has been providing safe sleep spaces for infants to local child welfare offices since 2020. To date, over 2,000 sleep surfaces have been shipped statewide to support families. This past month, each district received 24 safe sleep bundles including portable cribs and wearable blankets. 

For more information, contact Carmen Mims via email or Teams at carmen.mims@odhs.oregon.gov, and learn more SIDS prevention tips here.

Domestic Violence Awareness: Everyone Deserves to be Safe

In October, ODHS honored Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to honor survivors, educate the public, and share resources. Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.

It includes physical and psychological violence as well as emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically. The main feature of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other. (Source NCADV)

In Oregon, 39.8% of women and 36.2% of men experience intimate partner violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. (Source NCADV )

Useful resources:

Local shelters and domestic violence and sexual assault advocates:  https://www.ocadsv.org/find-help
Anonymous, confidential help available 24/7 at the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 800-787-3224 (TTY).
Find additional resources on the Domestic Violence Awareness Month OWL page.

ICYMI: Tribal-State ICWA Conference Photos

Over 300 people from across the state attended the 2023 Tribal-State ICWA Conference this September, sharing stories and experiences to strengthen knowledge of ICWA and its significance for Tribes and Child Welfare.

Check out photos from the 2023 Tribal-State ICWA Conference here.

Welcome, new employees!

We are so glad you are here!

Akhila Nekkanti, Stephanie Parrish, Season Joos, Hannah Cayetano, Douglas Claassen, Stephanie Reyes, Danielle Stewart, Kam Awiszio, Miguel Gonzalez, Hilary Willis, Gina Glenn, Jondwlyn Thomas, Lizzie Weber, Jada Tice, Juanita Barragan, Robin Christianson, Kevin Gutierrez, Bella Ferran, Kaylee Corder, Aaron Ashenfelter, Tony Cortez, Mohammed Mohammed, Jessica Wright, Thomas Zaner, Cassie Barrera, Sierra Dill, Cale Graves, Andrew White, Veronica Ivazes, Abby Strobel, Kristal Verdin, Kenneth Elder, Kristin Wilkerson, Aubrey Summers, Julie Eells, Christopher Hopman, Cheryl Stone, Jay Pennock, Gabriela Zeitz, Rachel Zavada, David Churchill, David Krebs, Julian Cockrell, Beth Bishop, Libby Young, Brooke Huber, Andrea Forrest, Jasmine Cabanilla, Tabitha Kaufman, Vanessa Curt, Nicole Lipton, Lei Perry, Serena Ettinger, Melissa Miller, Tara Reis, Shawnie Collins, Michelle Craig, Brittany Kent, Haley Kotkin, Michelle Ureno, Jennifer Boyet, Anna Utter, Makaela Yates, Eluxen Guzman, Daniel Reyna Gutierrez, Patricia Downum, Aaron Epperson, Brenda Rivera, Isaac Savage, Shelley Warne, Jessica Leriche, Scott Rudinski, Rosa Guerra, Ashlyn Foote, Pamela Wachter, Stacie Garza, Yvette Briceno, Priya Thakkar, Brenee Pryer, Abigail Cornwell, Stacy Mcrae, Jasmine Cavinder, Victoria Kolosik, Todd Gauntt, and Nikole Weirto.

Suggestions, comments, ideas? Please e-mail us to let us know.

Want to be featured in the next edition? Submit your photos and videos of your work to ChildWelfare.Director@dhsoha.state.or.us.

			Let's be friends:

Everyone has a right to know about and use Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) programs and services. Some examples of the free help we can provide are: sign language and spoken language interpreters, written materials in other languages, Braille, large print, audio and other formats. If you need help or have questions, please contact the ODHS Office of Communications.

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:
Manage Preferences | Delete Profile | Help