Family / Caregiver Support

Family / Caregiver Support

Parent/Caregiver Peer Support

  • Consider recommending that parents seek a parent/guardian support person if there are reports of guardians that have high levels of stress. A support person would be helpful for the parent/guardian to navigate multi-system care and are helpful in reducing parental/guardian distress as they can have their own advocate
  • Reach out to Parent Advocacy Connection for a Peer Support Person or Other Agency. Depending on the county there may be one available through Family & Children First Council through Parent Advocacy Connection (NAMI) or Greenleaf Family Center (Summit, Portage, and Stark County)
  • Also for consideration, it may be beneficial in some cases to discuss therapy options for parents/guardians that is trauma informed and focused on reducing distress and increasing coping skills

 

Peer Support Resources

Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services provides general information about Peer Support. NAMI Ohio offers free programs, classes, and peer support opportunities for individuals and families affected by mental illness.

Trauma-Informed Approach with the Family

  • Consider a trauma-informed approach with the family. Often families whose youth display frequent dysregulating behaviors in the home can display traumatic reactions to these behaviors. It is important to be aware of the family’s culture, how they have or have not discussed the dysregulating behaviors in the home, and how they typically react to them
  • If there are reports of traumatic events in the home, it is recommended to offer trauma-informed therapy to the parents/caregivers to reduce distress in the home and increase adaptive problem solving
  • Share recommendations with parents so they can be informed and vested in the solutions
    • Help parents understand the role they can play in addressing and supporting youth and leverage their influence for change. Trauma informed cares asserts that it is important for the family to have a voice in their child’s care and all recommendations should be reviewed with the family.
    • Support the family to understand and use identified supports and strategies that will be used in school or other environments.. Provide the family with the resources or materials to implement these strategies and model the strategies for the family.

Identify Youth Goals, Explore Motivators, and Build Upon Interests

  • Empower the youth to identify activities that are of interest to them and that will encourage self-worth, choice, and control

  • Explore motivators with the youth and work with the youth to identify their goals

  • Focus on the strengths of the youth to help empower, give hope, and create joy in their life

  • Make sure the youth has some joy in each day

  • Encourage youth to associate difficult or non-preferred tasks with positive experiences

Other Family/Caregiver Support Resources

 

Family/Caregiver Support and Training

Parent/Caregiver Advocacy Resources

  • The Autism Society of Ohio

    The Autism Society of Ohio is a resource to families living with/loving individuals with ASD. Families can connect with other families, participate in Autism Support Groups, or obtain information related to ASD.

  • The Arc of Ohio

    The Arc of Ohio helps families connect with an advocate to navigate the intellectual and developmental disability system. An advocate can answer questions on everything from waivers, to guardianship, transition services, county boards, the appeal process, and much more.

  • Ohio Legal Aid

    Ohio Legal Help provides plain language legal help information, interactive self-help tools and connections to local legal and community resources that empower Ohioans to resolve their legal issues.

  • Disability Rights Ohio (DRO)

    Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) provides legal advocacy and rights protection to a wide range of people with disabilities. This includes assisting individuals with problems such as abuse, neglect, discrimination, access to assistive technology, special education, housing, employment, community integration, voting and rights protection issues.

Substance Use

The Ohio Sobriety Treatment and Reducing Trauma (START)

START is a children-services-led initiative that has been shown, when implemented with fidelity, to improve outcomes for both parents and children affected by child maltreatment and parental substance use disorders. The model is specifically designed to transform the system of care within and between child welfare agencies and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers and other family serving systems and agencies. START uses a family centered approach and services that help the child, parents and the entire family.

Explore START

Safety & Law Enforcement Interactions

Service and Care Coordination Resources

Adoptive and Kinship Caregiver Resources

  • OhioKAN (Kinship & Adoption Navigator)

    OhioKAN is a new statewide program designed to help kinship and adoptive families navigate and connect with all available resources, locally and statewide.

  • Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Navigator

    The Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition (OGKC) is an organization consisting of kinship caregivers, kinship caregiver advocates and agencies throughout Ohio promoting education, advocacy, and connections to services for families.

  • Ohio Kinship Caregivers Connect Virtual Support Group

    Offers online, statewide, support groups for kinship caregivers in Ohio, meeting weekly on Zoom. Web site provides information on the group and has a resource hub for caregivers.

    Kinship Caregiver Virtual Support Group- YouTube video playlist

  • Grandfamilies.org

    Grandfamilies.org serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system.

  • Generations United

    Generations United works with a network of member organizations, partners, and stakeholders committed to improving the lives of children, youth and older adults through intergenerational collaboration, public policies, and programs.

  • Adoptive Families Network

Respite Services

Reading Recommendations

Additional information about System of Care Philosophy and Family-Driven, Youth-Guided care:

Toolkit Topics

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