Coming soon: State Representative Susan Manchester joins RALI, Scott Britton from the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, and Joe Abdalla of Code 3 for a discussion on recent developments in the connections between COVID-19, substance use and mental health issues, and family struggles.
Representative Manchester serves Ohio’s 84th district and recently sponsored House Bill 8, which is designed to increase the number of foster caregivers in our state. Now signed into law, the bill will help foster parents be trained, licensed, and approved more efficiently, providing care for children in Ohio who have been displaced from their families due to substance misuse and addiction.
Scott Britton is the Assistant Director of PCSAO and manages the Ohio START program, which stands for Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma. The program, an adaption of the national START model, helps public children services agencies bring together caseworkers, behavioral health providers, and family peer mentors into teams dedicated to helping families struggling with co-occurring child maltreatment and substance use disorder.
Joe Abdalla is the Executive Director of Code 3, and you may recognize him from previous RALI events. Code 3 works to foster trust and collaboration between police departments and the communities they serve, and as a partner of RALI, Code 3 helped develop the RALI Cares program, which is now available virtually online. Joe and his colleagues help educate parents, teachers, and caregivers the warning signs of substance misuse that can be easily overlooked, including physical and behavioral changes as well as things to look for in the home.
We are honored to have such a knowledgeable panel for this upcoming podcast, and we hope you’ll stay tuned to hear the conversation. By sharing information and ideas, we can work together to build better support systems for our communities and address the complex issues of substance use and mental health disorders.