Innovative Ideas: Family Resources & Support

START workers in Brown County are providing new and engaging ways for clients to build a positive, supportive community and to access helpful, every day information:

  1. Our START workers and clients are participating in the 3rd Annual Recovery Run in September. The run is sponsored by the Brown County Board of Mental Health & Addiction Services.
  2. Workers have created a Pinterest Board highlighting low-cost activities for children, menu planning, family activities, and parenting tips. We provide a letter to clients to let them know about the board. We have 130 followers! Click the image to go to Pinterest to see the full Board which contains additional sections.

A screenshot of Brown County's OhioSTART Pinterest Board with categories of links for Chores and Household Maintentance; Self Care Tips and Articles; Quote; and Activities and Craft Ideas. 

  1. START workers are starting a clothing program to assist in obtaining appropriate clothing for court and job interviews. This is a new resource in our county!
  2. START Workers are in the first phases of planning a mentoring program for parents in the community.
  3. We also create a START binder that is specialized for each member. This is meant to be a resource and a memory book. It includes sections such as, “My Journey,” Scheduling, Contact Information, Legal, Goal Setting, Recovery/Treatment Information, Self, Health, Family Finance, Education, Resources, and Crime Victim Information. Click here for an outline of contents. Click here for the cover pages that we use for each section.

OhioSTART Success: News from Brown County

Good Morning! Brown County could not be more thrilled about the direction our OhioSTART program is headed. We have had a great response from families who are choosing to actively engage with START services. As of early May 2018:Image with information: 3 of 4 families are highly engaged in services. 3 of 4 entered treatment within 5 days of meeting their START worker. Families have made use of the following 4 types of treatment: 1) 3-day detox; 2) Crisis Center; 3) Inpatient Treatment; and 4) Outpatient Treatment.

In addition to this amazing impact on families, our workers are committed to upgrading their skills:

  • Both our caseworker and family peer mentors have committed to obtaining their Chemical Dependency Counseling Assistant credential.
  • Our caseworker is obtaining the Prevention Now! Certification through SAMHSA and will be implementing prevention into case planning.