The Stark County Family Council coordinates help for children and families between the hundreds of child and family service organizations who specialize in specific needs across Stark County.
Each of these organizations focus on single issues, such as mental health, developmental disabilities, education, substance abuse, child welfare, juvenile justice, etcetera. While each agency functions independently, many of them are serving the same families and deal with similar issues.
The Stark County Family Council was created to open dialogue among service organizations and the families they care for to stimulate a broader awareness of important child and family issues. Working together, we develop, implement and evaluate coordinated responses to these issues. In addition, the Family Council provides a public forum for families, organizations and community members to meet on a regular basis to share information, highlight community activities and coordinate planning and program efforts.
OUR VISION
VISION:
All children and families thrive and succeed within healthy communities.
MISSION:
As a leader in community planning, the Stark County Family Council promotes a system of care that protects and enhances the well-being of children and families by building community capacity, coordinating systems and services and engaging and empowering families.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
Family-driven.
Families have a primary decision-making role in the care of their children, as well as in the policies and procedures governing care for all children in their community.
Youth-guided.
Youth are engaged as valued partners in creating their own plans of care as well as systems change in policies and procedures.
Trauma-informed & resiliency-minded.
The widespread impact of trauma is recognized and the natural resilience of every individual, child and adult, is identified, promoted and nurtured.
Culturally-competent.
The values of respect, dignity, nondiscrimination and self-determination are promoted by working actively to understand the cultural values of families.
Individualized yet community-based.
Individualized, strength-based care acknowledges each child's and family’s unique set of strengths, priorities and concerns. Formal and informal supports are used to create a unique plan for each child and family.
Shared responsibility.
The safety and well-being of children, youth and families is a responsibility shared by the entire community. As such, system of care communities join together in holding one another accountable for ensuring positive outcomes and sharing resources regardless of where the child and family seek help.
COMMITTEES
The Stark County Family Council has a range of committees. Some of these are community-facing (see them on our Community Collaboration page). Others are internal and support the Family Council’s efforts to help children and families. These are listed below:
Executive Committee:
Provides planning, administrative, personnel and fiscal oversight to support the operations and development of the Family Council. The committee also works to coordinate the activities of authorized committees.
Family Engagement Committee:
Serves as a collaborative network of families and family support advocates who work to improve family engagement and empowerment efforts in all sectors of the community.
Service Coordination Committee:
This committee is responsible for developing, maintaining and evaluating the collaborative processes and services described within Stark County's Service Coordination Mechanism. The Service Coordination Mechanism, required by ORC 121.37 (C) (1-9), streamlines and coordinates existing government services for families and their children (birth through 21).
Service Review Collaborative:
The Service Review Collaborative supports the county's Service Coordination Mechanism in close connection with the Service Coordination Committee. Its activities focus on: 1) reviewing service requests for children with complex, multi-system needs; 2) authorizing the purchase of needed services; and 3) reviewing individual cases that need more restrictive placement settings.
Trauma and Resiliency Committee:
Works to build our community’s capacity to understand the widespread impact of trauma and recognize, promote, and support resiliency of youth and families within all neighborhoods and across all systems and organizations.
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS
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