Ohio START will be continuing to add additional counties. Counties interested in joining can contact fawn@pcsao.org for more information

Family Peer Mentors are people with lived experience from a substance use disorder and involvement in the child welfare system. To become a family peer mentor, individuals must complete the peer recovery supporter training and certification process through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. More information about becoming a peer supporter can be found here.

Once a call comes in to the PCSA, a caseworker will administer the UNCOPE screening used to identify if an individual is struggling from a substance use disorder. If an individual meets the criteria for SUD, they will then be referred to Ohio START. However, the model is completely voluntary and parents do not have to participate if they decide they want to take a more traditional route.

Each Ohio START county partners with a different Behavioral Health agency that offers services in their area. It is up to the service providers whether or not they provide MAT services to clients

Ohio START employs the family peer mentor alongside the caseworker, so a family is receiving visits from an additional support. Also, both the START caseworker and family peer mentor are required to make weekly visits for the first 60-90 days of the case, which allows for more intensive case management services. Ohio START caseworkers are able to provide intensive services because they carry a low caseload of 10-12 cases.