Districts & Committees

As an association of county children services agencies, PCSAO depends on the leadership, participation, and active engagement of its members to be successful. In addition to statewide meetings, work is organized geographically by district and topically by committee.

Districts

Member agencies are divided geographically into five districts:

• Northeast (tan)
• East Central (violet)
• Southeast (red)
• Southwest (green)
• Northwest (blue)

Directors from each district appoint members to PCSAO’s Board of Trustees. Metro agencies (starred) must also be represented on the board. Districts also meet four to six times a year in the district for learning and networking opportunities (see our calendar for meeting dates and locations), and to inform the decisions of the board. District meetings may draw a diverse group of attendees, including agency directors or administrators, PCSAO staff, representatives from the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program and Regional Training Centers, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Technical Assistance Specialists, and others.

Committees

A great deal of association work gets done through committees. Each committee is supported by a PCSAO staff member and helps channel information and decision-making guidance to the Board of Trustees. Committees are generally open to agency directors or staff and sometimes to other key stakeholders. In addition to standing committees established by PCSAO’s Bylaws, there are also ad hoc committees usually devoted to time-limited projects. Key PCSAO committees include:

• Legislative Committee: Chaired by Jerry Coleman (Stark County JFS); staffed by Mary Wachtel. Reviews and evaluates state and federal bills pertaining to child protection. Track this committee’s work on our Legislation page.
• Rules Committee: Co-chaired by Linda Topping (Union County JFS) and Jeff Sell (Delaware County JFS); staffed by Mary Wachtel. Reviews and evaluates proposed state rules pertaining to child protection. Learn more about rules.
• Conference Planning Committee: Chaired by Amy Frame (Perry County CSB); staffed by Anne Potts. Plans PCSAO’s annual conference.
• Community Education Committee: Staffed by Scott Britton. Supports agency staff who manage communications, marketing, levy campaigns, caregiver recruitment, and community outreach, with a goal of improving public perception and value of the child protection system; develops publications related to this work; and manages Wear Blue and other statewide education campaigns.
• Finance Committee: Chaired by Heidi Burns (Morgan County JFS) and staffed by Angela Sausser and Lisa Fry. Oversees PCSAO’s budget, financial reports, audit, tax filings, dues, grants, and other fiscal matters.

In addition, PCSAO participates in:

• Job and Family Services Human Resources Association: This multi-agency association supports agency human resources staff, hosts training and quarterly meetings, and examines statewide workforce trends; staffed for PCSAO by Scott Britton, the group has promoted caseworker safety tools among other projects.