OhioRISE and the Columbiana County Family and Children First Council are working hand-in-hand to meet the needs of area families. Pictured from left are Tom Andrews, chief executive officer of the Columbiana County Community Action Agency; Jack Hile, manager of Ohio Mean Jobs; FCFC parent representative Dan Clark; Ruth Ann Hall, mental health counselor with Wellsville Local Schools; Handle with Care Coordinator Kelli Hephner; Columbiana Health Commissioner Wesley Vins; OhioRise Supervisor Maryalice Surgenavic; Debbie Bricker, administrative assistant with the city of Salem; Columbiana County Educational Service Center Superintendent Marie Williams; Columbiana Mental Health Board Director Marcy Patton; Columbiana FCFC Director Steve Ullom; Columbiana Board of Developmental Disabilities Superintendent William A. Devon; Columbiana FCFC Services Coordinator Morgan Huffman; and Columbiana Job and Family Services Director Rachel Ketterman. (Submitted photo)

LISBON – OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) and the Columbiana County Family and Children First Council are working in partnership to give Columbiana County families the best and most timely services they need.

FCFC Coordinator Steve Ullom noted there had been initial skepticism at his service agency, since OhioRISE was not required to work with the FCFC, but the FCFC considered what OhioRISE could uniquely offer and both agencies kept their focus on the families in need of help.

They follow the philosophy of “wraparound,” or helping families with complex needs, based around building partnerships, social networks and informal supports.

OhioRISE Care Coordinator Supervisor Maryalice Surgenavic herself has deep roots in Columbiana County and a familiarity with the area’s needs through her earlier work as a coordinator and lead facilitator for FCFC. She had 12 years of experience with the agency.

Ullom said the Jefferson County offices made a wise choice to make use of the preexisting relationship and apply flexibility to their work in Columbiana County.

“Maryalice was part of Family and Children First, was a wraparound facilitator for a long time,” he said. “Not only does she know wraparound really well, she knows Columbiana County really well. She’s passionate about families here, so that vicariously then translated to how OhioRISE was built here.”

The FCFC approved a memorandum of understanding with OhioRISE during the March 15 meeting, delineating their respective roles in order to best provide for families.

“One of the positives is that we currently have more families that are receiving wraparound style support than ever before,” Ullom said. “The amount of resources and the amount of staff that are able to be dedicated to doing that is greatly and vastly expanded. I’ll say that has also given us the opportunity to utilize those local dollars that we were using to support wraparound in the county. We’ve been able to look at expanding other things.”

Surgenavic said there are now three times the number of families receiving assistance. Two years ago, the FCFC had one full-time coordinator and two part-time. There are currently six coordinators working within the county through OhioRISE.

Surgenavic commented on this cooperation.

“Since we collaborate together, we’re able to see families at a larger level. I think as long as we continue to keep open lines of communication with outside agencies, we’re going to continue to

grow services here in Columbiana County with our OhioRISE members.”

Ullom said OhioRISE provides unique and valuable support while FCFC is the “front door” to meet immediate needs.

Surgenavic said OhioRISE is required to build a care plan and invest a set amount of flexible funding in a case, while the FCFC can use shared funds to respond to immediate needs.

“Families can utilize those flex funds and it’s wonderful,” she said. “But if we have a family that needs something right now today, I’m able to call Steve.”

Surgenavic related one example from last summer where a family became homeless.

“There was no way for me to utilize any kind of money for the homelessness. Steve was very gracious at making sure we had that family at least put up for the evening at a hotel,” she said, adding this occurred over a weekend. “I kept getting our services connected, everything in place, however I knew that family was safe (for the weekend) while we figured out everything else.

“He was the front door of making sure that OhioRISE family wasn’t sleeping on the streets for the weekend,” she said.

OhioRISE will also participate in an upcoming Family Fun Day 11 a.m.-3 p.m. June 15 at the Columbiana County Fairgrounds. All of the local agencies will be sharing their information.

The FCFC meets at 9 a.m. the third Tuesday of each month at 38720 Saltwell Road, Lisbon.

OhioRise is a Medicaid managed care program for children and youth with complex behavioral health and multisystems needs, serving Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Stark and Tuscarawas counties.

To learn more about OhioRISE, call 740-792-4011, email ohiorise.info@jcesc.org or visit the Jefferson County Educational Service Center website at https://www.jcesc.k12.oh.us/CareManagementEntity.aspx.