Client Information Page

Client Rights and Responsibilities | Family Case Conference

Complaint / Problem Resolution | Ombudsman

Client Rights and Responsibilities

All families involved with the Butler County Children Services have rights and responsibilities. To learn more about your rights and responsibilities, please download our Client Rights Brochure.  

If you are involved with Butler County Children Services, you have the right to:

• Be treated with consideration and respect.
• Receive services in the least restrictive and most humane setting possible. This is defined by Ohio laws and is included in the Family Case Plan.
• Be informed of your own condition, of proposed or current services, treatment or therapies, and of the alternatives.
• Refuse to participate in any investigation, service, treatment or therapy once the consequences of refusing have been explained unless you are ordered to participate by the court or a Family Case Plan that has been journalized by the court.
• Be given an up-to-date, written, individual Family Case Plan that discusses mental and physical health, and social or economic needs, and that says how services are to be provided, either by Butler County Children Services or by another agency.
• Actively and knowingly take part in developing, reviewing, and evaluating the Family Case Plan.
• Take part in any appropriate and available agency service.
• Talk to other treatment specialists or lawyers at your own cost, unless determined indigent by the court.
• Be told ahead of time of the reasons for discontinuing services and be involved in planning for the consequences.
• Be told why services are being denied.
• Be served without discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, creed, sex, national origin, age, lifestyle, physical or mental handicap, developmental disability, or inability to pay.
• File a formal complaint or grievance.
• Be told how to file a formal complaint in your primary language. If you have special physical needs, you have the right to be reasonably accommodated.
• Have the unique cultural attributes of your family respected at all times.

With these rights come certain responsibilities. You have a responsibility to:

• Partner with the Butler County Children Services to help strengthen and/or get your family back together and meet your children’s needs.
• Help write the Family Case Plan that will include services to meet your family’s needs.
• Provide a safe, clean and nurturing home for your children with enough food and clothing.
• Meet with your caseworker and other staff to review progress in your case.
• Attend and participate in programs or services listed in the Family Case Plan.
• Attend court hearings and follow orders set by the court.

Family Case Conference

A Family Case Conference is a gathering of people who come together to plan for the safety and well being of a child who is determined to be at risk of abuse and/or neglect in their home environment. The purpose of the conference is to provide an opportunity for the child, biological family members, caseworkers, service providers and and other relevant community members to be actively involved in developing a plan for safely maintaining the child with his/her biological parents. It is designed to give families involved in child protective services a meaningful voice in their family affairs.

Families are asked to participate in a Family Case Conference after an investigation into abuse or neglect has been completed and a determination is made that the child remains at risk of harm in the biological family's home.

Who Attends a Family Case Conference?

The plan is created with the people who know the child the best–family members and others who are important to the child who can assist the family in addressing the concerns that led to the involvement of child protective services. Those who participate are invested in the well being of the child who needs help. We regularly see grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, guidance counselors, members of the faith community, neighbors and friends. The conference may also include other service professionals identified either by the family or by the caseworker. These persons may include Guardian Ad Litems (attorneys appointed to represent children, a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer, service providers and case managers, therapists, and other community personnel, such as an MRDD or a Help Me Grow specialist.

How Does the Agency Conduct Family Case Conferences?

Using a neutral facilitator, each participant identifies the family's strengths (as they currently exist) and determines what help is needed to remedy the issues that are of concern. All participants are given the opportunity to provide input regarding the concerns and possible solutions. A plan is put in place based on these discussions and read to everyone in attendance. Participants have the opportunity to agree or disagree with the plan, and appropriate participants receive copies of the plan at the end of the meeting. Family Case Conferences are held at the Butler County Children Services Hamilton and Middletown offices.

Complaint / Problem Resolution

There are steps that you can take if you are not pleased with the way the agency is handling your case. Be sure to keep detailed records of what is happening with your case. Write down the names of the agency employees you talk to, the information they provide and the dates of all conversations. This documentation will be important in resolving your problem.

If you have a problem, please follow these steps:

1. Contact your caseworker and try to resolve the issues.

2. Contact your caseworkers' supervisor to resolve the issues.

3. Contact the administrator who oversees the activities of the caseworker and supervisor.

4. Contact the Ombudsman, the official who manages client complaints, at (513) 877-4055 or download and mail a Complaint Form.

You have the right to contact the Ombudsman at any time, but you are encouraged to try to resolve the matter first with your caseworker and/or your caseoworker's supervisor.

Ombudsman

Download a Complaint Form

The Ombudsman has the authority too independently and impartially review cases involved with Butler County Children Services. It is the Ombudsman's job to determine whether Children Services has followed proper policies, procedures and laws related to a case. The Ombudsman maintains a neutral, impartial perspective on each case. Based on the results of any investigation into a complaint, the Ombudsman may recommend a different action or disposition. In addition, the Ombudsman may recommend changes to agency policies and procedures to better serve the children and families of Butler County.

The Ombudsman will:

• Listen to you

• Investigate your complaint

• Explain what is happening in your case

• Help you understand confusing rules, laws, procedures and/or policies

• Mediate conflicts whenever possible

• Recommend alternative actions in your case

• Recommend changes to policies and procedures

The Ombudsman will not:

• Take sides. The Ombudsman's job is to remain neutral and impartial. It is not to serve as a personal advocate on behalf of any child or family

• Recommend "punishment" for anyone at any time

• Release the results of a single investigation to the public

• Make, change or set aside laws, policies, or agency practices and decisions

The Ombudsman will not open a case when:

• The case still has court involvement

• The complaint is against a Butler County Children Services staff person and no specific child is alleged to have been harmed by the staff person's action or inaction

• The Ombudsman determines that...

  • The primary problem is a custody dispute between parents

  • The person making the complaint is seeking redress for grievances that will not benefit the child in question

  • Opening a case may jeopardize a child's emotional well-being

Who may file a complaint with the Ombudsman?

Any person may file a complaint with the Ombudsman for investigation. However, unless the person making the complaint is a party to the case—such as the parent, guardian or alleged perpetrator (if the alleged perpetrator is outside of the child victim's immediate family)—the Ombudsman is not permitted to discuss the specifics of the case.

How long will it take the Ombudsman to investigate my complaint?

Generally, the Ombudsman can finish an investigation within five days following the receipt of a written complaint form. If the case file is large or the case is complex, it may take longer.

Will anyone inside of the Butler County Children Services Board know that I made a complaint?

The identity of an individual making a complaint to the Ombudsman must remain confidential, unless the person gives the Ombudsman permission to reveal his/her identity.

Download a Complaint Form

What if I Disagree With the Disposition of My Case?

You have the right to ask for a hearing to appeal decisions made in your case. Your appeal needs to be filed within 10 days of receipt of your Disposition Letter (this letter describes the allegations of abuse and neglect made against you or someone in your home, as well as the outcome of the investigation).

Appeal hearing requests must be made in writing to the:

Office of the Ombudsman

300 North Fair Avenue

Hamilton, OH 45011

Once your request is received, the Ombudsman's Office will contact you in writing within seven (7) days to schedule a hearing.