Kinship & Adoption Navigators
The program is designed to assist those who have adopted children as well as those who are providing kinship care. The first step to access the program is to call 1-844-OHIO-KAN to connect with a navigator who will talk with you to understand your situation and needs. If you and the navigator decide together that we can help you navigate and access important resources, we’ll walk through the OhioKAN BASICS overview to make sure we completely understand your family situation and can start making a plan together. We’ll use the OhioKAN Information Hub to review more than 8,000 records to find, analyze, and organize all of the resources available to you based on your exact situation, location, and needs. Based on our conversation and resource review, we’ll create a Personalized Resource Plan. This document becomes the action plan for navigating and accessing all of the local and statewide resources that fit your situation. With the support of dedicated site navigators here at CSSMV, OhioKAN’s 100% free services will help kinship and adoptive families in Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby Counties navigate and connect with all of the resources available locally and statewide. For more information and helpful resources, as well as a directory of other regional partners serving other areas of Ohio, you can visit the OhioKAN website at https://ohiokan.jfs.ohio.gov. To connect with a navigator from ANYWHERE in Ohio, call 1-844-OHIO-KAN.
Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley is thrilled to partner with OhioKAN, a new statewide flexible and responsive kinship and adoption navigator program designed to assist children, caregivers, and families.
Chums Program
The Chums program helps seniors (age 50 and older) with diagnosed mental illnesses to learn skills to help maintain independence and take back control of their lives. Life Essentials staff facilitate the program by combining the practices of education, networking and behavioral activation services. The program enhances the quality of life for program members by equipping them with tools that promote self-management of their mental illness. Participants learn common themes that contribute to their recovery including diet, exercise, goal setting, stress management and much more. They also get the opportunity to bond with people who are in similar situations.
Guardianship Services
The Life Essentials guardianship program provides support for seniors who have been deemed mentally incompetent and who do not have family willing or capable of making sound decisions for them. Life Essentials cannot accept referrals from individuals such as family members or neighbors; the program only takes referrals from providers. Persons seeking to get an individual into guardianship are referred on to the Probate Court or to the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) or to the Dayton Bar Association for information and assistance. Life Essentials cannot provide legal advice, nor can we escort applicants to court. For a guardianship referral to be warranted, the individual must be incapacitated and unable to manage his or her own financial resources and/or unable to make informed medical decisions. A referral form must be completed and there must be a Statement of Expert Evaluation signed by the proposed ward’s doctor or psychiatrist. Life Essentials staff and trained volunteers take on the critical role as guardian, working with their clients to ensure that each individual has the best possible life and lives in the least restrictive environment. Guardians become the advocate and voice for those who are unable to speak for themselves. In addition to fulfilling the role of guardian, the Life Essentials guardianship program provides support to family members and/or friends who are willing and capable of becoming the guardian for a loved one.
Guardianship Forms
Professional Counseling
Are you going through interpersonal or emotional challenges that make your daily life more difficult? Our professional counseling team is here to help. Our counselors can help you deal with depression, anxiety, trauma, behavior issues, relationship problems, attachment issues, grief, domestic violence, adjustment to illness, post-adoption emotions, and many other issues. We offer professional counseling for individuals, couples and families, and we work with children age 5 and up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does therapy entail?
The counseling process begins with a short period of assessment that may take up to 2-4 visits. In this time the therapist is becoming familiar with you and your goals and the barriers you are encountering. After this, you and the therapist work together to develop a treatment plan that outlines your goals and the steps we will take to achieve these. In other words, we are asking, “What do you want? And how will we know when you achieve that?” The treatment process may be brief (6-10 sessions), or extend longer if you feel that more work is needed to resolve your problems to your satisfaction.
How long are counseling sessions?
Generally, sessions are held weekly or twice a month, and each session lasts about 50 minutes.
Many people resolve their concerns in a few sessions. Most treatment is short-term with 10 or fewer sessions.
Is this religious-based counseling?
No. Our professional, licensed counselors provide the same type of counseling you would receive at a non-Catholic facility. You do not need to be Catholic — or even Christian — to receive services at our Counseling Centers.
We offer assistance to people in need regardless of religion or ethnic background; we do not proselytize. If your faith is important to you, it’s certainly something we can talk about in your counseling sessions, but we won’t bring up the subject unless you do.
Do you accept my insurance?
We accept most private insurance as well as Medicaid and Medicare. Please talk with our office staff to see if your plan is accepted. Please check with your insurance provider for the specific details of your plan’s coverage.
What if I don’t have insurance for mental health care?
We use a sliding scale to make treatment more affordable for those who don’t have insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover mental health services.
How do I schedule an appointment?
If you are interested in pursuing counseling at Catholic Social Services, the next step is to call our office. For our Dayton office, call (937) 296-1007 and speak with our office administrator, Shelia Wright-Davis, at extension 2136. To make an appointment at our Sidney office, call (937) 498-4593.
Prescription Drug Cost Savings
MEDICARE SAVINGS PROGRAM (MSP)
& LOW INCOME SUBSIDY (LIS)
Consumers receiving Medicare who have limited income and assets may qualify for Extra Help with the cost of their prescription drugs. The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Medicare work together to provide this extra help through the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) — also known as the Extra Help program.
Prescription drug costs continue to increase. The insurance maze of tiers, generic vs. non-generic, co-pays and donut holes can be confusing. Some consumers skip doses or just stop taking the medicines that their doctors recommend because they simply cannot afford them. Not taking a prescribed medicine or not taking it as directed can lead to additional health problems.
The Medicare Savings Program (MSP) and Low Income Subsidy (LIS) may be the answer for some struggling seniors.
Those who are eligible for the low income subsidy will get help paying for 75% or more of their monthly Part D premium, yearly deductible, and prescription co-payments. They will also have no gap in coverage = No Donut Hole.
Our agency can assist individuals with the application process. The application is completed electronically with the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Contact our Northern Counties office at (937) 498-4593 or (833) 289-0227 for more information.
Free Classes & Info Sessions
Our Family Stabilization & Support (FSS) staff coordinate an ongoing series of classes and informational sessions that are free for anyone to attend.
Most sessions focus on wellness and stress management, financial empowerment, health and nutrition. Some are led by CSSMV staff, while others have guest presenters from the Ohio State University Extension Office, Day Air Credit Union, and other community partners. The selection of topics is driven by the interest level of our clients and community members.
Attendance is not limited to CSSMV clients. Other agencies are welcome to share our event schedules with their own clients, and anyone from the general public is welcome to attend any session that’s of interest. We only ask that those planning to attend RSVP in advance so we can plan accordingly, and so that we can notify them of any unexpected changes in the class date or time.
Classes offered by other programs within CSSMV, such as Parenting, are also included in our class listings when they are free and open to the public.
Post-Adoption Support Services
Adoption is a life-long process and each adoption is unique and special. Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley offers post-adoption services and general adoption information, support for adoptees, and specialized support for adoptive families through our Safe Counseling program.
Whether you’re an adoptee looking for information on your birth family, you’re looking for information about how to adopt a child, or your family includes an adopted child, we have expertise to assist you. The CSSMV professional counseling program is available to adult and child adoptees and their families, and also offers special expertise in the area of attachment disorders.
Senior Visiting & Caregiver Relief
Many older adults just need companionship. Some live alone and away from family, which can be difficult at times. Others are being cared for by spouses or family members. For these seniors, we have two outreach services: the Senior Visitor Service and the Caregiver Relief Service. The Senior Visitor Service introduces a trained volunteer to a socially isolated older adult who lives alone or is homebound. With oversight and support from a social worker, a Senior Visitor is assigned to a specific client and makes a personal weekly visit and/or regular friendly phone calls. Routine visits of about two hours provide time for the creation of a lasting friendship. Volunteers can assist with small tasks such as watering plants or writing letters, or simply spend time together listening to music, watching a movie or television show, or playing cards or games. The Caregiver Relief Service offers temporary in-home support to help spouses or family members who care for dependent elderly adults at home. A trained volunteer offers a regular three to four hour respite period, a break during which a caregiver can relax, visit friends, go shopping, or do other activities to relieve stress. The trained volunteer can provide companionship, supervision, meal preparation, and some personal care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a referral to access this service?
Referrals for the Senior Outreach Program are accepted from friends or family members, churches, home health agencies and community partners. Self referrals are also encouraged.
What are the first steps to signing up?
To begin the process of arranging for the in-home visiting service, a Catholic Social Services social worker will make an initial home visit to personally explain the program, assess the need for assistance, and confirm eligibility. Families and individuals served will be asked to verify that they agree to have a visitor in their home, sign a wavier of liability and provide information necessary for quality service. The information shared is kept confidential.
Who are the people making the visits?
The Senior Outreach Program relies on volunteers who are willing to give the gift of time. Volunteers are expected to successfully complete an orientation program and provide an hour or more a week to offer companionship and support to an isolated senior and/or the caregiver. A volunteer is asked to make a 12-month commitment once a match is made with a specific senior.
Orientation sessions and background checks are arranged through Catholic Social Services. Anyone failing the background check cannot become a volunteer. Approved volunteers receive oversight and support from a social worker from Catholic Social Services.
SAFE Counseling
From the moment of birth, when a baby struggles to find the first breaths of life, the people and the environment surrounding the child are important to his or her survival. When a child’s birth or early developmental experiences are filled with problems, behavioral issues can arise and begin to magnify as the child grows. A child who has endured trauma may develop an attachment disorder. Children who have been abused or neglected and/or had multiple foster care placements prior to adoption are particularly “at risk” of developing attachment and bonding difficulties.
Conventional parenting, standard school discipline or traditional outpatient therapy are often less than effective for “hard-to-reach” children with an attachment disorder. These children and their families need help, and it is available through Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley’s SAFE Counseling program.
SAFE Counseling is designed to treat children and to educate parents of children who exhibit signs of an attachment disorder. SAFE Counseling offers help to parents of children who have serious issues that seem unsolvable.
Attachment therapy is an integrated treatment approach that uses elements of cognitive-behavioral, object relations, family and psychodynamic therapies to facilitate child-parent bonding and to measure feedback. In conjunction with these therapies, holding therapy is used to establish a safe place with safe people in which the child can safely talk about and experience the painful issues of the past.
The program seeks to jump start the attachment cycle aborted as the result of the child’s earlier trauma. SAFE believes it is essential to break through barriers of trauma before a child can develop healthy interpersonal relations built on trust. SAFE counseling aims to begin the attachment and healing process for the child and the adoptive or current family.
Teen Parents Learn
Teen Parents Learn can help you stay in school while you’re pregnant. find services & resources for a healthy pregnancy. return to school after your baby is born. balance the demands of going to school and being a parent. graduate from high school and get your diploma. learn to take care of your child...and yourself. become a terrific parent.
Teen Parents Learn is designed to help young parents complete high school and graduate with their diplomas. We work with pregnant and parenting teens who are still in school, as well as with those who left school as teen parents and are now ready to work toward high school graduation.
Our Family Life Coaches provide these young moms and dads with parenting education as well as the skills and support they need to stay in school and/or complete their high school education. We provide support as they overcome obstacles and become successful parents, while encouraging them to graduate.
This program is funded in part by United Way of the Greater Dayton Area
The Teen Parents Learn program launched in the summer of 2017 through a collaboration among Catholic Social Services, Lifestages Centers for Women, the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, LifeSkills High School, and the Montgomery County Educational Service Center. As part of Montgomery County’s priority for improving graduation rates for teen parents, our program goals include increasing student attendance rates in school, decreasing school dropout rates, and reclaiming youth who drop out of school because of challenges related to pregnancy or parenting.
Eckerle Administration Center
922 West Riverview Avenue
Dayton, OH 45402
(937) 223-7217 or (800) 300-2937
General email: cssmv@cssmv.org