Page 12 - ONCAC - Community Assessment Report 2020

Additional insights from the PCSAO factbook, align closely with what has been seen across service providers. Table 5 shows that while referral rates are fairly evenly distributed across ages 17 or younger with an increased rate as the age of the child decreases. The issue of aging out youth is evident as those over 18 are seldom identified. The more subtle potential implication in the data is that as youth get older the rate of identification of potential abuse decreases. This may be due to reduced interaction with trained mandated reporters or biased sensitivity to abuse indicators as children get older.
With the majority of referrals to CAC services coming from children’s services this rate of referral ultimately has a significant role to play. Throughout this Community Assessment we will look at larger population trends and characteristics in Ohio. These insights will ultimately help us as service providers be more responsive and adaptive to the needs of the communities we serve. At the same time it is important to understand how these pathways of referral via our partners impacts our own access and engagement with Ohio’s children and their families. We invite all of our partners to join us in this community assessment with the goal that together we scan all work together to ensure that all children have access to the full array of high-quality services they need.
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