About

The ADAMHS Board is a standing Member of the Corrections Planning Board of Tuscarawas County (CPB). The CPB is a governmental collaborative authorized to engage in planning and developing services for inmates of the Tuscarawas County Jail and is comprised of local elected officials, the Sheriff, community members and various behavioral health agencies. The CPB also provides oversight and consultation to specialty docket court personnel and programming.

The ADAMHS Board is a proud partner and funder of the Tuscarawas County Child Advocacy Center. Board staff participate on the agency’s multi-disciplinary team (e.g. Prosecutor, law-enforcement, treatment personnel, etc.) which connects children and their families to any behavioral health services and trauma care providers when necessary. The primary goal of the Child Advocacy Center is to ensure that children disclosing abuse are not further victimized by the intervention systems designed to protect them. CAC’s are child-focused, facility-based programs in which representatives from many disciplines work together to conduct interviews and make team decisions on cases of child abuse. CAC models for child abuse intervention are proven and effective, bringing together trained professionals to investigate and provide medical and mental healthcare as well as support to child victims of abuse, while holding offenders accountable through the court system. CAC locations are child-focused and designed to create a sense of safety and security for child victims.

Noah’s Hope | Child Advocacy Center of Tuscarawas County (noahshopecac.org)

The Tuscarawas County Homelessness Continuum of Care – The Tuscarawas County Home Network, or HomeNET, is a private, not-for-profit established with the purpose of addressing and eliminating homelessness in Tuscarawas County. Membership consists of local social services agencies, treatment providers, divisions of county government, and concerned citizens. The group collaborates to develop and promote resources for individuals experiencing homelessness. The ADAMHS Board is a standing member of the continuum and currently holds a position on the Executive Committee. For more information about HomeNET and how to get involved, call Mike Dotts at 330-364-6488.

The ADAMHS Board is a standing member of the Family and Children First Councils (FCFC) of both Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties. The Councils are government agencies authorized and charged by Ohio Revised Code to identify the needs of families and children experiencing issues requiring the intervention of social, behavioral health and judicial systems. There is an FCFC in every county. FCFC identifies the needs of families and children within each County and works together with local agencies and organizations to help bring about solutions. The Council selects certain areas of needs within the County and has written a 4 year detailed plan to focus on the identified needs. The State of Ohio monitors the functions of Council.

The ADAMHS Board has been a participant in the Tuscarawas County Job and Family Services Foster Care Planning Committee since its inception in 2008. Along with other local government entities, treatment providers, and supportive services, the committee focuses on identifying community trends that have led to the disruption of the families and develop a cross-system approach to impact these issues. This has resulted in a steady decline in the number of children placed outside of the home in either foster care or residential placement and more collaborative partnerships across the child and family serving systems of care to maintain children in their homes and with their families.

Often adults with a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) have difficulty maintaining wellness in the community and cycle in and out of psychiatric hospitalizations and/or incarcerations. The community team, comprised of the consumer, an ADAMHS Board staff, the Director of Crisis Services, local treatment providers, the individual’s family or support system work together to develop a plan to help the individual maintain stability in the community, increase support and meaningful activity, and maintain a connection to services. The goal of the Community Team is to collaborate with the consumer to move him or her to a point of wrap around supportive services to independence and overall wellness.

Gateway Housing Opportunities is a private, not-for-profit agency charged with addressing the housing needs of individuals with mental health, substance abuse, and/or developmental disability needs. Gateway currently owns six homes in Carroll County and 1 home in Tuscarawas County. The administrative offices of Gateway are housed at the ADAMHS Board and Gateway currently contracts with the board to provide administrative over-site and property management functions on behalf of the agency. If you have any questions about housing for individuals with disabilities or to inquire about how Gateway may be able to help you or your agency, please contact the ADAMHS Board at 330-364-6488.

The Tuscarawas and Carroll County Anti-Drug Coalitions were developed simultaneously in April of 2011 by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties. Through a grant provided by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, the ADAMHS Board hired a consultant for the purpose of independently facilitating each County’s first comprehensive community substance abuse assessments with the goal of identifying emerging trends in the abuse of alcohol and other drugs within various sectors of the community. The Board and staff worked closely with the consultant to address key elements of the plan including assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The ADAMHS Board also stressed the importance of engaging as many sectors as possible that are represented within the planning framework including: families, service organizations, social services, youth, faith community, businesses, education, media, government, medical services, and law enforcement. A list of contacts and individuals representing each of the sectors were identified by the ADAMHS Board in collaboration with the consultant. A set of questions were developed in order to solicit feedback from these sectors utilizing structured face-to-face interviews for the purpose of obtaining responses to the following questions: 1) What are the key risk factors influencing use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, 2) What barriers exist in the community that prevent solutions and/or promote continued use and abuse, 3) What other protective factors present in individuals and communities that encourage and support drug-free behavior, and 4) What issues should a community-wide initiative first address?

In order to ensure that youth substance abuse was a primary focus of the Coalition, a number of child serving organizations were included in the community assessment phases of each Coalition’s development. These included local school district administrators and guidance counselors, juvenile court judges and their probation departments, child welfare organizations and youth pastors of the faith-based community. Because the ADAMHS Board currently provides financial support to school and community-based prevention programs, feedback from both middle and high school prevention providers was also solicited in the assessment phase of the Coalitions development.

These activities lead to the creation of the Coalitions that have been meeting routinely since their inception in order to reduce substance abuse within the boundaries of Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties.

The mission of Empower Tusc (formerly known as the Tuscarawas County Anti-Drug Coalition) is “To reduce substance abuse by youth and adults of Tuscarawas County and improve the quality of life through community-wide collaboration.”

The Mission of the Carroll County Anti-Drug Coalition is “To promote a safer, healthier future for the residents of Carroll County through education, awareness and outreach. The Coalition will remain steadfast in its pursuit of prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse.”

In accordance with Ohio revised Code Section 2111.52, this board’s purpose is to oversee guardianship services provided to the county’s indigent wards and others who may be in need of a guardian. This board consists of members appointed by the Tuscarawas County Juvenile and Probate Court, Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties. This board was established on June 6, 2022.