{"id":25751,"date":"2026-05-06T15:26:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=25751"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:28:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:28:45","slug":"lucas-county-children-services-lccs-launches-county-wide-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/lucas-county-children-services-lccs-launches-county-wide-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) Launches County-Wide Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25752 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-300x162.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Interview with Executive Director, Randall Muth, J.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Dr. Linda Alvarado-Arce<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(TOLEDO, OH &#8211; April 30, 2026) \u2013 Lucas County Children Services, the county agency responsible for promoting the stability and well-being of the county&#8217;s children and families, has launched a community-wide survey, the results of which will be used to inform changes in the agency&#8217;s practices and procedures. The goal of the survey is to bring agency operations into closer alignment with community needs, particularly in the areas of family stability, explains Randall Muth, J.D., executive director. &#8220;Families today face greater challenges than even a decade ago, with the Covid pandemic, the rise in substance abuse and economic hardships leaving a lasting impact on families&#8217; ability to achieve stability and protect their children from abuse and neglect,&#8221; he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are two purposes for which we&#8217;re doing the survey and doing it at this particular time,\u201d said Muth.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>first<\/em> is that we really want to hear the feedback from the community. We want to know what their thoughts are on the effectiveness of the services we provide, and their level of satisfaction. The <em>second<\/em> reason is that there has been a Lucas County Children&#8217;s Services Task Force that was formed, and they&#8217;ve been working for about a year to help us align our services with the expectations of the community. We anticipate their recommendations coming out in a couple months.<\/p>\n<p>To encourage candid participation, all responses will be collected and managed exclusively by the Sylvania-based independent consulting firm Mays &amp; Associates.<\/p>\n<p>Individual responses will remain confidential and will not be released to the agency. LCCS will receive only summarized findings and themes to help guide improvements, strengthen accountability, and ensure our work reflects community expectations and lived experiences. Potential participants will be contacted by using email, postal mail, digital advertising, social media and other tools to reach a pool of respondents that is representative of Lucas County&#8217;s population. Additionally, it will be made available through multiple outreach channels, including email, postal mail, digital advertising, social media, and other engagement methods, to help ensure a respondent pool that reflects the diversity and demographics of Lucas County\u2019s population.<\/p>\n<p>According to Muth, \u201cthe percentage of self-identified Latinos\/Hispanics involved with LCCS is about 12% of the calls that we receive from the community.\u201d Ohio\u2019s Hispanic population is roughly 4.2% and Toledo\u2019s Hispanic population is 9.1%. \u201cThe African American population is overrepresented by almost double. African Americans make up about 21 to 22% of the population of Lucas County. Yet the community makes about 44% of the referrals. So, it&#8217;s a disparity index is about 2 people, depending on the month, with respect to Hispanic, it&#8217;s 1.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All county residents are welcome to participate in the survey, which is available in English and Spanish at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/LCCSPerceptionsSurvey\">https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/LCCSPerceptionsSurvey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFamilies do not have to fear that LCCS will call immigration enforcement agencies,\u201d according to Muth. \u201cWe don&#8217;t make citizenship determinations. We serve families, regardless of their status.\u201d When asked if LCCS works with ICE, Muth said, \u201cNo.\u201d When asked, \u201cWhat would happen if a school had a child they couldn\u2019t drop off to their home or didn\u2019t get picked up because the parents were detained? Muth said, \u201cThe school would have to call Children Services, and we would receive care and control of the child. And then we would treat that child like we would treat any other family member, any other case, we would look for appropriate relatives. Here, we would work with the parents, we could contact them. If not, we have a lot of software that can help us find relatives. If that doesn&#8217;t work, then we would contact and work with the school to find the child&#8217;s natural supports\u201d and or pre-existing relationships, which \u201ccould be a bus driver, could be a teacher, could be a school crossing guard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, according to Muth, \u201cwe would 1st identify, preferably, a relative, if not, a kinship, kinship means preexisting relationship. But it wouldn&#8217;t just stop with identifying. We have an entire department that supports a relative or kinship placement, financially, emotionally, and with anything that they need. If they need a computer, we can provide that. If they, need clothing for the child, immediate needs, we do that, because we believe strongly that children need to be with relatives or with somebody that they have a pre-existing relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The mission of Lucas County Children Services is to lead the community in the protection of children at risk of abuse and neglect. This is accomplished by working with families, service providers and community members to assess risk and coordinate community-based services resulting in safe, stable, and permanent families for children.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Los Servicios Infantiles del Condado de Lucas (LCCS) Lanzan una Encuesta a Nivel de Condado <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Entrevista con el director ejecutivo, Randall Muth, J.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Por la Dra. Linda Alvarado-Arce<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(TOLEDO, OH &#8211; 30 de abril de 2026) \u2013 Los Servicios Infantiles del Condado de Lucas, la agencia responsable de promover la estabilidad y el bienestar de los ni\u00f1os y familias del condado, han lanzado una encuesta a nivel comunitario. Resultados se utilizar\u00e1n para informar cambios en las pr\u00e1cticas y procedimientos de la agencia. El objetivo de la encuesta es alinear las operaciones de la agencia con las necesidades de la comunidad, especialmente en las \u00e1reas de estabilidad familiar, explica Randall Muth, J.D., director ejecutivo. &#8220;Las familias hoy enfrentan desaf\u00edos mayores que incluso hace una d\u00e9cada, con la pandemia de Covid, el aumento del abuso de sustancias y las dificultades econ\u00f3micas dejando un impacto duradero en la capacidad de las familias para lograr estabilidad y proteger a sus hijos del abuso y la negligencia.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hay dos prop\u00f3sitos para los que estamos haciendo la encuesta y la estamos haciendo en este momento concreto,&#8221; dijo Muth.<\/p>\n<p>La <em>primera<\/em> es que realmente queremos escuchar las respuestas de la comunidad. Queremos saber qu\u00e9 opinan sobre la eficacia de los servicios que ofrecemos y su nivel de satisfacci\u00f3n. La <em>segunda<\/em> raz\u00f3n es que se ha creado un Grupo de Trabajo de Servicios para Ni\u00f1os del Condado de Lucas, y llevan trabajando aproximadamente un a\u00f1o para ayudarnos a alinear nuestros servicios con las expectativas de la comunidad. Prevemos que sus recomendaciones salgan en un par de meses.<\/p>\n<p>Para fomentar la participaci\u00f3n sincera, todas las respuestas ser\u00e1n recopiladas y gestionadas exclusivamente por la consultora independiente de Mays &amp; Associates de Sylvania, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>Las respuestas individuales permanecer\u00e1n confidenciales y no ser\u00e1n divulgadas a la agencia. LCCS recibir\u00e1 \u00fanicamente hallazgos y temas resumidos para ayudar a guiar mejoras, fortalecer la rendici\u00f3n de cuentas y asegurar que nuestro trabajo refleje las expectativas y experiencias vivas de la comunidad. Los posibles participantes ser\u00e1n contactados mediante correo electr\u00f3nico, correo postal, publicidad digital, redes sociales y otras herramientas para llegar a un grupo de encuestados representativo de la poblaci\u00f3n del condado de Lucas. Adem\u00e1s, estar\u00e1 disponible a trav\u00e9s de m\u00faltiples canales de difusi\u00f3n, incluyendo correo electr\u00f3nico, correo postal, publicidad digital, redes sociales y otros m\u00e9todos de interacci\u00f3n, para ayudar a garantizar un grupo de encuestados que refleje la diversidad y la demograf\u00eda de la poblaci\u00f3n del condado de Lucas.<\/p>\n<p>Seg\u00fan Muth, &#8220;el porcentaje de latinos\/hispanos que se identifican como implicados en LCCS es aproximadamente el 12% de las llamadas que recibimos de la comunidad.&#8221; La poblaci\u00f3n hispana de Ohio es aproximadamente del 4,2% y la poblaci\u00f3n hispana de Toledo es del 9,1%. &#8220;La poblaci\u00f3n afroamericana est\u00e1 sobrerrepresentada casi el doble. Los afroamericanos representan entre el 21 y el 22% de la poblaci\u00f3n del condado de Lucas. Sin embargo, la comunidad representa alrededor del 44% de las derivaciones. As\u00ed que, el \u00edndice de disparidad de afroamericanos es de unas 2 personas, dependiendo del mes, respecto a los hispanos, es 1.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Todos los residentes del condado son bienvenidos a participar en la encuesta, que est\u00e1 disponible en ingl\u00e9s y espa\u00f1ol en <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/LCCSPerceptionsSurvey\">https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/LCCSPerceptionsSurvey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Las familias no tienen que temer que LCCS va llame a agencias de control migratorio,&#8221; seg\u00fan Muth. &#8220;No hacemos determinaciones de ciudadan\u00eda. Servimos a las familias, independientemente de su estatus.&#8221; Cuando le preguntaron si LCCS trabaja con ICE, Muth respondi\u00f3: &#8220;No.&#8221; Cuando se le pregunta: &#8220;\u00bfQu\u00e9 pasar\u00eda si un colegio tuviera un ni\u00f1o al que no pudiera dejar en casa o que no recogiera porque los padres fueron detenidos? Muth dijo: &#8220;El colegio tendr\u00eda que llamar a Servicios Infantiles, y recibir\u00edamos el cuidado y control del ni\u00f1o. Y luego tratar\u00edamos a ese ni\u00f1o como tratar\u00edamos a cualquier otro miembro de la familia, en cualquier otro caso, buscar\u00edamos a los familiares adecuados. Aqu\u00ed trabajar\u00edamos con los padres, pod\u00edamos contactar con ellos. Si no, tenemos mucho software que nos ayuda a encontrar familiares. Si eso no funciona, entonces contactar\u00edamos y colaborar\u00edamos con el colegio para encontrar los apoyos naturales del ni\u00f1o&#8221; y\/o relaciones preexistentes, que &#8220;podr\u00edan ser conductor de autob\u00fas, profesor, guardia de paso escolar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As\u00ed que, seg\u00fan Muth, &#8220;identificar\u00edamos primero, preferiblemente, un relativo, si no, un parentesco, parentesco significa relaci\u00f3n preexistente. Pero no se limitar\u00eda solo a identificar. Tenemos todo un departamento que apoya a un familiar o una colocaci\u00f3n de familia, econ\u00f3micamente, emocionalmente y con todo lo que necesiten. Si necesitan un ordenador, podemos proporcionarlo. Si necesitan ropa para el ni\u00f1o, necesidades inmediatas, lo hacemos, porque creemos firmemente que los ni\u00f1os necesitan estar con familiares o con alguien con quien tengan una relaci\u00f3n preexistente.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>La misi\u00f3n de los Servicios para Menores del Condado de Lucas es liderar a la comunidad en la protecci\u00f3n de los ni\u00f1os en riesgo de abuso y negligencia. Esto se logra trabajando con las familias, los proveedores de servicios y los miembros de la comunidad para evaluar riesgos y coordinar los servicios comunitarios que resulten en familias seguras, estables y permanentes para los ni\u00f1os.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interview with Executive Director, Randall Muth, J.D. By Dr. Linda Alvarado-Arce (TOLEDO, OH &#8211; April 30, 2026) \u2013 Lucas County Children Services, the county agency responsible for promoting the stability and well-being of the county&#8217;s children and families, has launched a community-wide survey, the results of which will be used to inform changes in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[310],"class_list":["post-25751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-300x162.jpg",300,162,true],"large":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",640,347,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"rtcl-gallery":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote.jpg",700,379,false],"rtcl-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-320x240.jpg",320,240,true],"rtcl-gallery-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-150x105.jpg",150,105,true],"psacp-medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-500x379.jpg",500,379,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lccs-vote-45x45.jpg",45,45,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"LaPrensa Newspaper","author_link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/author\/laprensa\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/category\/articles\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Articles<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Interview with Executive Director, Randall Muth, J.D. By Dr. Linda Alvarado-Arce (TOLEDO, OH &#8211; April 30, 2026) \u2013 Lucas County Children Services, the county agency responsible for promoting the stability and well-being of the county&#8217;s children and families, has launched a community-wide survey, the results of which will be used to inform changes in the","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25751"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25753,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25751\/revisions\/25753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25751"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=25751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}