Officials expect a unique partnership between Lucas County Children Services and the sheriff's Drug Abuse Response Team will better serve families with addiction.

Children services announced Tuesday it would soon hire a certified law enforcement officer to join the drug unit. The new position comes with a greater push for treatment, helping parents overcome addiction, and helping them keep their children. Executive Director Robin Reese and Sheriff John Tharp discussed the collaboration during a news conference at the agency's downtown office.

Case workers report an increase in cases with parents using opioids. These are more serious situations and bring a greater risk of harm for children, Ms. Reese said. Fifty-five percent of cases that children services opened during the first half of this year involved substance abuse. Of those, 57 percent included heroin or opioids.

“We have found that, in this crisis, in this epidemic, there is no one good answer. We seek to collaborate with as many folks as possible to fight this epidemic,” Ms. Reese said.

Ms. Reese said the drug unit has succeeded in diverting people toward treatment and then following their progress. Case workers share this goal as well, she said.

“They're literally holding the hands of these families as they work their way through the addiction cycle,” she said.

This partnership is the first of its kind in Ohio, and possibly the only one nationwide, Ms. Reese said.

Sheriff Tharp said the team, which already partners with many area agencies, now has another connection with children services.

“They will work with families. They will work with the children,” Sheriff Tharp said.

The sheriff added he hopes this coordination helps reduce parents' drug use and keeps children with their families. Maintaining sobriety cuts into property crime rates as well, he said.

With this hire, the drug unit grows to about 23 members. The Ohio Attorney General's Office recently provided a renewable grant of $122,000 each year for team counselors, Sheriff Tharp said.

“They are the experts that are actually talking people into treatment and going with them. Day in, day out, they respond,” he said.

Contact Ryan Dunn at rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @RDunnBlade.

First Published October 17, 2017, 3:16 p.m.