Angel Brock

STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County Educational Service Center has added personnel to assist young people

Angel Brock, a licensed professional clinical counselor, was named as one of two community liaisons through a Family and Community Partnership Liaison Grant through the Ohio Department of Education. JCESC has received a total of $270,000 through two two-year grants, the first of which was given during the 2020-21 school year to create a position currently held by Jennifer Agresta, who also serves as assistant principal at Harding Middle School. Brock was added through an allocation for the 2023-24 term and will work with Agresta to provide a network of community resources for youth and families in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is based at the Jefferson County Alternative Center in Steubenville and began her role in August.

“The focus of the grant is for children involved in the legal system, not necessarily those in juvenile court but also foster care,” Brock said. “We’ll be working with the court system. The liaison is to help link these services so schools are connected to community resources.”

The program impacts children who face absenteeism to foster care, those who have been affected by the justice system in some form and implements Every Student Succeeds Act requirements for students also experiencing homelessness, adjudication, who are English learners, have parents in the military, have disabilities and who are migrants. Brock and Agresta interact with school districts and such organizations as Children’s Services and the Friendship Room.

Brock received her undergraduate degree from Robert Morris University, earning a bachelor’s in business administration in industrial psychology. She went on to receive her master’s degree in clinical counseling from Franciscan University of Steubenville and obtained her licensure. She served as dean at the Ohio Valley College of Technology for four years and also taught at Eastern Gateway Community College, Grand Canyon University and OVCT before becoming a behavioral health coordinator for Trinity Health System. Brock then went into private practice and also has performed psychological evaluations for people entering nursing facilities.

She now works with youth in a different capacity by helping schools address mental health needs and trains educators on facets of behavioral health, and her task connects to the new OhioRISE initiative by signing off on safety plans for the children they serve. JCESC was designated as one of 20 regional providers for Ohio Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence, a specialized Medicaid managed-care system for children and youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs and Aetna Better Health of Ohio is the managed-care partner for the program. The initiative went live July 1 and JCESC serves an eight-county region including Jefferson, Belmont, Harrison, Carroll, Columbiana, Monroe, Tuscarawas and Stark with facilities in Steubenville and Canton.

Brock said she has been enjoying her new experience.

“I love the people. I’m going to work with people with crisis treatment plans for children through the ESC and will sign off on clinical plans,’ Brock explained. “I do see an extreme need for services for everyone, especially children.”

Agresta said she and Brock will continue to support youth so they receive the care they deserve.

“We will connect schools, families and youth to community resources and local systems of care. Since its implementation, we have worked with schools to give them resources for students and families returning to school after being placed in the justice system,” she continued. “We give the resources to the school districts, and they use them on an as-needed basis for students. This grant covers all students under the ESC’s umbrella and each ESC in the state has a liaison. I am excited to continue the work with the ESC and Angel. I feel that we are making a difference in students’ lives.”