The Delaware County Board of Commissioners approved a bundle of resolutions to support child-placement services and Family and Children First Council (FCFC) operations, including contract amendments, a maintenance-of-effort transfer for state fiscal year 2026 and grant agreements with Ohio agencies.

Jennifer Watten, business administrator for the Delaware County Department of Job and Family Services, described the packet as including two routine amendments to existing providers and three new contracts that were executed to accommodate emergent placements. "We had 3 pretty emergent placements. This is the only place that would take them that could meet their needs," Watten said, and added that two of those youths have since been moved to other facilities.

The board approved Resolution 25-690 to authorize first and second amendments to child-placement service contracts with providers listed in the resolution, including Champion Life House LLC; Hope for Tomorrow Counseling and Treatment Center; Nutter Center for Empowering Women; ENA Inc.; and Northeast Ohio Adoption Services. The motion passed by voice vote with Commissioners Barb Lewis, Gary Merrill and Jeff Benton voting "aye."

Watten also presented the county's first half of the state fiscal year 2026 maintenance-of-effort transfer for Job and Family Services. She said the state made the contribution mandatory after counties reduced local contributions in prior years and that the transfer amount is an average of the last four calendar years "about $1,100,000," which will fluctuate over time. The board approved Resolution 25-691 to transfer funds.

Additional approved items included a grant agreement between the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Delaware County FCFC for multi-system youth funding (Resolution 25-692), a renewed memorandum of understanding that funds a service coordinator position focused on Olentangy Schools (Resolution 25-693), a pooled-funding MOU to streamline smaller expenditures for families (Resolution 25-694), and a grant agreement (DCYG 2670335) with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to fund FCFC operations (Resolution 25-695). All motions passed by unanimous voice vote.

Watten said the pooled fund has existed in some form for about six years and that the current MOU is the second version; commissioners and staff framed the agreements as operational and intended to keep children in community settings and out of county custody when appropriate.