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Counties, providers warn of placement crisis; urge careful review of foster‑care rate changes in HB96
Summary
County officials, private providers and child welfare advocates testified that Ohio faces a placement and treatment capacity crisis, urged restoration of proposed funding and asked the Senate to reject a one‑size‑fits‑all foster‑care rate card without a legislator‑led study.
County commissioners, foster‑care providers and the Public Children Services Association of Ohio told the Senate Health Committee that Ohio is in the midst of a placement crisis for children with complex behavioral needs and urged the Senate to preserve funding and adopt careful policy design in House Bill 96.
Jack Everson, president of the Ross County Board of Commissioners, testified for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio that placement costs have surged while available beds have fallen. “Placement costs have increased all across the settings and now have outpaced inflation,” Everson said, noting counties fund nearly three‑quarters of placement costs and that his region has seen steep year‑over‑year increases.
Christina Massey of Buckeye Ranch, a private foster and behavioral health provider, asked the committee to remove statutory language that would let the Department of Children and Youth (DCY) standardize foster care and residential placement rates without further study. Buckeye Ranch urged replacing that statutory change with an amendment (SC0716) to create a legislator‑led study committee to examine cost drivers and contracting practices before statewide standardization.
Jeremy Ratcliffe, a local director and witness from Highland County, told senators that counties cannot refuse placement orders and face opaque per‑diem rates that vary dramatically by jurisdiction. He described cases where providers charge widely different per‑diem rates for similar services and said the proposed policy would bring “consistency and transparency” to rates.
Angela Sasse, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO), said House Bill 96 contains one‑time funding for regional “child wellness campuses” to serve as short‑term crisis stabilization centers. PCSAO urged the Senate to maintain that investment so children will not be forced to stay overnight at county agency offices.
Why it matters: Witnesses said the crisis increases trauma for children, strains county budgets and can force counties to spend large sums for emergency placements. Providers and counties asked the Senate to pair funding with careful policy design rather than a blunt rate card change.
No formal votes were recorded in the hearing on these requests.
