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Big Brothers Big Sisters warns TANF cut will leave more than 1,000 Ohio children without mentors
Summary
Big Brothers Big Sisters told the Senate Finance Committee the program has created hundreds of mentoring relationships with $1 million per year in TANF funds and said recent budget cuts would remove that support, leaving more than a thousand children statewide without mentors over the next two years.
Elizabeth Martinex, a representative of Big Brothers Big Sisters, urged the Ohio Senate Finance Committee to restore funding cut from the state budget that has supported mentoring statewide.
"Without these dollars, over a thousand children statewide go without a mentor over the next 2 years," Elizabeth Martinex said, testifying that the nonprofit has used $1,000,000 per fiscal year in TANF funding since 2014 to create more than 500 new mentoring relationships annually.
The nonprofit told senators the DeWine administration included $1,000,000 per fiscal year for Big Brothers Big Sisters in its budget, the Ohio House halved TANF funding for the program, and the Senate Finance Committee later removed the line item entirely. Martinex said the program currently serves more than 6,000 children statewide and has more than 2,000 children on waiting lists.
Martinex framed the appropriations request as an investment, citing research she said comes from Harvard University and the U.S. Department of the Treasury showing positive long-term outcomes for mentored youth. She described mentors’ work as connecting children to additional supports such as food and housing while providing long-term relationships that help academic and social outcomes.
Committee members asked whether programs would close without state funding and whether the central fiscal agent serves affiliates across Ohio. Martinex said the central agency acts as the fiscal agent for 17 affiliates and that a cut to the state TANF allocation would reduce the program’s capacity statewide even if it did not force immediate closure.
Ending: Martinex closed by asking legislators to view the appropriation as an investment in the state’s future and remained available for committee questions.
