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Big Brothers Big Sisters warns TANF cut would leave more than 1,000 Ohio children without mentors
Summary
Witnesses told the Ohio Senate Finance Committee that revisions to House Bill 96 that remove TANF support for Big Brothers Big Sisters would cost the program capacity and keep more than 1,000 children from receiving mentors over two years.
Elizabeth Martinex, representing Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates in Ohio, told the Senate Finance Committee that the organization has relied on $1 million per fiscal year in TANF funds since 2014 and that the loss of those dollars in the current deliberations would sharply reduce the program’s reach.
“Without these dollars, over a thousand children statewide go without a mentor over the next 2 years,” Martinex said during testimony. She told senators the DeWine administration included $1,000,000 per fiscal year for the program in the executive budget, the House cut that funding by half, and the Senate finance committee version removed it entirely.
The nut graf: committee testimony framed the funding as largely supporting mentoring relationships that organizers say produce long‑term benefits for youth and communities and as a relatively small targeted TANF allocation that statewide affiliates use to recruit and match volunteer mentors.
Martinex said Big Brothers Big Sisters’ statewide network — with 17 affiliates and the Central Ohio agency serving as a fiscal agent — currently serves about 6,000 Ohio children and maintains waiting lists of more than 2,000. She told senators the program’s TANF allocation has produced “more than 500 new mentoring relationships annually” and that research ties mentoring to higher college attendance and lifetime earnings.
Senators questioned scope and program continuity. Senator Chavez asked whether the program would “completely shut down” without state funding; Martinex answered that programming would not stop but “would not be able to reach the capacity that we need” and emphasized statewide waiting lists. Senator Ingram asked about the fiscal agent role; Martinex confirmed the Central Ohio agency functions as a fiscal agent and that cuts would affect affiliates across the state.
The testimony did not include a formal motion or committee vote. It was part of the public witness record on substitute House Bill 96 and was presented as an appeal to restore or retain the previously proposed TANF line item.
The committee also heard advocates asking legislators to consider the statewide, multi‑affiliate distribution of any TANF allocation so funds reach county‑level programs, and to weigh the research cited by the witness when deciding whether to restore funding in conference or amendment negotiations.
Ending: Big Brothers Big Sisters asked senators to restore the TANF line in the budget text so the group can continue matching volunteers with children on waiting lists; no statutory or budget action was recorded during the hearing.
