Council hears pleas to restore homeless and child-protection funding as HHS budget hearings begin

Cuyahoga County Council began its 2026–2027 budget hearings Oct. 23 with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) outlining proposed cuts and agency directors warning of consequences for vulnerable residents. Public commenters urged council members to restore funds for Frontline Service’s Northpointe Transitional Housing Program and the Canopy Child Advocacy Center’s child protection team.

Corey Taylor, chief executive officer of Frontline Service, told the council, “I’m urging you to protect the full funding 2026 and ’27 for the Northpointe Transitional Housing Program.” Taylor said the program “provides housing and employment services” and cited figures he said were for 2024: Northpointe “provided housing and employment services for 250 individuals, including 113 young adults.” Shawna Gurley, Frontline Service’s director of emergency housing services, described an aging building on Superior Avenue and asked the council to “continue funding to rebuilding the Northpointe program.”

Jennifer Johnson, executive director of Canopy Child Advocacy Center, and other speakers also urged sustained support for a recently established child protection team that coordinates hospitals, child-welfare professionals and law enforcement. “These are not statistics. These are children in our own community,” Johnson said, asking council members to “continue to stand with us to ensure that no child in Cuyahoga County is left without expert care and protection they deserve.” David Crampton, a member of the County Division of Child and Family Service Advisory Board, also urged full support of the child protection team and recounted a local case he said showed the team’s role in rapid assessment and placement.

Director David Merriman, presenting the HHS…