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Clermont County children’s‑services leaders ask commissioners to seek a renewal plus 2% after rising placement costs
Summary
County Department of Job and Family Services’ children’s services leaders reported a statewide placement crisis, rising placement costs and a 2024 placement deficit; they recommended running a renewal levy with a 2% increase to mitigate but not eliminate projected deficits.
Dorothy "Dottie" Meyer, director of the Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services, presented the county’s children’s protective services funding outlook on May 21 and urged the commissioners to allow the agency to seek a levy renewal with a modest increase.
Meyer said Ohio law requires counties to maintain local public children’s services agencies and described the work the county performs: investigating reports of abuse, neglect and dependency; providing family‑strengthening services; supporting reunification where possible; and finding permanent placements when reunification is not feasible. Meyer noted the agency’s fiscal director (Tim, fiscal director) and the county’s children’s services director Anne Gross were present to answer technical questions.
Meyer reported that in 2024 the agency investigated 1,332 allegations of abuse, neglect or dependency; 71 children were removed under emergency procedures and 87 children were placed in safer environments as a result of investigations. She said the agency currently has approximately 188 children in out‑of‑home care (a figure that changes daily) and works with more than 400 children per month when including children who remain with family or guardians.
On funding, Meyer described the revenue mix: roughly 45% state funding, about 25% federal funding, and the remainder from a local levy. The existing levy was originally approved as 0.8 mills in 2006; due to rising property values the effective rate has fallen to 0.46 mills, reducing relative revenue. Over the life of the current levy, Meyer said placement costs rose by 63 percent and the county faced a placement deficit of $1,365,000 in 2024.
Meyer said the county faces a statewide placement shortage that pushes children into private residential or out‑of‑county placements that are substantially more expensive than local foster‑home placements. The county’s projected placement cost for 2025, based on early‑year trends, exceeds $5.6 million.
Meyer presented three levy options and their fiscal impacts: a status‑quo renewal (no change), a renewal plus a 2% increase (would raise about $1.3 million and cost roughly $7 per $100,000 of assessed value), a replacement levy (roughly $1.9 million additional; ~$11.67 per $100,000), and a replacement plus 2% increase (about $3.3 million additional; ~$18.67 per $100,000). Meyer recommended seeking a renewal plus a 2% increase; she said that would mitigate but not eliminate the projected placement deficit and would allow the agency to adapt programming and use reserves to manage remaining shortfalls.
Commissioners asked for clarifications: how many children are placed out of state (Meyer said about four or five in psychiatric residential treatment facilities), how interstate placements are handled (ICPC), and whether pilot treatment foster‑care programs with neighboring counties could reduce residential placements. Meyer said the county is engaged in a pilot with Butler and Montgomery counties to create treatment foster homes for higher‑need 10‑ to 13‑year‑olds to reduce group‑home placements.
No motion to place a levy on the ballot was made at the meeting; Meyer requested commissioners’ permission to proceed with planning for a renewal plus 2% increase. Commissioners thanked the staff and asked for follow‑up financial modeling and details to support any ballot proposal.
