Clermont County children's services leaders ask commissioners to place renewal plus 0.2-mil increase on 2025 ballot

Dottie Meyer, director of the Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services, told the Board of County Commissioners on July 16 that rising out-of-home placement costs and declining federal reimbursement make an increased levy necessary to avoid exhausting the department's reserves before the next levy cycle ends.

Meyer said the department is recommending the board place a renewal plus a 0.2-mil increase on the ballot in November 2025. "We would ask, and we're recommending that, the board would consider the renewal plus a 0.2 increase," Meyer said. Under the proposal, the levy would appear on the Nov. 4, 2025 general-election ballot for collection beginning in 2027 and continue through 2031 if approved.

The department told commissioners the current levy cycle ends in 2026 and that the county's existing levy, originally approved as 0.8 mil, is now producing about 0.46 mil. Meyer said a 0.2-mil increase would raise that to roughly 0.66 mil and generate "a little over $1,300,000," which the department projects would help mitigate the projected rise in placement costs over the next levy cycle.

Meyer and Anne Gross, assistant director who oversees the county's child protective services (CPS) division, said placement costs per child and the total number of days in placement have increased statewide. They also said federal reimbursement rates for placements have declined since the COVID-19 pandemic and that the county's reimbursement share has fallen to roughly 20 percent.

Meyer described one cost driver known as a "1-on-1"—a staff member assigned continuously to a single child. She said some providers charge an additional daily fee for 1-on-1 care, sometimes hundreds of dollars per day. "We did not sign a unilateral contract with them because of that," Meyer said, describing a provider that sought to add a $375-per-day 1-on-1 charge to an already high daily placement rate.

Meyer said some high-need placements exceed $1,000 per day, and in a few cases the county places children out of state because of specialized medical or behavioral needs, which raises travel and supervision costs. She said the county conducts monthly site visits, unannounced when necessary, and requires access to children in placement as part of its contracts.

After the presentation, the board voted to add the recommended resolution (No. 10325) to the agenda and then to approve it. The roll-call vote on the resolution was: Commissioner Bachelor, yes; Commissioner David L. Painter, yes; Commissioner Corcoran, no. The resolution directs the county auditor to certify valuation and the estimated revenue from a renewal at 0.8 mil and an increase of 0.2 mil to be placed on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot for collection beginning in 2027, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code sections 5705.24 and 5705.03(B).

Commissioners did not adopt any additional programmatic changes at the July 16 meeting; the board's action was to approve the resolution to place the levy question before voters. Meyer said the department could run the levy in November 2025 or wait for later opportunities (May 2026 or November 2026), but she recommended the November ballot to address the projected reserve shortfalls.

The board's discussion and the vote occurred in public session; the record shows the single dissenting vote by Commissioner Corcoran but does not include further written conditions or amendments to the resolution.