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Knox County Job and Family Services reports 1,600 child-welfare contacts in 2025, warns of rising placement costs
Summary
Knox County Job and Family Services told commissioners it handled roughly 1,600 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2025, completed 520 investigations and now faces steep placement costs ranging from about $23 to $800 per child per day; staff warned a county levy that helps cover placements expires next year.
Knox County Job and Family Services officials reported to the Board of Commissioners on March 19 that the agency handled roughly 1,600 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2025 and completed 520 investigations in the year.
"We took over 1,600 calls for child abuse and neglect just for kids in Knox County," said Danielle Crider, administrator for children services, as she reviewed the office’s 2025 snapshot. Crider said the office received 406 after-hours calls, conducted 520 investigations and had more than 1,500 in-person visits to its service window in 2025.
Crider said the office had 109 unique children placed during 2025 and, as of the presentation, 65 children in county custody across foster, kinship, group and residential settings. "Our placement costs…
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