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Medina County JFS reports higher SNAP error rate, START program nears national certification
Summary
Job & Family Services Director Debbie Kiley told commissioners that state SNAP reviews showed an increase in error rate from near 6% to 8% for December cases; the division is using corrective review processes and aims to reduce errors ahead of potential fiscal penalties. She also said the county’s START program is nearing national certification after nearly seven years of development.
Job & Family Services Director Debbie Kiley told the Medina County commissioners on April 28 that the state has initiated multiple review processes for SNAP and related programs and that Medina County has been participating in the "find and fix" reviews that return cases for local correction without fiscal penalty.
Kiley said six cases had been referred to Medina County under the state's "find and fix" process; only one case contained a $4 error. She noted other reviews underway — the Payment Error Review (PER), Management Evaluation (ME) and Quality Control reviews — and warned that the state's SNAP error rate rose from near 6% in November to 8% for December cases. "If penalties were calculated today, the exposure would be significant," she said, and the division is focused on reducing that rate before the October 2027 effective date for fiscal penalties.
Kiley also reported that the Child Protective Services division's START program (Sobriety Treatment and Reducing Trauma) is nearing national certification after almost seven years of work. START pairs a caseworker with a peer mentor who has lived recovery experience; the model is designed to guide families through recovery while keeping children safely in the home when feasible. Kiley described the certification effort as "Herculean" and credited collaboration with partner agency Hope Recovery.
The board approved fund-transfer resolutions that authorize intra‑agency transfers for PCSA administration and for CSEA administration and RMS expenditures. County leadership and the JFS director said they will continue corrective work to reduce error rates and preserve timely benefit authorizations.
