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Director warns of placement crisis as Clermont County's children's-services levy falls short of placement costs
Summary
Dorothy Meyer told commissioners that placement shortages and rising out-of-county care have driven child-placement costs far above levy revenue, projecting multi-million-dollar shortfalls and potential cuts to preventive programs if levy funding lapses.
Dorothy Meyer, director of the Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services, told the Board of County Commissioners on June 17 that the county faces a placement crisis in its Children's Protective Services (CPS) program and significant funding pressure if the county's children's-services levy is not renewed or increased. Meyer said the county has a legal duty to investigate abuse and neglect and to place any child who cannot safely remain at home.
Meyer laid out placement cost data and operational strains, saying the county's average group-home cost is about $538 per day and the average residential-treatment cost about $626 per day, with the average placement lasting roughly 17.2 months. She told commissioners many needed placements are out of county or out of state, creating travel burdens for caseworkers and higher bills for specialized psychiatric residential treatment.
———"When we have a child removed because of safety issues, the minimum amount of time that case is going to be going on is probably a year," Meyer said. "We have to place them and pay for those placements; it's not a choice under the law."
Meyer said the current effective millage for the voter-approved children's levy (originally approved in 2006) brings in just over $3.6 million, while projected child-placement-related costs for 2026 exceed $9 million, creating a roughly $6 million gap. She described three options for the commission: a straight renewal (roughly the same revenue), a renewal plus a two-mill increase (estimated to generate a little more than $5 million), or allowing the levy to expire and running a new levy on the November ballot (estimated at about $5.6 million). Meyer cautioned that, without renewal, CPS adjusted cash balances could be exhausted within a year and even a renewal without an increase would only delay depletion.
Meyer also warned of knock-on effects if non-mandated preventive programs are cut to fund placements, saying reductions in family-strengthening services would likely increase removals and generate more demand on courts, law enforcement and schools.
During public comment that followed, Batavia Township resident Julie Toiver criticized community inaction, saying, "My granddaughter is a victim of all of this mess... Shame on all of society." Joseph Wagner urged the board to restore longer public comment periods and called for more responsiveness to residents.
Meyer and county budget staff said the CPS fund projection included the assumption that the levy renewal passes; even with that assumption, the fund balance projection for 2027 is negative without additional adjustments. County staff plan to keep educating voters about what levy money pays for and will bring levy-structure options back to the board as timelines for the ballot approach.
