The renewal means taxpayers would still pay the $55 to $57 per $100,000 of assessed value they do now.
When the issue was first raised last month Commissioner Don Dixon said he wanted to make sure BCCS gave the question a full vetting since they are dealing with taxpayer dollars. Now he supports the 2-mill request.
“I think it’s very important we give it due consideration because of the timing and the funds coming in and going out,” Dixon said. “They have been very diligent with their spending and we need to give that a hard look but on the face of it I support it.”
Commissioner T.C. Rogers agreed saying “since the last time it was passed, the results of their metrics have been really outstanding and recognized throughout the state.”
Children Services is charged with investigating reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and if necessary removing them from their homes and placing them in foster care or other alternative care. They also continue monitoring them while they are in custody and work to help unify families when possible.
Julie Gilbert, executive Butler County Job and Family Services said their largest cost is for placement and nearly $12 million was budgeted for this year. The agency gets federal funding to help with this expense if the children qualify — there are many factors involved in the funding but income is a big driver — but they have to match funds using levy dollars.
“We are a reimbursable system and our federal dollars are based on our placements,” Gilbert said. “It’s a match, the federal government pays approximately 65% if the child is 4E eligible, and we are still responsible for the remaining placement costs. So our levy supports that match.”
She said roughly 60% of the children are 4E eligible and her agency pays the entire placement cost for those who are not. Those are the core requirements but the agency also has other support programs like Family Preservation.
The agency has a $2.1 million five-year contract with Pressley Ridge for the intensive program — they make home visits with families one to five times per week for counseling and advice — so children can safely stay in their homes instead of moving into the county’s custody.
Retired JFS Executive Director Bill Morrison outsourced the Family Preservation Program in 2016 to Pressley Ridge so the county could bill Medicaid, which was not an option when the program was operated by BCCS social workers.
BCCS uses a combination of funding sources for the program, including Medicaid, the tax levy and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
BCCS Director Shannon Glendon said they try to take advantage of every opportunity to offer services to children and families.
“We accept our responsibility to be good stewards of our resources. While we do leverage other state and federal funds, we rely on the local support to provide services to families and placement for children who cannot remain safely in their own homes. The support from our community both financially and through partnership allows us to continue our work to keep children safe and improve their wellbeing.”
Glendon said on Thursday they had 306 children in agency custody, the average for this year is 328.
The agency recently was awarded $110,576 in performance incentives from the state for excellence in the way it handles foster children and families — recognition fewer than half the counties received. The awards recognize children services agencies in two areas, conducting monthly visits with children and parents and the timeliness of assessments and investigations.
If the levy fails — voters approved the last one by a 71% to 29% margin in 2017 — Gilbert said they are legally required to continue investigations removals, but other services they provide would suffer. They also provide mental health and substance abuse assistance among other wraparound supports.
“It really is the ongoing case management that would be impacted,” she said. “The long term effect of that is if they’re not provided the services necessary to reunify with their children then you’re going to be looking at more long term costs to the agency and the community through placements and possibly adoption subsidies where we may need to request dollars from the general fund.”
About the Author
