Despite an increase, voters Tuesday approved Issue 10, the Hamilton County's Children's Services levy.
The new levy is expected to generate approximately $117 million per year and cost about $121 per $100,000 of home value. The existing levy, which expires at the end of this year, costs approximately $82 per $100,000 of home value.
While the levy is an increase, it won't provide all the funding needed to pay for the state-mandated services Job and Family Services must provide. A committee that reviews all county levies has determined Job and Family Services needs the levy to generate $144 million annually to continue to provide base-level, mandated services. County commissioners, however, worried taxpayers would balk at increase such a levy would require — $157 per $100,000 of home value. They approved running a smaller request and say they'll work with Job and Family Services to make spending cuts and find additional funding sources.
The agency has already made $36 million in reductions to help deal with a budget shortfall created by a rising number of kids in the system, and increased costs of care. It's also reviewing levels of care to ensure they're balanced.
Other cost-saving measures underway include: looking for changes to the intake model; placing more children in kinship care rather than traditional foster care or residential homes; maximizing reimbursements; identifying non-mandated services; and lobbying state leaders to provide more support.
The Children's Services levy funds state-mandated services including foster care, treatment and prevention programs for abused and/or neglected children, case management, and more. Job and Family Services reports 13,252 children relied on services last year. The agency says about 80% of services it provides are required by the state. If the levy fails, Hamilton County would have to pay for those services out of the General Fund.
Here's a list of services from the Job and Family Services website:
- Child abuse and neglect investigations
- 24/7 crisis response and hotline (241-KIDS)
- Emergency support and safe placement for children removed from unsafe environments
- Case management, family reunification
- Kinship support to help relatives caring for children removed from unsafe homes
- Foster care and adoption
- Behavioral health services for children — many with increasing and complex needs
- Support for older teens aging out of foster care to prevent homelessness and instability
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