Hamilton County Job and Family Services

If approved, the levy would cost approximately $121 per $100,000 of home value.

The board will vote next week on a levy option. The one certainty is the levy will not fully pay for all the services Job and Family Services is mandated to provide.

On Cincinnati Edition's weekly news review, local journalists join us to talk about the big stories from recent days.

Hamilton County Commissioners are considering a new levy to support Children's Services. Supporters are encouraging the board to put a 6.57 mill levy on the November ballot.

We talk with Hamilton County Job and Family Services and the Juvenile Court Judge about efforts to find homes for children in foster care.

The existing levy generates $81 million per year. The Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee finds $144 million is needed just to continue paying for services Job & Family Services is mandated to provide.

Board members have been hearing about the solvency of the levy fund for months.

Inflation, increased programs and costs, and the end of some federal funding have combined to draw down the levy fund.

The director of Jobs and Family Services says the voter-approved levy can't keep up with rising costs.

The decision to cut these extra benefits was made at the federal level, and Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece says cutting these extra funds was a mistake that comes at the wrong time.