ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners on Thursday eliminated a program aimed at enhancing the well-being of children and families that officials described as “expensive,” “inefficient” and “underfunded.”
The Family and Children First Council, a board comprised of more than 10 elected officials and social workers, cost $162,000 to run between 2022 and 2024, according to Peter Stefaniuk, director of Ashland County Jobs and Family Services.Â
But only $21,000 went out to clients, Stefaniuk said, estimating the program served one client per month on average.
Stefaniuk said JFS injected $75,000 into the program during that time, and it only received a $15,000 annual subsidy from the state, before that allocation was bumped to $30,000.
“So it’s massively underfunded and inefficient,” he said.
The council’s function was to coordinate existing services for families and children. But David Ashley, superintendent of the Ashland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said the FCFC has not had any referrals since July 1. (That’s when ACBDD became the program’s administrator.)
“And there were no referrals prior to that,” he said.
Referrals are still being made, Stefaniuk said. They’re just being referred to other programs and services in JFS or OhioRISE, a Medicaid-based program that offers youth with complex behavioral health needs.
Ashland County commissioner Denny Bittle assured, “No one is falling through the cracks.”
‘We tried to eliminate it’
The FCFC program started through an executive order from Gov. George Voinovich in 1991. The aim was to streamline and coordinate state and local services for children and families.
Legislators codified it into law in 1993, mandating the establishment of local county Family and Children First Councils (FCFCs) to coordinate services at the local level.Â
Since then, Ashland’s FCFC became a “hot potato” in terms of which agency served as the administrator of services, said Ashland County commissioner Mike Welch.
At one point it was the Ashland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, then the Ashland County Mental Health and Recovery Board, then the Ashland County Jobs and Family Services Department.Â
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners even served as the administrative agency at one point, said Welch.
“We tried to eliminate it,” he said. Welch said the efforts failed when the state threatened to withhold grant funds.
Eliminating local FCFCs became possible through the passage of House Bill 96, the state’s main operating budget. The bill amended the law mandating counties to establish FCFCs by making it optional.
Bittle praised his colleague, Jim Justice, for working with state legislators to make FCFCs optional.
Justice thanked Stefaniuk for leading him through the “long, arduous journey.” He also thanked state Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and state Sen. Mark Romachuk. He called them the “champions” behind the amendment.