Its no secret the opioid epidemic has hit our community. But that issue reaches farther than the substance abusers. The people around them are also deeply affected. Unfortunately, children are most often on the front lines of this fight. When the rubber hits the road and children are removed from a home and taken into the county custody the bill begins to grow.
Did you know Ohio is the 50th in the nation for state investment in children service? That’s over 4x lower than the national average. Even if the state doubled their funding today we’d still be in 50th place.
As of 2016 foster care costs increased 20%, by $5 million, due to more children in care and their intense needs- which is sending agencies into significant deficit.
Locally Knox County Children Services has 121 (As of Oct 12,2018) children in county custody. (that number was only 29 in 1998)
In 2017, yearly placements costs for those children totaled $2.6 million. (The same issue in 1998 was only $260,000)
Today 75% of the open children services cases are drug involved.
The Knox County Children Services has a levy on the ballot this November. Refer to these graphics for more information. Please support our children! Invest in children services!
#ExchangeStrong Knox County Children Services Levy
