P.A.C.T. MEETS WITH TREASURER … Following a productive informational meeting, Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague posed for a picture with his staff and the members of P.A.C.T. at the East Annex conference room where they met. From left to right, Katie Zartman, Rachel Sostoi, Alex Montgomery, Robert Sprague, Tom Kochert, Brian Davis, Fred Lord, Karen Gallagher, Pat McCauley and September Coyne. (PHOTO BY REBECCA MILLER, STAFF)
By: Rebecca Miller
The State of Ohio Treasurer, Robert Sprague, along with some of his staff, drove to Williams County on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, to meet with the group called Protecting All Children Taskforce.
Williams County Commissioner Brian Davis led the meeting, welcoming Sprague and all in attendance, who included Sprague’s Special Assistant Alex Montgomery, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs September Coyne, Northwest Ohio Liason Pat McCauley, WC Sheriff Tom Kochert, Judge Karen Gallagher, Judge Rachel Sostoi, Job and Family Services Director Fred Lord, and Prosecutor Katie Zartman, as well as the media.
The Taskforce members shared what P.A.C.T. is about, so that Sprague and team could understand what their goal is and how the treasurer’s department can help. It came up a little over a year ago and involves all the different groups that protect children, having an open dialogue.
Judge Gallagher said that the group is young so experiencing growing pains and are facing issues that are caused by lack of funding.
She informed Sprague that the group came about in response to the realization that if all of the entities in the county that work with children were to work together, they would be more effective.
“Communication and collaboration help things go better,” she said. Since the group has formed, with the above members meeting to determine the needs, they have met with all of the Chiefs of Police and the mayors of each town. They are now in the process of meeting with all of the schools.
Commissioner Davis shared that the perception of what Job and Family Services does and has the power to do, is mostly negative.
He and Director Lord have a desire to help people know what they really do and that they do not have the amount of authority that people seem to think they do.
Lord added, “We provide a service that no one asks for and so people are not always happy with the outcome.” Davis and Gallagher both spoke of “a big divide previously, and new players coming into the county leadership has been a driving force in the formation of P.A.C.T.”
In response to a question as to how Covid has affected foster care, he was told that it is down from around 60 in Foster Care a few years ago, to around 20 now. This is not totally because of Covid, but is because the process is more efficient now and the desire to keep children with people they know.
Engaging in practices that “keep kids in their homes, working with the courts to approach crisis in different ways, and using the model of Family and Children First” have really helped bring that number down. Family and Children First (FCF) has been around for about 20 years, but plugging in and using it more effectively is more recent for the groups in Williams County.
Davis brought up that “FCF has been a poorly funded initiative, around $20,000 used mostly for respite care as we want to keep the families together. Sometimes families have five different groups helping them and FCF helps them put it all together and streamline it.”
Judge Gallagher stated that Truancy is a huge issue and is not just about not going to school. “ All the issues involved in that make us extremely busy, holding in person hearings on the half hour.
So busy! JFS, parents, delinquencies and truancy, and other issues, all together and money is needed to fund it. Families are dealing with drugs and mental health, and we need ways to evolve getting the whole family heathy.”
Judge Sostoi said that she echos the need to “take a step back and look at all these aspects from a different point of view.”
She informed them that one specific case worker is building entire family trees to find kinship placements for children, and this is very successful.
It is believed strongly that if a child goes to live with someone they know, it is healthier for them. It is running more smoothly with the process of planning ahead more thoroughly.
Zartman informed Sprague that there has been a huge increase in felony cases, and that presently she has fifty cases ready to go with most of those concerning drugs and domestic violence.
During COVID, the departments were shut down that normally keep people coming in for drug testing and accountability. “Heroin, Crystal meth and Fentanyl are destroying lives.”
“We couldn’t have the probation staff going out and Zoom just doesn’t work for a family in trauma. Our hands have been tied for months. Even being out of school for months put the children in more jeopardy because it took the other eyes off them that were helping to protect them.
It was easier for people to lie on Zoom and so we were deceived as to what was truly happening in homes.”
Lord inserted that the case workers from JFS were still out in the homes during covid, and many of them have been threatened. He was glad to say that none of them got infected with COVID during the past year as they did it “as smart as possible,” but it has been extremely hard on them mentally and emotionally.
Sheriff Kochert shared how they now have a deputy who is employed by the Sheriff but works for Director Lord with JFS, for security at the building and to go with Case Workers as needed.
“JFS is very complex and must be dealt with case by case,” Kochert said, “and then enter law enforcement and it makes it even more complicated,” so being in step with each other has helped immensely with having them on the same page.
Concerning the Sheriff’s Department specifically, Sprague asked if Covid has caused stress for them. Kochert shared that the placement of two criminal detective positions and a Narcotics deputy has helped.
The presence of fentanyl has been disconcerting and he is trying to step up training for the deputies to be able to protect themselves in the filed. He is glad to be involved with PACT and thinks that the communication of all of them together is going to make their jobs better.
Davis mentioned that the amount of transportation to and from CCNO has plummeted and zoom interviews has “gone ridiculous.”
Many of the area courts are still not having in court sessions, but Williams County courts have been for at least 4-6 months already. That has helped immensely.
When asked if there are any happy outcomes in the county, Sostoi said that the success rate has improved, with all of the resources available. The money needed for adoptions is outrageous, but the county gives $450,000 toward child placement each year.
Mr. Sprague then asked Coyne to speak about the new program called Family Forward that was developed by his department, which he sees as “a new tool in the toolkit for families who want to adopt or have other needs for the children they are adopting.”
She shared a synopsis of the following information which is in flyer form: This program “aims to ease the financial burden placed on families seeking to adopt.
Today in Ohio, prospective parents navigating the adoption process face costs ranging from $10,000 to over $50,000.
These skyrocketing costs come at a time when the rate of children entering foster care sits at an historic high. …legislation is being introduced to establish the Family Forward linked deposit program. …for qualified adoption expenses up to $50,000….Prospective parents work with an eligible lending institution to apply for a loan through Family Forward.
Once the loan is approved, the Treasurer’s office deposits funds with the lending institution at a below market rate. The lending institution then passes the interest savings on to the borrowers via a reduced interest rate. … reduced interest rate will mirror similar rates made possible through the Ohio Treasurer’s existing linked deposit loan programs (Ag-LINK, GrowNOW, ReEnergize Ohio). …The loan operates as a line of credit for a period of five years, with an option to extend for another five.”
This program will be launched later this year and even though it does not pay for full adoptions, it will help families save money while adopting.
‘What other ways could we help you,” Sprague asked the PACT members. Sheriff Kochert explained a great need to help the senior adults who are still living alone and are fine, but seem confused enough to be calling the Sheriff’s Department about frightening things that “are not there.”
He hopes that they can get some funding for some way to provide some type of monitoring of them so they feel safer. “We want them to be safe and to know they are safe,” he said, clarifying that the department is not bothered by the calls, just concerned for the citizens.
The deputies continue to always go and check on anything to give the seniors peace of mind.
Sprague shared about another pilot program called Results Ohio in which good ideas in the private sector are encouraged to run for two years, with philanthropic funding. If they are successful, the county can then buy it back, returning the money to the philanthropic group who can then fund another idea.
No money is spent by the state or the commissioners unless a program is absolutely successful. Successful programs can also be seen and recommended to be used in other counties, spreading the word and stopping the need to “reinvent the wheel” all over the state.
Zartman brought up the need for Victims Assistance funding, which is indirectly related to children’s services. She explained that the Federal Government provided for it since the 90’s, but have had huge cuts that have trickled down to the state.
Their fiscal year starts in October and this past one, all agencies were cut about a third. Victims Assistance programs will be down more than 50% after another 1/3 cut which is coming. “We are already struggling to meet the demands,” she said, “The Case load has increased over the past few years.”
“As a state, the economy is booming in almost all sectors, so revenues are extremely strong,” Sprague said, so he will have Coyne check into that as a legislative issue.
Judge Gallagher asked that they please continue to fund JFS as they have in the past and Lord added that “Traditionally Child welfare has been underfunded, but during DeWine’s administration it has been well funded. All the money we get allows us to be innovative in some ways, but it also ties our hands in some ways.”
He expressed his concern that someone at state level will think they have plenty of money, when actually the monies they receive are tied to specific actions.
The meeting was one hour long and all seemed to think it was productive, thanking each other for the opportunity to meet and share their thoughts.
Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
