Levy would support the needs of children in foster care

County looking to pass new 1.5-mill levy
Greier, Mary Ann, SalemNews, Feb. 18, 2008.

Fast Levy Facts
1.5-mill levy
To cover costs for abused, neglected and dependent children in Columbiana County
Will raise $2.1 million per year
If approved, .75-mill levy currently used for services will be discontinued
$27.56 annual cost to owner of $60,000 home;
$45.94 annual cost to owner of $100,000 home

LISBON — There’s a saying that it takes a community to raise a child, but in some cases, the community must shoulder the financial burden of those children in its care.

On March 4, Columbiana County will ask the community for a new 1.5-mill tax levy to cover costs for services to abused, neglected and dependent children in the care of Children Services.

“When a child’s own family cannot or will not care for them, we as a society have said we will take on that responsibility — that comes with a price tag,” county Department of Job and Family Services Director Eileen Dray-Bardon said.

The new five-year levy will generate more than $2.1 million per year. If voters approve, Dray-Bardon said they’ll discontinue the .75-mill levy currently collected for abused, neglected and dependent children.

The current levy generates about $800,000 per year, so the overall gain will be about $1.3 million, if voters approve.

She explained they explored the idea of a replacement levy for the .75 mills being collected, but it would have only garnered an additional $200,000 per year.

“A replacement isn’t going to generate enough additional revenue to carry us through,” she said.

Dray-Bardon noted the money from the levy covers exactly what the ballot language says it covers, “for the purpose of providing food, clothing, shelter, housing, medical care, counseling and other necessary services for abused, neglected and dependent children.”

“All this money is used for the children,” DJFS Business Office Administrator Carol Harvey said.

Dray-Bardon said the levy does not cover salaries except in the case of the workers at the Kyes Group Home in East Palestine, a 24/7 residential home for girls owned by the county and operated by DJFS with a portion of the levy money. The home costs about $200,000 per year to operate, which covers all the salaries, utilities, food, and other costs associated with a household. The staff includes three full-time workers and four part-time workers who oversee the girls living there. The home can hold about 10 girls at a time.

A child can end up the responsibility of Children Services in a number of ways, most commonly through abuse or neglect or through the courts. If an investigation of abuse or neglect warrants it, the agency petitions the court for custody of the child, with the goal always to reunify the child with the family or provide some type of permanence for the child.

In some cases, the child may be involved in the Juvenile Court system and the court will order the agency to take custody. In extreme cases, where a child may be orphaned and no one is available to take the child, then the child becomes dependent on the agency.

Dray-Bardon cited increasing costs for services, an increasing number of children who need counseling and other residential treatment care and a reduced reimbursement from the federal government to cover those costs.

The federal reimbursement covers 60 percent of the cost for a child determined to be 4E eligible, meaning their family’s income levy must be below a certain number. Unfortunately, she said fewer and fewer of the children they serve are 4E eligible because the federal government bases eligibility on 1996 poverty income levels. The income levels are higher now.

According to figures provided by Dray-Bardon and Harvey, 73 percent of the children in their care qualified as 4E eligible in 2001. In 2007, that number dropped to 60 percent.

Of the children in residential treatment, which is the most expensive service they’re required to provide, 70 percent of the children were eligible for the federal reimbursement. That number dropped to 50 percent in 2007.

What that means is that the agency must pay 100 percent of the cost for half of the children in residential care and 40 percent of the cost for the other half. In 2006, the number of children in residential care was 90.

“We’re getting kids with more serious issues and they’re needing more severe treatment,” Dray-Bardon said.

Fox Run Hospital, one of the residential treatment facilities the county uses, charges $316 per day per child. Another facility, Bridgeway, charges $125 per day for both foster care or treatment. Homes for Kids offers foster care for $63 per day, charging $78 per day if treatment is involved. Bair charges $58 per day for foster care and $76 per day for treatment.

With the average stay in residential treatment 90 days, the costs can add up.

Besides the residential treatment facilities, Kyes or other group homes, children can also be placed with foster families, some licensed by the county and others licensed by other counties or private foundations located in the county.

Columbiana County Children Services licenses about 27 families who take in foster children.

Harvey said “people think foster parents make a lot of money,” but that’s not the case.

Foster families licensed by the county receive a per diem of $11 per day per child from birth to 11 years old and $16 per day per child from age 12 to 17 years old. Twice a year, they receive a clothing allowance of $150 per child and they must submit receipts to prove how the money was spent.

Harvey said they always try to place children locally because it’s cheaper for the agency and better for the parents to be able to visit the child.

Dray-Bardon said they try to reduce their costs, but much of it is out of their control. The services have to be provided.

The current levy was first approved in 2000 and renewed in 2004 for five years. It doesn’t expire until 2009, but collections will be stopped if the new levy is approved.