Scioto County Commissioners say they’re stripping the Scioto County Children Services Board of their administrative power for their own good. Commissioner Cathy Coleman said, “I just pray they look at this as us helping them with their burden and not working against them.”
The troubled agency has a projected $2 million shortfall for 2022 and is dealing with the death of the third child in less than three years under the agency’s care.
Commission Chairman Scottie Powell formally introduced a letter at Thursday’s Commissioner’s meeting announcing a complete restructuring of the board. The move would strip the board of all administrative power and move it to what commissioners call “an advisory capacity.”
Powell said the financial and operational responsibilities of the agency would shift to the commissioners and Children Services would “live under” Jobs and Family Services.
Powell said that this was the model across much of Ohio. “When you look at this structure across the state, this work belongs under JFS.” Powell spoke at length about the reasons for the move at Wednesday’s emergency meeting of the Children Services Board.
Commissioner Cathy Coleman said ultimately the decision was made for the best interests of the children in CPS care. She said one thing her late husband, late County Commissioner Doug Coleman, told her “was to run the county like a business. That’s what we must do. Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, the situation that is going on at Children Services is due to the opioid crisis.” The number of children in custody has doubled in the past year to almost 400. Coleman said she expected even more children to come under CPS care. “I’m looking at this as a business decision. It’s a matter of numbers.” Coleman said there was nothing the board could have done about the financial situation.
Commissioner Coleman said she watched last night’s SCCO Board meeting and felt that some members of the board took the decision personally. “We didn’t want to do this, but we have to. We asked them, ‘what is your plan?’ They submitted one, but it’s not really a business plan. It doesn’t tell us how they could put their recommendations to work.”
Coleman said, “If it wasn’t for Commissioner Powell, I don’t know when we would have been told they needed money to cover payroll. He asked them ‘How bad is it? What do you need? In my world, if you didn’t pay your people, you wouldn’t have any people for the next week. Bottom line, it’s a business situation.”
Commissioner Bryan Davis praised board members for their volunteer service. “Giving of their time, spending time away from family. Members like you and me who just want to do the right thing. But because of state-imposed regulations, lack of funding, and an opioid epidemic, and an overwhelming number of kids in protective custody, they can’t do their duty.”
He said his decision was influenced heavily by concern for the board members, “I do not wish to expose any of these professional board members to any more personal heartache.”