In a year of huge financial challenges, the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services managed to forge ahead to help improve the lives of many county residents. Here is a recap of some of the major happenings of 2008: 

Economic downturn – The weakening economy forced the agency to make major cuts at a time when demand for services such as food stamps and cash assistance had increased. More than $28 million was cut from the budget, including staff layoffs and contract eliminations. In 2007, the agency had $115.6 million to run the organization. In 2011, it is projected that the agency will have $72 million – a 40-percent drop. Facing a $7.6-million gap in the budget that begins in January 2009, the agency instituted a hiring freeze, reduced overtime and began laying off employees. At the same time, the number of people applying for food stamps and cash assistance increased by more than 10 percent.

SACWIS -- The agency implemented Ohio’s State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), a comprehensive, state-of-the-art system designed to improve management of child welfare cases. Hamilton County joined 78 other counties in SACWIS, which allows counties throughout the state to share information on child welfare cases. Hamilton County was one of the first metro counties to convert to the new system designed to greatly enhance ability to protect and serve Hamilton County’s children.

Everyday Heroes campaign – Community leaders and stakeholders launched the Everyday Heroes campaign to recruit new foster parents. The campaign featured TV, radio, billboard and bus advertisements as well as grassroots community outreach. The collaborative included Hamilton County Commissioners, the Hamilton County Department  Job and Family Services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Northlich, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Foster Child Enrichment Council and eight of the region’s private foster care providers. 

Library initiative – Thanks to a partnership between the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, clients can drop off paperwork at 41 library branches. Library staff fax verification documents (Social Security cards, birth certificates, marriage and divorce decrees, etc.) to the agency, saving clients time and money.  

Windstorm assistance – The agency helped more than 30,000 people who lost food or endured other challenges during a September windstorm caused by Hurricane Ike. More than 7,600 families and disabled or elderly residents got $100 or $50 Kroger gift cards under an emergency program. Another 23,000 applications for replacement food stamps were processed. 

New process for serving clients  -- In an effort to improve customer service, most applicants for Medicaid, food stamps and Ohio Works First (OWF) cash assistance no longer needed to schedule appointments with the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services. Instead, they went to 222 E. Central Parkway -- where they were served on a first-come, first-served basis. Food stamp and cash assistance clients no longer had specific workers assigned to their individual cases. Instead their cases were managed by a group of eligibility technicians. Changes such as new employment or home address were reported to a call center or through the agency's Web site.

Web site improvement  -- The Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services completed a major upgrade of its Web site (www.hcjfs.org). The refurbished site included online forms where agency customers could ask questions about their cases -- and submit address, income, household size and other changes. It featured videos explaining agency services, chat areas for discussing topics of interest to agency customers, podcasts, RSS feeds and other technology for keeping the public up-to-date. About 25,000 individuals visited the Web site monthly to conduct business, learn about services and research topics. 

Seek Work -- Under the new Seek Work program, unemployed or “under-employed” people with child support obligations were ordered to participate in job training and placement services. Those who didn’t appear and/or participate faced administrative actions such as license suspension and maybe even contempt of court. The county ordered unemployed child support obligors to the Super Jobs Center, 1916 Central Parkway. Super Jobs offered job leads and referrals, access to computers, fax machines and copiers, one-on-one career counseling, workshops and financial assistance for training.

Child Support performance -- Hamilton County Child Support, a division of the county's Department of Job and Family Services, showed improvement in all four major performance categories in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, including: (1) Establishment of Paternity -- 80.82 percent (first time achieving the federal benchmark, up from 76.69 percent previous year); (2) Establishment of Support -- 69.67 percent (68.51 percent, previous year); (3) Collection of Current Support -- 65.66 percent (65.58 percent, previous year); (4) Collection of Past Due Support -- 66.16 percent (64.29 percent, previous year)  Due to the progress, Hamilton County Child Support no longer operates under a Work Improvement Program.  

Connect2Success -- Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services joined Cincinnati State and other community partners to target 700 area dropouts for wraparound services that will help them gain an education and much more. Connect2Success arose out of a proposal, jointly introduced in 2007 by Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper, to identify and personally contact area high school dropouts and facilitate their re-enrollment in an educational program of their choosing. Students will remain in the program, until they obtain their high school diploma or equivalent degree. Connect2Success will also help students find and retain employment; gain job readiness skills; secure connections to apprenticeships, training, or post-secondary connections; and secure a range of services customized to address barriers such as ex-offender status or disabilities. 

Kids in School Rule – The Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services and Cincinnati Public Schools started a 3-year pilot project to help foster children excel in school.  The program, called Kids in School Rule, includes a number of steps to help foster kids overcome serious issues related to family disruptions and frequent moves. At least 100 students in 22 Cincinnati Public Schools – elementary through high school – participated in the project. Organizers said they know of no other program of its type in the country. 

Early Learning Express -- Hamilton County Child Care, a division of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, teamed with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and 4C for Children to help preschoolers with Early Learning Express. The program will help in-home child care providers improve the readiness of children for kindergarten.  

Pathways to Pregnancy -- The pathway toward healthy births began for more than a hundred moms in neighborhoods hit hard by high infant mortality rates. Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services joined four community partners in the Pathway Pregnancy Program of Greater Cincinnati. HCJFS, TriHealth Parish Nurse, Cincinnati Health Department, Santa Maria Community Services and Healthy Moms & Babes started working intensively with low-income pregnant women in 17 Hamilton County neighborhoods.

Strategic Plan -- A consulting firm, Management Partners Inc., of Cincinnati, helped the agency develop a strategic plan to guide the organization for the next three years. The planning process included a Virtual Open House for the community, a survey of staff and discussions among agency managers.