By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - After cutting $4.3 million from its budget, Butler County Children Services is gearing up for a levy campaign critical to its future.

The agency's 2-mill levy that expires at the end of the year will generate $7.7 million of its $17.7 million in revenue this year.

The Children Services Board will decide next week whether to ask voters in November to approve a levy renewal or a levy increase.

"If the levy fails, it will be a legitimate crisis," said Hall Thompson, board chairman.

Agency officials outlined their financial situation to the county commissioners Thursday and asked for their support in passing a levy.

The commissioners commended them for their budget cuts and promised to help any way they can to promote the levy.

But Commissioner Courtney Combs expressed concern about the levy campaign's late start.

"We desperately need to get in gear and get this levy campaign rolling," he said. "The November election is only five months away. Most campaigns like this start a year ahead of time."

In the past three years, Children Services, which protects abused, neglected and dependent children, has been engaged in a major effort to reshape its policies and operations and improve its services.

Jann Heffner, who was hired as executive director last November, has been continuing the reforms. But she's also been grappling with financial problems she inherited.

When she was hired, the Children Services Board believed it had a $5 million surplus.

But after only two days on the job, Heffner learned that most of that surplus would be eaten up by the increased costs of programs, services and the placement of children in foster and residential care. Reductions in federal and state funding also have hurt.

Most of the $4.3 million budget cut will come from moving children from costly out-of-county residential treatment and foster care facilities to in-county foster homes and treatment facilities when possible.

"The costs are substantially lower when the children are kept in the county," Heffner said.

The cutbacks included the layoff of six administrators and three clerical workers. Heffner said that no caseworkers would be laid off, because they provide direct services to children and parents.

Thompson, who had been a bitter critic of Children Services before being appointed to the board, said the agency has improved dramatically in the past three years.

"It's a completely different mindset and culture," he said.

Before the reforms, Children Services had been severely criticized for removing children from their families, placing too many children in out-of-county foster homes and being unresponsive to the public.

The biggest challenge of the levy campaign, Thompson said, will be to make sure the voters know that Children Services is much different from what it was a few years ago.

"There have been massive changes in the agency," he said. "That's what the public needs to know."

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com