Job and Family Services in ‘Catch-22’

By Mike Ford, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Friday, January 30, 2009 (1 year, 1 month ago)
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Record numbers of people throughout the state are unemployed. So many Ohioans have filed unemployment claims, the state’s computer system recently crashed and federal dollars were needed to keep checks in the mail.
The overload has also caused a sharp rise in foot traffic at each county Job and Family Services office. Each handles its county’s applications for food stamps, financial assistance and more. They also operate a job-search facility known as the One Stop.
For JFS employees, this is the worst time for the state to enforce budget cuts that result in the loss of caseworkers. All JFS offices were inflicted with a 4.75 percent cut last fall, followed by another 5.75 percent cut in December. The Allen County office is severely understaffed, making life very stressful for the caseworkers lucky enough to not be in line at the One Stop.
“Because of the cuts, we have a hiring freeze. We’ve cut seven caseworkers in our income maintenance, which determines eligibility for food stamps and Medicaid. We have not been able to refill those positions, so we’re really hurting in the numbers of cases our caseworkers have to process,” said Allen County JFS Director Lynn Shock.
December statistics show a statewide jobless rate of 7.8 percent. Allen County sits at 9 percent but Van Wert County is at 9.9 percent — the worst in the 9-county region.
James Beard directs the Van Wert County JFS office and has been very fortunate to keep each caseworker on his payroll.
“The staff are working extremely hard. Their case loads have increased tremendously. So many individuals are coming in and if they do not qualify, they’re not real happy. The staff are taking a lot of extra time and, in all honesty, a lot of grief. They are very understanding, though, because they know what people are going through. We’re all in this together and I commend them for all they’re doing,” he said.
Leaders of all publicly-funded agencies are “holding their breath,” hoping additional cuts are not needed. Beard is no exception.
“We’re holding on but with the economy as it is, we’re keeping a close eye on things. Down the road, we may not be able to offer the extent of assistance we’re used to if we take another budget cut. Our applications have increased tremendously and we have so many people in the One Stop, we had to add space to accommodate them. Unfortunately, the economy really makes our ‘business’ thrive,” he said.
The Van Wert office has cut a variety of extra services it used to provide, from a winter clothing drive for children to YMCA subsidies.
“We’re no longer able to do those extra things for the community but other than that, we’re sustaining at the moment,” Beard added.
Fortunately, the JFS office in Putnam County has not had to lay off any employees, despite a 7.7 percent jobless rate in the county.
“We have seen a gradual rise in applications and our unemployment rate has been steady. Fortunately, we haven’t had to lay anybody off and I don’t anticipate having to do that through the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. We’ve avoided layoffs by not filling positions when someone has retired. We have at least one person, maybe two, retiring shortly and we may only fill one of those positions, reducing it to part-time,” Director Kim Diamond said.
The Tri-County’s manufacturing sector is the source for much of the region’s job loss. Shock says it’s down but not knocked out.
“There might be opportunities in the medical industry; I believe there is still some availability there. I think that’s about our biggest hope right now,” she said. “Manufacturing is hurting but I don’t think it’s dead in this area. The economy is bad, so that industry may not be hiring right now but it will come back.”