In June 2025, Jody Walker stood in front of Ohio lawmakers at a senate finance committee meeting in Columbus. As the head of South Central Ohio Job and Family Services, he was desperate for help.
“I have been a county director since 1999, yet I have not seen such a challenging time in the child welfare system as I do today,” he said, “specifically in terms of the needs of our children.”
His agency, which oversees three rural counties in southern Ohio, frequently saw children sleeping at the organization’s office because they had no other safe place to go…