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Hello Friends,
Fall is in the air! I look forward to this time of year when the temperatures turn a little cooler, the leaves change colors, pumpkin flavored everything abounds, and football season is in full swing. Go Bucks! It’s also the time of year when we begin wrapping up 2024 while planning and goal setting for the year ahead.
In this edition of the JFS e-Link, we are proud to share some of our recent successes including our annual Job Fair that was attended by 146 job seekers and 65 local employers. We celebrate National Adoption Month in November and the 15 children who have been adopted so far this year. Finally, we gear up for our Holiday Donation Drive and provide information on how the community can get involved.
I hope you’ll take a moment to review our newsletter and as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or feedback.
Sincerely,
Corey Clark
Fairfield County Job and Family Services Director
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Make a Wish Come True in 2024 | |
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Children, families, and elderly adults linked with Protective Services this holiday season need our help. The support in previous years from our Fairfield County community has been unbelievable, and we hope to be able to continue that support this year. Protective Services staff will soon begin gathering wish lists from children, families, and elderly adults and we are searching for donors to sponsor them.
Have you thought about providing a donation or sponsoring a child, family, or elderly adult for Christmas? If so, please contact Heather Funk at 740-652-7689 or email at heather.funk@jfs.ohio.gov.
Exciting News: the online Donation Button is back if you are interested in making a monetary donation! You can go to our website at FCJFS.org and click on the “Holiday Donation Drive” tab at the top. This will take you directly to the “Donate here” button. OR CLICK BELOW!
**Please note, there will be a minimal service charge with this transaction.
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Tackle Hunger Food Drive Makes a Difference | |
November is National Adoption Month | |
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Fairfield County Protective Services is excited to celebrate National Adoption Month this November. Since 1999, National Adoption Month is an opportunity to highlight the need for adoptive families across the country, as well as locally. Fairfield County currently has 35 youth in permanent custody, awaiting adoption. To highlight this need, the Fairfield County Board of Commissioners will be passing a proclamation recognizing November as National Adoption Month.
On November 23rd, National Adoption Day will be celebrated, with three youths being adopted by their forever families that morning. This will bring our yearly adoption total to 15, with at least one more planned to be completed before the end of 2024. Throughout the year, we have had adoptions for children from ages 11 months to 16 years old. We have had multiple sets of siblings and even a child adopted by a family who previously adopted his brothers and sister. No two families are the same, but in each case, these adoptions allowed children to become a permanent part of a family who loves and cares for them.
A huge part of the ongoing success of National Adoption Day is the support and collaboration received from Fairfield County Juvenile/Probate Court. Judge Terre Vandervoort and the court staff have long been advocates for permanency for all youth, and they prioritize National Adoption Day as a significant event on the court’s calendar. Magistrate Troy Sitzmann leads the court’s efforts on day of and works with all involved parties to ensure the event is a success. National Adoption Day wouldn’t happen without them!
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The Fairfield County Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) successfully prosecuted a felony dependent nonsupport case on October 1, 2024, in the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas - General Division. The case’s prosecution, led by CSEA Staff Attorney Tyler Fisher, consisted of a full jury trial. A felony jury trial for a dependent nonsupport case is exceedingly rare, as this was the first of its kind since the establishment of the Fairfield County CSEA nearly thirty years ago.
Generally, once ability to pay is established, child support enforcement proceedings largely focus on payment record and past-due balance. These metrics are fairly straightforward and render most cases suitable for an admission of guilt or a settlement agreement. However, no one defendant is the same, and it remains his/her option to request a trial by jury to determine the merits of the case.
Due to its relative novelty, the prospect of a jury trial created a degree of unfamiliarity from a CSEA enforcement perspective. While Fairfield County CSEA attorneys are legally designated “assistant prosecutors” for criminal child support prosecution, the vast majority of a CSEA attorney’s efforts are focused on civil court enforcement techniques that, while sometimes punitive in the short-term, are intended to motivate and drive the further payment of child support. Punitive criminal enforcement via the court system does occur, though largely via misdemeanor filings that still place an emphasis on child support payment generation.
The legal threshold for a felony nonsupport filing generally requires a failure to pay child support as ordered for a period of 26 out of 52 consecutive weeks, and a subsequent conviction carries with it a maximum prison sentence of 12 months, per count. Always cognizant of the fact that an incarcerated individual cannot make consistent and meaningful support payments, the Fairfield County CSEA reserves the felony nonsupport process for cases in which all proactive and rehabilitative efforts have been exhausted and the defendant has made it clear that he/she has no credible intention to comply with the court’s order of support. As a result, a felony nonsupport conviction is primarily intended to serve as a deterrent to the defendant and the public-at-large.
The Fairfield County CSEA owes a special “thank you” to the Fairfield County Prosecutor’s Office for the time and resources allotted to Attorney Fisher throughout his trial preparation process. More specifically, we would like to recognize the efforts of Fairfield County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Balazik for his expertise and willingness to sit “second chair” to Attorney Fisher throughout the trial. This was truly a collaborative, labor-intensive effort and a first for Fairfield County's child support program.
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Community Services Success Story | |
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Mary had recently entered the United States and was living with family members. With little English skills and no employment arranged, Mary applied for benefits after the birth of her child in the summer of 2023. She did not come into the agency for her assessment with her Success Coach in person, as she had hesitation riding agency transportation in a foreign country with someone she could not communicate with in a car with a newborn. Accommodations were made to complete the intake by phone with interpretation.
The next few months consisted of Mary completing her case reviews by phone while she practiced her English at home. Finally, Mary was confident enough to complete her interview in English and she was very proud. Agency transportation was provided, and Mary was ready for a work experience assignment. She applied for Publicly Funded Child Care assistance and was approved. Mary was assigned to complete her work activity assignment at a worksite in her neighborhood with agency transportation provided to take her child to daycare. The worker assisted her in learning the bus route in her area to support her job searching. She attended the work assignment for several months gaining work experience and practicing her English. Mary gained confidence to go out and start looking for employment and was able to gain employment at a local restaurant near her childcare provider. This summer she moved off cash assistance and is now exploring getting her temporary driver’s license.
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Job Fair for Job Seekers and Employers | |
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The Fairfield County Workforce Center hosted the 2024 OhioMeansJobs Fairfield County Job Fair again this year. The Workforce Center is located just north of Lancaster on Coonpath Road in Carroll, OH. Open to the public, the event was perfect for anyone seeking new job opportunities and for employers looking to fill positions.
Held on Oct. 17, the Job Fair featured 65 registered employers and drew almost 150 enthusiastic job seekers. Attendees had the chance to explore a wide range of job openings available in Fairfield County and neighboring areas, with opportunities spanning from manufacturing and skilled trades to healthcare, public service, and education.
Participants enjoyed the unique opportunity to meet many local employers, share their resumes, and even schedule interviews. This direct connection between job seekers and employers proved advantageous for both parties.
Although the Job Fair is an annual event, OhioMeansJobs regularly hosts onsite hiring events for local employers. For more information regarding these events, please call 740-652-7856, visit our OhioMeansJobs office on the third floor of the Fairfield County Government Services Building (JFS), or check out our Facebook page at Fairfield County Job and Family Services.
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