PCSAO is proud that all 85 county children services agencies covering all 88 Ohio counties are dues-paying members –

— and have been for more than five years running. Membership is currently restricted to the agency of county government responsible for children services pursuant to Chapter 5153 of the Ohio Revised Code.

Ohio is one of only nine states in the nation with a state-supervised, county-administered child protection system, meaning that day-to-day responsibility for overseeing this work is a county government function. The Ohio Department of Children and Youth is the state agency responsible for supervising and supporting the work.

There are 85 public children services agencies (PCSAs) in Ohio — one located in each county or, in a few cases, consolidated across two or three counties. Of those 85 PCSAs, 65 are part of a county department of job and family services accountable to elected county commissioners, 18 are standalone children services agencies overseen by a board appointed by county commissioners, and two fall under the purview of a county administrator or executive.

Across the state, 53 counties — covering more than 80 percent of the child population — are supported in part by voter-approved property tax levies. However, Ohio has historically relied more heavily on local dollars to pay the cost of child protection than any other state. Starting in state fiscal year 2020, Ohio significantly increased its investment in children services.

PCSAO works closely with its sister associations that support county human services, including the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association, the Ohio Child Support Professionals Association, and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio.