(Photo by Amber Phipps) Signs are posted throughout Marietta to remind the public to vote on the upcoming levy.

A proposed 0.5-mill tax levy is being sought in Washington County to address increased costs for Children Services due to inflation.

If approved by voters on May 6, the levy would raise about $900,000 a year and cost $18 per $100,000 of assessed value.

Early voting began April 9.

“Over the course of the year, we’re going to take care of about 120 to 130 kids which has stayed consistent,” said Flite Freimann, director of Washington County Department of Job and Family Services. “But the average cost to take care of a child has exploded from $59 per day to $122 per day.”

In 2021, children services placement costs were around $2.6 million, an amount that has more than doubled over the course of four fiscal years to $5.6 million in 2025, he said.

The department has 81 kids in care now and 29 of them need additional assistance due to behavioral, mental and emotional issues, Freimann said. Seventeen of those children require therapy as a result of abuse or exposure to fetal alcohol syndrome.

Additional therapy for children can cost anywhere between $300 to $1,000 per session.

“These children didn’t choose their parents,” said Freimann. “They didn’t say ‘Hey, I’d like to be born an addict.'”

Freimann said that since these children weren’t taken care of by their parents, they are the responsibility of the community.

If passed, the levy money would go towards things like adoptions, family reunification, placement costs and therapy.

Washington County Commissioner Charlie Schilling said if the levy does not pass, the county’s general fund would be impacted.

“This is all about taking care of the children,” he said.

Schilling stated that they’ve been advocating to make sure the state of Ohio is being held accountable for funding to provide proper care for society’s most vulnerable.

“Ultimately, we’re going to take care of them, but we’re either going to do this through the levy and we’ll have the money and know what we need to budget around,” Freimann said. “Or we’re going to come in every month to the commissioners and say, ‘These are our costs this month,’ and the entire county would be impacted.”