Stark County Children Services levy passes, will provide funds for child placements

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Stark County Children Services levy passes, will provide funds for child placements

A replacement levy for

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 has passed in unofficial primary results.

Jerry Coleman, director of

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, celebrated the levy’s apparent victory.

“I feel very grateful to every person who came out to vote to support this levy, support us in our mission,” he said. “It’s only through the support of the community that we can do this.”

With the levy’s passage, Coleman said, the agency will continue its work to provide for the most vulnerable children in the county.

He promised the agency will continue to be diligent in spending tax dollars.

“We know that it’s only through the support of the community that we can do this,” Coleman said. “As we always have been, we continue to pledge to be good stewards of the resources that our community entrusts us with.”

With 100% of precincts reporting, 62% of voters were in support of the levy and 38% were opposed.

The five-year, 1.4-mill replacement levy saw strong support throughout the night and held its lead as results were reported.

The levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $49 per year in taxes and generate $18,733,000 per year.

The majority of levy funds will support placements of abused, neglected and delinquent children in the county’s care.

In recent years, child placement costs have jumped significantly. Costs for group home placements have gone up 75% in the area since the last levy was passed in 2019, and costs for residential placements have gone up 62%.

Levy funds will go primarily towards those increased costs, while also supporting other efforts of Children Services. Those efforts include kinship placements, short-term placements and other expenses for children, such as medical expenses and clothing purchases.

Canton voters share their support for Children Services levy

Voters at the Edward “Peel” Coleman Community Center in Canton shared their opinions on the levy after casting their ballots Tuesday afternoon.

Lisa Carpenter, a 54-year-old Canton resident, said she voted in favor of the Children Services levy.

“We need these services for kids,” she said. “We need to make sure these kids are safe, have good homes and good schools and good environment in the home, and they can’t do that without money to help them along.”

Angela Williams, 53, a warehouse associate from the Canton area, also voted in favor of Issue 3.

“Anything to help the kids, I’m for it,” she said.

Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or *****@*****.tld. Follow her on X 

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Canton Repository Staff Writer Janson McNair contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Repository:

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