Ohio lawmakers introduce bill to standardize foster care placement rates

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — State lawmakers are taking notice of the rising cost of foster care in Ohio, which they say is pushing some counties to the financial breaking point. 

Representatives Justin Pizzulli (R-Scioto County) and Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland) have introduced House Bill 984, which would require the Department of Children and Youth (DCY) to establish reasonable rates for how much a county must pay to place a child in foster care. They believe setting those standard rates would at least help counties manage their costs and make sure they can keep children safe without falling into financial crisis. 

According to Brewer, there were more than 14,000 Ohio youth in foster care in 2025, and since 2020 the cost of foster services has gone up by 68 percent, even as the number of children in foster care has declined. 

Pizzulli said the Siders Family case in Vinton County has revealed the extent of the crisis. The cost of placing the 16 Siders children in foster care threatened to bankrupt Vinton County before the state stepped in with $1 million in aid. 

“I don’t want to wait for another county to reach a breaking point,” Pizzulli said. “We have to make sure every child has a safe place to go, we have to make sure the system is there for tomorrow and we have an obligation to protect these children and we have an obligation to make sure the system that we build to protect them is financially sustainable for the future.”

While counties are responsible for paying those costs, they have little insight or control over how they are determined. According to Tammy Moore Morton, director of Scioto County Job and Family Services, foster care providers can increase rates based on the acute needs of a child or on a child’s previous behavior in foster settings. 

 
“Where the system breaks down is when we inevitably face whether we can afford to do what is in the best interests of the child,” Morton said. “And while that should never be a question any children’s service agency has to ask, it is sadly something we have to consider in the current system.”

Scioto County Commissioner Scottie Powell said a lot of counties that can’t afford the rising placement costs end up having to either cut essential services elsewhere, fill the gaps with property taxes, or take fewer kids into foster care—and none of those are viable, long-term options. Powell said while smaller counties like Scioto are the first to face the brunt of this crisis, it will soon reach the whole state. 

“Rates can and will go up because there are no guardrails to prevent it,” Powell said. 

Under H.B. 984, DCY would develop standard foster care rates with input both from county children’s services agencies and with the providers themselves. “This is not a matter of counties vs providers. Our providers are essential for protecting Ohio’s children,” Brewer said. “We are trying to create reasonable guardrails, not barriers to appropriate care.” 

Pizzulli acknowledged that foster care providers are also dealing with staff shortages, higher wages and other rising costs, but, “if taxpayers are ultimately responsible for paying these bills then there needs to be a rationale and a transparent process for determining what those bills should look like.” 

Last month, DCY’s legislative director Bryan Stout told lawmakers the Department had struggled to develop a statewide foster care rate card in part because providers had not volunteered enough useful data. Stout suggested if necessary, the state could compel more transparency from providers by leveraging licensures or payments.