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HAMILTON — An ethics question posed by Butler County Juvenile Court officials has led to a state review of a long-standing practice of using federal dollars to place juveniles who are on probation into group homes and treatment centers.

"The practice is legal," Butler County Juvenile Court Administrator Robert Clevenger said. "What we want to know is whether it is also ethical for court officials to act as both legal officers and child welfare workers."

Butler County raised the question with the Ohio Supreme Court's Ethics Commission in April as the local court prepared to apply for status as a 4E federal entitlement agency.

The designation would bring the local court between $400,000 and $500,000 annually in federal funding

to help sustain current and develop new intervention programs aimed at stopping recidivism among juveniles.

Currently 20 to 25 juvenile courts across Ohio hold 4E status and have drawn millions of dollars in federal money to send children who are on probation into foster care, group homes or residential treatment centers.

In Butler County, the Children Services Board currently holds 4E entitlement status — meaning that delinquent juveniles on probation and in need of placement services are either turned over to the custody of CSB or CSB is ordered to pay the daily cost of the child's placement.

According to Clevenger, both

juvenile court officials and CSB have been working together to resolve some of the problems created with the current situation — among them dual casework management for the social workers assigned to children from the juvenile court system.

"We, as a court, desperately need Title 4E money," said Clevenger, who oversees juvenile probation.

Noting significant budget cuts that have impacted county agencies, Clevenger said juvenile court currently doesn't send children to foster care,

but does, through CSB, use group home and residential treatment facilities when

necessary.

In recent years, the court has been able to provide new programs that enable children to get the intervention services they need while staying in their parental homes.

The programs have been made possible with grant awards from agencies such as the Butler County Family and Children First Council, Department of Jobs and Family Services.

Additionally, the court is working with Lifespan to offer an intensive intervention program for entire families, but needs to come up with $140,000 to fully fund it.

"The Title 4E money would enable us to sustain our probation department, free up Children Services from duties they currently perform for us, and would give us funding to provide new programs and help these children earlier rather than later," Clevenger said.

Clevenger is hoping the state's review is completed by the first of the year, and that no ethical impediments are found.

"We'd like to move forward, but we want to make sure that everything is ethical," Clevenger said. "We know it's legal and it doesn't matter that other counties in Ohio are already doing it. We're responsible to the taxpayers in Butler

County."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2192 or mlolli@coxohio.com.