A little over a week after the first Health and Human Services hearing, the Department finished its budget hearing process with its second day in front of Cuyahoga County Council. To complete the Department of Health and Human Service budget hearing process, the Offices of Homeless Services, Early Childhood/Invest in Children, and Re-Rentry and the Family and Children First Council appeared before County Council. In addition to the remaining HHS Offices and Council that presented, the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County also presented its budget to County Council.
While Director Merriman was present to help program directors as needed, he did not present to the committee as he did during the department’s first hearing. During the first hearing he covered the Department’s four strategic considerations, shared total recommended appropriation levels for the Health and Human Service Levy fund, and reiterated the sentiment shared by County Executive Ronayne at the budget’s introduction that this was a tough budget, and tough budgets require tough decisions to be made.
Homeless services budget cut by nearly $5 million each year
Director LeVine Ross provided the budget overview for the Office of Homeless Services. The recommended budget supports expenditures of $17.2 million for 2026 and $18.0 million for 2027. This level of expenditure will provide $4.9 million less for 2026 and $4.1 million less than the mid-year 2025 estimates but is consistent with 2024 spending levels.
This expenditure reduction includes reduced spending on contracts, programs, and subsidies within the Office. This includes reductions to Homeless Contract Monitoring, Northpoint, Journey Center-Rapid Rehousing, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Frontline Coordinated Entry, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Coordinated Entry Expansion, Mary & Joseph’s Home, Family Promise – Rapid Rehousing, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Women Overflow, and more homeless needs.
These cuts total $1.5 million for 2026, but the Director noted that the certain organizations—the bolded ones—will be supplemented with Coordinated Entry grants that the Office received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Office is hearing from HUD that there is a possibility that the County’s federal Continuum of Care funding could be reduced to only 30% of what it is currently receiving.
The Director closed out her remarks by noting that federal uncertainty has trickled down to uncertainty within the office. As an example, the Office is hearing from HUD that there is a possibility that the County’s federal Continuum of Care funding could be reduced to only 30% of what it is currently receiving. The other example that is causing uncertainty is Executive Orders, specifically the Executive Order entitled Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets, which provides a heavy emphasis on mandatory mental health and treatment services for homeless individuals. Requiring individuals seeking shelter to undergo mandatory treatment is not something the County is currently doing and contributes to the uncertainty as the Office awaits further instructions from the federal government, which is actively shutdown.
Early Childhood/Invest in Children includes cuts to nonprofits and libraries
Interim Director Alyssa Swiatek, who is filling in while the Directory of the Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children is out on leave, provided the Office’s budget testimony. The recommended budget would provide $17.0 million in 2026 and $16.9 million in 2027 for the Office. This is $1.1 million less for 2026 and $1.2 million less for 2027 compared to the mid-year 2025 estimates.
This reduction includes cuts to many contracts held with nonprofit organizations and libraries in the community. These cuts reflect a $1.8 million reduction in 2026 and a $2.0 million reduction in 2027. Interim Director Swiatek reported that the three main strategic considerations for the Office when approaching the budget were the Office’s Strategic Plan that illustrates where the office is moving towards, the workforce challenges for early childhood professionals that developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not gone away, and the impact of federal and state funding and policy changes across the childhood system.
Family and Children First Council reflects services consolidation as well as reductions
Director Robin Martin presented the Family and Children First Council’s budget and reported that the recommended budget provides $4.8 million in 2026 and 2027. This is $0.7 million less in 2026 and $0.8 million in 2027 compared to the mid-year 2025 estimates.
This reduction is the result of state funding for service coordination decreasing as kids receive care through OhioRISE, a reduction in Youth Development programming, and cuts to the Council’s contracts with local organizations to the tune of $0.6 million in 2026 and $0.7 million in 2027. This is all partially offset by working to generate more revenue by providing Child Adolescent Needs & Strengths Assessments for the County’s Division of Children & Family Services.
Re-Entry budget keeps core programing but postpones new initiatives
Director Simeon Best was present to provide an overview of the Office of Re-Entry’s budget to County Council. Director Best said that the recommended budget would provide $1.8 million in 2026 and $1.9 million for 2027, which is $0.8 million less for 2026 and 2027 compared to the mid-year 2025 estimates.
The Director noted that the Office will keep all core programing and that the reductions largely reflect the postponement of new initiatives such as the expansion of grief counseling, justice housing, and the implementation of the re-entry greenbelt project.
ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County loses $10 million over two years
Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer Felicia Harrison presented the budget for the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County. Prior to getting into the budget numbers, Interim CEO Harrison provided a highlight of the work the Board does, the reach of the Board, and the challenges that are still ahead. Before getting into the budget numbers, Interim CEO Harrison highlighted the work the Board does, its reach, and the challenges that are still ahead. She noted that in 2024, the ADAMHS Board served over 200,000 individuals and that it is currently on pace to serve a similar number of individuals this year.
In 2024, the ADAMHS Board served over 200,000 individuals and that it is currently on pace to serve a similar number of individuals this year.
Additionally, she noticed that the County is seeing higher levels of crisis and need upon first encounter with services, increased mental health and especially youth mental health need, and social acceptance for seeking help growing. She also noted that there has been a dramatic increase in alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines, and polydrug use, which has been leading to stress on the system. She did highlight that fentanyl fatalities have been decreasing because of the harm reduction efforts of the community.
She indicated that the recommended budget would provide $37.0 million for 2026 and $36.5 million for 2027, which is $4.0 million less in 2026 and $4.5 million less in 2027 compared to the 2025 appropriation. She noted that the county’s decrease in funding comes at a time when funding from federal and state governments is also decreasing.
To account for and still provide the best care possible, the Board plans to use cash balances and reduce allocations to provider agencies by 20%. While she did not go into detail as to the impact this reduction will have on the provider agencies, she did note that at the end of 2026 the Board is projecting a year-end balance of $42,007.
Insight into possible budget changes
While not noted under each agency’s budget summary, it is important to note that Council Vice President Conwell inquired with each director if the cuts to contracts where specific, deliberate cuts or if they were across the board cuts experienced by all recipients. The Directors responded in one of two ways. Either:
- They were cut across the board, or
- The cuts included some budget “rightsizing” to match prior year spending and then across the board cuts were implemented.
Looking ahead
While the Department of Health and Human Services has finished its budget hearings, the Cuyahoga County safety net still has one more organization that needs to appear before Council, The MetroHealth System. The MetroHealth System’s budget hearing will take place on November 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. The Center for Community Solutions will continue to report on the health and human service provisions of the budget and advocate for a strong safety net for Cuyahoga County’s residents.
