Governor DeWine Announces $20 Million for Six Child Wellness Campuses to Keep Ohio Children Closer to Home

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine and Director Kara Wente of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) announced on February 12, 2026, that the state is directing $20 million from the operating budget to support six child wellness campuses across Ohio. The funding will create four new campuses and expand two existing ones, aiming to provide short-term, therapeutic care for children and youth with complex needs and reduce out-of-area placements.

“These campuses will address a critical gap in care,” Governor DeWine said in the official announcement. “Too often, children with complex needs are placed far from home simply because the right services aren’t available nearby. The new and expanded child wellness campuses will provide a local, community-based option focused on safety, assessment, healing, and stability.”

The campuses offer immediate, short-term stabilization and assessment for children and youth who lack a safe or appropriate place to stay and are not already in licensed residential care. They serve as an alternative to unlicensed settings such as hotels, shelters, or county agency offices. Services include on-site individual and family therapy, rapid assessments, wraparound team meetings, and coordination with local stakeholders through regional Child Wellness Advisory Committees. Each campus will tailor its capacity to community needs and develop long-term sustainability plans.

The selected organizations and regions are:

• Talbert House Inc., Hamilton County (new)

• Unison Behavioral Health Group, Northwest Ohio (new)

• Safe Opportunity Foster Alliance, Southeast Ohio (expansion)

• Buckeye Ranch Inc., Central Ohio (new)

• Cleveland Christian Home Inc., Cuyahoga County (expansion)

• Champions Bridge, Franklin County (new)

Director Wente emphasized the community focus: “Child wellness campuses are rooted in local communities. This funding helps communities build or expand short-term, therapeutic spaces that support children close to their families, schools, and communities.”

Local Impact in Southern Ohio

For families in Ross County and adjacent counties in southern Ohio, the expansion at Safe Opportunity Foster Alliance in Southeast Ohio (based in Gallipolis, Gallia County) is especially relevant. This project will increase local capacity to serve children with complex behavioral, emotional, or placement needs, helping keep them closer to home rather than in distant facilities. Ross County and neighboring areas (including Pickaway, Fairfield, Hocking, Vinton, Jackson, Pike, and Highland counties) fall within the broader southern and Appalachian regions that have faced documented challenges with foster care and crisis placements. The Southeast Ohio expansion directly addresses those regional gaps.

The initiative stems from ongoing state efforts to resolve placement shortages for children in the custody of children’s services agencies. It was funded through the 2026-2027 state budget in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly.

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