ANNUAL REPORT
For Marion County Job & Family Services* Annual Reports, please click on the year below:
Director’s Letter
In 2015, Marion County, like many parts of Ohio, focused resources and attention on what is now termed the opiate epidemic.
In response to this health crisis, I am proud to say that our county mobilized leadership from every sector to put into place a comprehensive recovery network. The network is focused on treatment and is supported by our elected officials, courts, educators, health care community, employer community, faith community, and championed by our ADAMH Board.
Marion County Job & Family Services has been instrumental in furthering the goal of recovery by providing access to health care, and thereby, medicationassisted treatment for opiate addiction. Our Medicaid eligibility staff works closely with local partners to ensure those eligible for Medicaid are able to obtain the services they need as quickly as possible.
Recovery is the goal, however, treatment is a journey. During the journey, the destructive impact of addiction resonates far and wide. It has been evidenced by many of the families served though Job and Family Services this year. As we work with people who are struggling to find or keep a job, purchase food, secure housing, or fully care for their children, the disease of addiction is often a common thread.
Our county’s collective efforts are paying off – people are getting stronger. We are encouraged by many individual successes and will continue to be an essential resource for those we serve.
– Roxane G. Somerlot
Director’s Letter
2014 proved to be a year of unprecedented undertakings and remarkable achievements.
The expansion of Ohio’s Medicaid Program under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) created new opportunities for thousands of Marion residents to gain real access to health care for the first time in history. Our agency was charged with meeting the huge public demand for access to the new Medicaid program while also working through the challenges of learning and implementing new and evolving technology. Ultimately, Marion County led the state in the initial enrollment of newly eligible people. We were uplifted by the many personal stories of how long-awaited medical treatment renewed hope and positively transformed families.
Another notable undertaking was the first “Kicks for Kids” project, which provided school shoes to kids in grades K-12. The positive response from parents, grandparents, teachers, store employees, and community organizations was overwhelming.
It is our responsibility to support the people who seek our services. More importantly, it is our privilege to be able to see the results of our efforts when we wait at the doctor’s office, stand in line at the grocery store, attend a graduation ceremony, send someone off to a new job, or see a child looking down at their new shoes while walking to school. 2014 was challenging… and it was great.
– Roxane G. Somerlot
Director’s Letter
2013 marked a year of continued and promising partnerships for Marion County Job & Family Services. We foster communication and cooperation within our organization and with other community partners to establish an effective network of resources for people in need.
Our employees have met the challenge of serving the expanding number of people who depend upon us in new and better ways.
Our partnership strategies have resulted in a number of innovative advantages for our
citizenry including:
- Enhanced access to eligibility services (Collabor8 Shared Services Call Center)
- Expedited linkage to employment and work supports for families (OhioMeansJobs/OhioWorks Integration Project)
- Expanded community employment opportunities for youth (Goodwill Industries, Inc. Summer Youth Employment Project)
- Year-round work/study options for community school students (Rushmore Community School Job Program)
As the Director of Marion County Job & Family Services, I am privileged to lead and support the work of exceptional staff. I am also fortunate to serve with local elected officials and professional peers who are forward thinking, supportive and dedicated to our collective purpose of strengthening our community.
– Roxane G. Somerlot
