Ohio Children's Trust Fund

The Ohio Children's Trust Fund (OCTF) was created by the Legislature in 1984 to maintain a focus on preventing child abuse/neglect, and to serve as a vehicle for distributing funding to support primary and secondary prevention programs throughout Ohio. The Mission of the Ohio Children's Trust Fund is to take a leadership role and be a catalyst in preventing child abuse and neglect in Ohio.

Trust Fund revenues come from surcharges on birth & death certificates and from fees on divorce & dissolution filings. State Fiscal Year 2004 total allocations to counties were $ 3.8 million. Allocation amounts are calculated based on each county's percentage of the state population of children (birth - 18). Annual allocations to counties range from $15,000 - $438,989 with Stark County's allocation being $110,000. Since 1986, The Children's Trust Fund has distributed more than $50 million to support programs/ services in Ohio.

The County Commissioners may either appoint individuals who represent the mandated child-serving systems or designate the Family & Children First Council to administer OCTF funds at the county level. The Stark County Family Council has the responsibility for assessing local prevention needs and selecting providers that will receive funds to address those needs.

Programs funded for state fiscal year 2005-06 are as follows:

Canton City Schools - Family Life program
Domestic Violence
FACES of Stark County
Families First
Sandy Valley Schools

For more information contact:
Carol Lichtenwalter at the Stark County Family Council
(330) 455-1225 ext. 304 or Carol@starkfamilycouncil.org.

Committee Chair Person – Richard DeHeer,
Stark County Family Court Administrator
(330) 451-7413 or rgdeheer@co.stark.oh.us

To view further information about the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund, visit the state web site at: http://jfs.ohio.gov/OCTF/