CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio — A local nonprofit aimed at helping underserved children will be given $1 million in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds to help families afford basic necessities.
Child Focus serves over 20,000 families across the Cincinnati area. Their services include everything from Head Start education to crisis intervention.
“It's that seed money that so desperately is needed to help families with basic need supports, so that things like rent or a car payment or the tuition costs to get a certification for a job,” said Pamela Lindeman, CEO of Child Focus. “We can handle those things and then help them go on to a strong path for employment and economic mobility. So that's what TANF does.”
We asked Lindeman if she had seen this money help people and make them successful. She said she has.
“Huge, huge, huge success,” Lindeman said. “In fact, we, you know, the first year that we had TANF funding we basically said it's been a game changer. It's been an absolute game changer for families.”
Child Focus said the TANF funds can help strengthen families, keep them together and put them on a strong path for economic mobility.
“So we have $1 million … that will easily serve about 800 individual parents and their families this year,” Lindeman said.
The TANF funds come from House Bill 2, which will give $6.4 million to 15 community projects within Clermont County. Child Focus is the only group receiving TANF funds because they didn’t meet the requirement for the capital funds.
We spoke with Clermont County Commissioner David Painter who said adjustments were made to the budget because the community was committed to the positive results that come from Child Focus.
“They made adjustments to the previous operating budget. Previously, our operating budget was for 2023 and 2024. Within that, there are TANF funds, which are job and family services. Those are funds that are for the operation of job and family service departments throughout the State of Ohio,” said Painter.
