Of that 117,00, fewer than 4,000 families ultimately utilized all 36 months of eligibility. The 88 counties deserve tremendous credit for the manner in which the 36 month limit was implemented and for the care that they showed in working with these families. Ohio is reinventing welfare by reinvesting in its communities. Ohio's counties have been given more flexibility than ever before in designing and implementing a service delivery system that addressees the needs of the people they serve. The PRC program focuses on providing people with the help they need to stay off of public assistance and assume personal responsibility.
Counties determine what services to provide and also set eligibility levels.
Individuals do not have to receive cash assistance to qualify for this portion of the program. To meet the needs of poor families, counties have made use of the program in a wide variety of ways to deal with problems unique to their local communities. These families are generally recognized as multiple needs families that have a long-term history of public assistance dependency. In the past four years, nearly 3,000 families have been served with only 150 families returning to public assistance. PRC programs have aggressively dealt with this problem and in many school districts absenteeism has declined by as much as 50 percent.