News

Franklin County, Ohio has been selected as one of seven Stepping Up Innovator Counties in the United States for its expertise and innovation in collecting data on people in its jail with mental illness, and for working to ensure that those inmates are receiving appropriate care both inside and outside of jail. 

Today, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners released their fourth annual State of the County report. The web-based report, which can be found at report.franklincountyohio.gov, compiles the many ways that the lives of county residents are touched by county government, as well as highlighting the investments the commissioners have made in public safety, economic development, health and human services and environmental protection.

At its annual State of the Region luncheon this afternoon, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) awarded county Economic Development Director, James Schimmer, its William H. Anderson Excellence in Public Service Award.  This annual honor recognizes a past or present MORPC board member who has made a significant contribution to MORPC, the community, and our region. Earlier this month, Director Schimmer’s team at the commissioners’ department of Economic Development and Planning was announced as the recipient of a National Planning Achievement Award for a Best Practice by the American Planning Association.  The award, shared with the Columbus City Council, honored the two teams’ collaborative initiatives to support a healthy, strong, and resilient local food system.

Today, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners join their counterparts from the across the country in celebrating County Health Day. An initiative of the National Association of Counties (NACo), County Health Day celebrates counties working to build a culture of health. Throughout the day on social media, NACo will highlight innovative county health programming and share best practices from communities across the U.S. using the hashtag #CountyHealth.
 

Ten new well trained prospective employees entered the workforce yesterday as the newest graduates of the Franklin County Commissioners’ Green Corps program, which is a partnership between the commissioners, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio, IMPACT Community Action, and Eckard Connects.  Participants in the program are trained by Franklin Park Conservatory staff for well-paid jobs in the community’s growing green industries.

Each April, counties all over the nation celebrate National County Government Month with activities and information designed to celebrate all the ways that local county governments positively impact the lives of their residents every day. 

A new pipeline to train low-income workers for careers in the skilled building trades has 21 students graduating today in its inaugural class, marking completion of the first government/union trade program of its kind in Ohio.
 

This morning, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution signing-on to “The Columbus Commitment,” an initiative of the Columbus Women’s Commission that calls on employers to take action to promote gender- and race- based pay equity. The board is the 100th local employer to do so.

On February 20, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution endorsing House Bill 160 of the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Fairness Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

On Tuesday, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a $150,000-agreement, funded by the senior services levy, with The Ohio State University College of Social Work to support the work of the Age-Friendly Columbus initiative, and to expand its efforts to encompass all of Franklin County.