Policy and Practice April 2019

locally speaking By Cheryl Boley

Perry County: Building Well-Being from the Ground Up

Cheryl Boley, Director of Perry County (OH) Job and Family Services (JFS) and Perry County Transit, spoke at an APHSA-NACo joint congressional briefing, “Transforming Policy and Practice at the Local Level: The County Role in Building Well-Being from the Ground Up,” on March 5. These are her edited remarks. I was asked to describe, in a few minutes, the challenges of serving in a rural county, what it looks like, and how we operationalize program and funding opportunities in a setting with limited capacity. When you think about what it means to live in a rural Appalachian area, many things come to mind. At or near the top of the list is usually poverty. Perry County fits that narrative. And Perry County, in a word, is small. We are located in Southeast Ohio with a population of approximately 36,000 and an estimated 8 persons per square mile. Just under one-third of our population is Medicaid eligible and we distribute a little more than $700,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits each month. Our economic history is steeped in coal mining. Today, the coal mines are shuttered and some 60 percent of our residents drive outside the county to work. The rural location and lack of countywide broadband multiplies the challenges of competing for employers who could offer technology- driven 21st-century jobs. This is also a cruel disadvantage for low-income job seekers and students—only about 66 percent of our residents have access to broadband.

Road leading to the historic single-lane Hopewell Church Covered Bridge, built in 1874, which is still in use today in Perry County, Ohio.

residents accept employment outside the county and leave us. The impact of this “brain drain” exodus, and the local knowledge and education they take with them, creates a void in the rural community that is impossible to replace. The resulting effect is that many of us wear multiple hats. And the number of individuals with expertise in navigating new federal grants and associated rules is like Perry County, small—and the people who do it wear capes. Aside from government entities we have one service provider, a fan- tastic community action agency whose main office is outside our county. With that said, let me tell you what else is not within our county. If you

Public entities face the difficulty of encouraging students to envision earning a college degree or advanced certification. The reality of what it takes to earn a college degree is over- whelming for the average adult. But, for teens, many of whom have had limited experiences and relationships and who would be first-generation college students, the obstacles can seem insurmountable. Less than 12 percent of our popu- lation has a four-year degree. By comparison, in our nearest metro- politan area, Franklin County, 38.7 percent of the residents (about 2 million) hold four-year degrees. Perhaps the most disappointing reality is that after college graduation or other career preparedness activities, our

See Perry County on page 32

Photo by JNix/Shutterstock

8

Policy&Practice April 2019