LISBON — A contract approved recently by Columbiana County commissioners for the Department of Job and Family Services will result in a day camp for foster children to learn independent living skills.

“We are teaching them how to do these things so they can function,” DJFS Director Rachel Ketterman said.

DJFS contracted with the Ohio State University Extension Office to provide the respite day camp from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026 with a contract spending ceiling of $42,041.

Ketterman explained the independent living skills lessons will be for foster children ages 14 and up, teaching them about grocery shopping, shopping for clothing, household maintenance and budgeting. She said there was recently someone who couldn’t write a check because they did not know how.

“We do the best we can and try to prepare them for adulthood,” Ketterman said.

Commissioner Mike Halleck said it was amazing to him how there are young people who can’t make change, with Ketterman adding some don’t know how to address an envelope.

Two other vendor contracts approved for DJFS, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026 included: Show Speed Detailing, to clean the fleet of DJFS agency vehicles, with spending ceiling of $10,530; and Community Center for the Deaf, also known as Youngstown Hearing & Speech, interpreting services, no ceiling.

In other DJFS business, commissioners appointed the following members to a three-year term on the Columbiana County Job and Family Services Planning Committee: Pastor Brian Brown of Lisbon Nazarene Church; Lori Colian, Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board Executive Director; Roger Sikorszky, Columbiana County Counseling Center Executive Director; Tracy Smith, CCDJFS, AFSSME union rep; and Kimberly Steele of Kent State University Salem Campus.

Also approved was a Columbiana County Memorandum of Understanding to address child abuse and neglect, which must be approved biannually and was signed by all police chiefs and the sheriff. For information only, Ketterman shared the annual DJFS travel authorization summary for the department.

In other matters, commissioners approved the special fund appropriations for 2026 totaling $48.6 million for special revenue, approved incident response plans for both the Columbiana County Engineer and Water & Sewer Departments, requested no hearing for a liquor license permit for Rogers Fuel LLC, JD Fuel, state Route 7, New Waterford, in Fairfield Township, and renewed the lease with Yarian Family Farms, LLC for crop farming of 167.44 acres of county-owned land for an additional five years.

The commissioners opened bids for slag, gravel, crushed limestone, asphalt and ice control materials and for gas, diesel fuel and kerosene, referring them to the engineer’s office. Bids for slag and other materials came from Soltis & Son Enterprise, LLC, Fritz Enterprise Inc. and Shelly & Sands Inc. Two bids were received for fuel, including 21st Century and Riley Petroleum Products.

The next meeting of county commissioners will be 9 a.m. Dec. 30, which is a Tuesday.

mgreier@mojonews.com