Summit County Update of Continuity of Services

SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO—Countywide elected officials, agency directors and the Public Health Department recently met to discuss Summit County’s plan for continuity of services. Currently, all county offices remain open to the public, but residents are encouraged to utilize phone or internet when appropriate. The following offices and agencies have offered updated guidance as to how the public should expect to interact in the coming days and weeks. Guidance is subject to change.

Board of Elections: Polls will be open on March 17 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Some polling locations have changed. Information about the 10 polling locations that moved can be found at https://www.summitcountyboe.gov/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/3.10.2020-press-release-polling-locations-moved.pdf. Voters may still take advantage of early voting on March 14-16. The Board of Elections is still in need of poll workers. Registered Summit County voters willing to assist with Election Day operations can sign up at https://lookup.boe.ohio.gov/vtrapp/summit/pwapp.aspx

Job and Family Services: Clients and applicants are encouraged to use phone and internet access to apply for or renew benefits. Please call 844-640-6446 or visit https://benefits.ohio.gov/.

Sanitary Sewer Services: Residents are encouraged to pay their sewer bill online at https://summitoh.firstbilling.com/Account/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f. In case of an emergency, staff can be reached 24 hours a day at 800-828-2087.

Animal Control: Volunteer services are suspended until further notice. Residents may continue to visit the facility for adoptions.

Engineer: All non-essential meetings are cancelled. Citizens, contractors, and developers are asked to conduct their business with the County Engineer’s Office through phone (330-643-2860), fax (330-762-7829), and email (general information email: info@summitengineer.net) where possible. Road maintenance crews and construction and bridge inspectors will continue to operate as normal, keeping County roads and bridges safe for motorists. More information is available at http://www.summitengineer.net/.

Fiscal: Taxpayers can make payments online or by phone. Other Fiscal Office services can be accessed by phone or internet. Current hearings have been postponed. More information is available at https://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/.

Sheriff: If the public has questions for the Sheriff’s Office, they should call the non-emergency dispatch number at 330-643-2181. A number of services at the jail have been suspended or altered, including contact visits. Please call for more information.

Prosecutor: Residents with urgent and specific questions about their case and any subsequent hearings should email info@prosecutor.summitoh.net and include the following details: Name, Case #, Judge, Date of Next Hearing, Contact Information. More information is available at http://co.summitoh.net/prosecutor/.

Child Support Enforcement Agency: Payments can be made online, by phone, mail or mobile app. Parents and caretakers can access their case information, including payment status and payment history, through the state of Ohio’s Child Support Customer Service Portal. More information is available at http://co.summitoh.net/prosecutor/index.php/divisions/child-support-enforcement.

Common Pleas Court: All trials are suspended for fourteen days until March 26, with the exception of Stanley Ford. Inmates will not be transported from the Summit County Jail to the courthouse for fourteen days. All civil matters will be handled through telephone or video calls, and all mediation sessions will be suspended. People on probation who are scheduled to report should do so via telephone, and should expect to be contacted by the Summit County Adult Probation Department. More information is available at https://www.summitcpcourt.net/summit-county-common-pleas-court-general-division-outlines-plan-for-addressing-covid-19/.

Domestic Relations Court: Remember the Children on March 21 and Working Together Program on March 26 have been cancelled. The Court will conduct certain business such as Initial Pretrial Conferences, Settlement Conferences, Motions for Temporary Orders by telephone only. Special arrangements can be made for Uncontested Divorce and Dissolution. More information is available at https://drcourt.org/wp/covid19/.

Juvenile Court: Court hours are modified to 8:00 am-4:30 pm. The preferred method of filing pleadings with the Court is via mail to 650 Dan Street, Akron 44310 or via fax to 330-643-2987. The Public is encouraged to contact their Court Worker with questions. If a person is unsure of who to call, they can call the Juvenile Court main number at 330-643-2900. More information is available at https://juvenilecourt.summitoh.net/images/Press/web.pdf.

Probate Court: Consider utilizing the eFiling option which can be used for any filing. Many court appearances can be changed to telephone statuses. If you are set for a status, please contact the Court to change it to a phone status. More information is available at https://summitohioprobate.com/coronavirus-covid-19/.

Ninth District Court of Appeals: The Court will consider all cases on the briefs instead of hearing oral arguments. The Court will file orders in cases that are scheduled for oral argument alerting the parties that the cases will be considered by the Court on the briefs. If a party objects to the submission on briefs, the Court will either schedule telephonic oral argument or continue the case for oral argument at a later date. More information is available at http://www.ninth.courts.state.oh.us/Forms/Covid%20notice.pdf.

Developmental Disabilities Board: Staff are encouraged to coordinate phone meetings and video conferencing in place of in-person meetings and visits. Staff will continue to monitor services, offer technical support, conduct compliance reviews as needed and investigate any Major Unusual Incidents. More information is available at https://www.summitdd.org/news/summit-dd-coronavirus-safety-precautions-and-health-measures/.

Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board: Residents feeling overwhelmed or troubled by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak or any situation requiring emotional support should call 330-434-9144.

Children Services Board: The Child Abuse Prevention Month events and activities previously scheduled during the month of April are cancelled. Training events sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Regional Training Center are canceled through April 18th. Volunteer programs and ability to accept donations in our lobby have been suspended for a minimum of 30 days, including the Easter Basket Program. More information is available at https://www.summitkids.org/.

Veterans Service Commission: A series of new processes and procedures to help ensure the wellbeing of the community and staff are in place. Any scheduled public meetings in Freedom Hall have been cancelled until further notice. More information is available at https://www.vscsummitoh.us/covid-19-statement/.

Direction Home Akron Canton: There have been no significant changes to processes and procedures. All programs continue to provide services, and telephonic systems are being developed by the Ohio Departments of Aging and Medicaid to reduce face to face contacts.

United Way 2-1-1: Residents in need of food, shelter, utility assistance or other necessities should call 2-1-1 or visit http://www.211summit.org/.

All Summit County offices are working closely with the Public Health Department in monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The continuity of services is subject to directives from the Governor and Summit County Public Health. For the most up-to-date information on the current status of the outbreak, please visit https://www.scph.org/covid-19 or https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/.