WARREN, Ohio - Additional treatment beds in Trumbull County will help children in need of long-term mental health care. Belmont Pines Hospital is creating a new facility to take in local children to keep them closer to home. 21 News looked into why these resources are so crucial.

The Trumbull County Commissioners recently approved an agreement between Belmont Pines Hospital and Trumbull County Children Services.

"It's a level of care that not only our community but the entire state has always needed," said Tim Schaffner, Trumbull County Children Services Executive Director on 21 News at 5.

Plans are in the works on a six-bed Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility for children 6 to 12. Children who utilize the complex don't quite need to stay in a psychiatric hospital but also need a facility away from their homes.

"On any given day, I think an average of 140 Ohio kids are placed out of Ohio for the level of care that they need," Schaffner explained. "So, as these services expand throughout Ohio, it's going to bring kids home, and it's going to get them home much more quickly."

The agreement reaches nearly 5,000 dollars per month. A home along Reaves Road is where children will stay, directly next to Trumbull County Children Services. That building can house up to 25 children. Schaffner explained the property is a secure care building currently owned by the county. 

"Because we're a public institution, we are limited to 25 beds if we want to draw down Title 4E federal funds to support the placement, and of course those are essential," Schaffner said.

Schaffner explained Belmont Pines will be reimbursed by the state for the program.

Schaffner said an average stay at the facility is about 6 months, which gives children time to stabilize medication, get used to a safe environment, and process the intensive therapy offered.