Rental assistance is offered through Scioto County Job & Family Services

Scioto County Job & Family Services is one of the more effective programs serving south central Ohio. Lower income families can get the financial assistance necessary to avoid financial disasters and ultimately become more self-sufficient.

OWF Temporary Cash Assistance

Ohio Works First (OWF) Temporary Cash Assistance is a feature of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. In exchange for participating in the Work Activities Program, each household may receive cash assistance on a monthly basis to help manage the bills.

As long as you qualify and continue to work towards improving your employment, you could receive a monthly cash payment. This assistance may last for up to 3 years.

Prevention, Retention, and Contingency Program

If you or a member of your family has experienced a recent financial crisis that has caused substantial hardship for your household, you could receive a cash grant to help mitigate the concern. This payment can be substantial depending on the scope of your needs.

In order to qualify for this payment, you must generally demonstrate that you need the assistance with rent or other needs in order to be able to work. Perhaps you just lost your job or are starting a new one. Even if there has been no disruption in employment, you could still receive assistance with major bills if it is deemed that it could jeopardize your ability to work.

If you believe that you could benefit from financial assistance and are able to provide the documentation necessary to support your application, you should apply for help at the main office in Portsmouth (710 Court Street). You may call 740-354-6661 to speak with a representative, ask questions or to schedule an intake appointment with a case manager.

Scioto County Job & Family Services exists to make sure that households do not fall into a trap that could lead to homelessness. Sometimes a temporary problem can cause permanent pain to lower income families, ultimately making the problem worse and more expensive to the county’s human services agency.

Ignore the advertisements hawking rental loans or other predatory loan solutions. Instead of becoming a victim, stick with the programs that are created to lead to your success.