Carbon County officials applaud the work of its children and youth agency for keeping costs down.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board voted to approve the fiscal year 2015-2016 Children and Youth Services needs-based plan and budget.The plan totals $4,224,220 and is funded by both the state and county.Sallianne Newton, administrator of Children and Youth, said the department has been able to keep the spending down by implementing a number of services to decrease the out-of-home children placements.She said since February 2008, Children and Youth has decreased the number of placements from approximately 98 children to 21."That represents a 75 percent decrease," Newton said.The reasons include using the kinship care placement program so a child is placed with a family member instead of going into foster care. Foster care could cost up to $150 a day.Kinship families are appoved as a subsidized permanent legal guardian.Medical assistance funded placements cover the costs of placing a child when it is necessary for medical reasons.The agency also looks into permanent adoption options, decreased the amount of time between permanency reviews and works with two specialized companies that provide in-house intensive services to families so the child can remain in the home while receiving the care they need.Commissioner William O'Gurek commended Newton and her staff for their work to help reduce costs, while maintaining quality services.He pointed out that because of Children and Youth's new operations, it saved the county $145,224 for the 2013-2014 fiscal year."It really reflects on the work you're doing," he said, noting that even though costs are dropping, the number of referrals is continually on the rise. In August, the department handled 60 intakes.O'Gurek also pointed out that in addition to Children and Youth, the drop in costs is related to work done in the juvenile probation office and court system.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that a few years ago, projections predicted the cost of the services would jump to over $5 million.He thanked Newton for doing something to stop the increase in spending."You can see even with an increased population over the last 10 years, the placements are dropping," Nothstein said. "The programs save tax dollars for the state and county."In other matters, the county acted on the following items:• Appointed Brendan Lee of Jim Thorpe to fill the unexpired term on the Environmental Education Center Board. The term is in effect until Dec. 31, 2015. The vacancy was created after board member Rick Grant relocated out of the state.• Accepted the resignation of Desirae A. Berger of Nesquehoning as a part-time dispatcher trainee for the communications center.• Accepted the resignation of Charlene M. Godown of Lehighton as a part-time corrections officer.• Changed the status of Alyssa N. Bartek of Lansford and Sabria K. McLaughlin of Weatherly from part-time corrections officers to corrections officers, effective Sept. 29.• Changed the status of Rachael M. Betz of Slatington from part-time corrections officer to corrections officer, effective Oct. 1.• Changed the status of Ethan Cramer of Lehighton from part-time corrections officer to corrections officer, effective Sept. 30.