‘No line item is more important than a child’s life’: Canopy fights Ronayne’s proposed $500K budget cut

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s 2026–27 budget proposes millions in cuts to health and human services programs — including reductions in subsidies for MetroHealth and the ADAMHS Board, and another $6 million in reductions spread across smaller community programs.

Ronayne’s administration had previously offered only an overview of which programs might be impacted but declined to share specifics on how the reductions would be distributed. On Tuesday, however, Budget Director Walter Parfejewiec listed them out i n a presentation to County Council .

Some agencies are already pushing back.

The Canopy Child Advocacy Center was the first to urge council to reject Ronayne’s proposal to cut $500,000 each year from its Child Protection Team budget. Executive Di