Champion's Bridge Opens Child Wellness Campus in Ohio
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett cut the ribbon on the first of six planned campuses for children without a safe place to stay.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Philanthropy
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett held a ribbon cutting for Champion's Bridge, a Child Wellness Campus on Dublin Granville Road in Franklin County. The campus accepted its first child placement a couple of weeks earlier and is designed to house children who lack a safe or appropriate place to stay.
Why it matters
The campus offers housing, mental health support, and help transitioning children into more stable environments. Champion's Bridge is the first of six planned campuses across Ohio, and all six locations have been licensed.
The first location has 20 beds across two floors, with an initial limit of 10 children, and the three-building campus is the first of six planned sites. The state projects 75 to 100 children served across all six campuses within six to 12 months, though current occupancy was not reported.
The players
Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is Ohio's Lieutenant Governor and a former Ohio State University football coach who joined the state's executive team.
Maurice Clarett
Maurice Clarett is a former Ohio State University football running back from Youngstown who has worked in behavioral health and addiction services for about a decade.
The details
The campus is located on Dublin Granville Road in Franklin County and spans three buildings. Services include housing, mental health support, and transitional help for children entering protective custody, with Clarett, who has spent about a decade in behavioral health and addiction services, helping bring the campus vision to life.
Timeline
Champion's Bridge accepted its first child placement about two weeks before the ribbon cutting.
The ribbon cutting was held Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
All six campus locations are expected to begin serving children by January 2027.
Philanthropy Landscape
Champion's Bridge extends Ohio's licensed residential child welfare framework into a planned six-campus network, expanding statewide capacity for children in protective custody. Its success will depend on partnerships with local organizations and county agencies to sustain services over the long term.
Families and county agencies in Ohio may see new placement options for children who lack a safe place to stay as the six planned campuses open. Residents near the Dublin Granville Road site can expect the campus to serve children in their community directly.
The takeaway
Community-based child welfare capacity depends on sustained partnerships between state leaders, local organizations, and county agencies. Readers interested in supporting similar efforts can look to local nonprofits working with children in protective custody.
Further reading
Explore more on Philanthropy for context on how nonprofit and public efforts support children in need across Ohio.
Source note: This article includes information reported by NBC4i.
