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DeKalb County health department faces large HFI funding cut; county approves reduced 2026 plan
Summary
County health director told commissioners federal/state HFI grant funding will fall from about $846,000 in 2025 to roughly $226,000 in 2026; commissioners approved the department's reduced budget and plan to retain core public-health services.
DeKalb County commissioners voted to approve a reduced health funding plan after the county health department reported a major cut to its Healthy Families Indiana (HFI) grant.
At a meeting where health department staff presented the changes, Cheryl, a health department official, told the board: "For the 2026 budget, we are gonna get 26.7% of what we have this year. So our funding went down from, like, $850,000 to ... $226,000." The commissioners voted to accept the HFI budget as presented.
The department said the state removed tobacco prevention and cessation from the list of fundable programs, effective about a month before the meeting, and that HFI will fund only services for Indiana residents and legal immigrants. Cheryl said staff are "working with attorneys to figure out some type of way of documenting that." She also said the department plans to prioritize statutorily required programs and to move other partner programs to internal health-department funding where possible.
Cheryl described operational adjustments the department will make, including paying a preparedness contractor from a mix of BioTerror and HFI accounts and reserving remaining legacy account balances (from prior local health funds) for large equipment such as vehicles and vaccine units. She told commissioners the department expects to spend about $887,811 in 2025 and that the 2026 HFI allocation will be significantly smaller.
Commissioners asked about program detail and impacts. Cheryl said the department will keep required core services and seek low-cost partner programs where feasible. After discussion, Commissioner Susan moved to present the HFI budget as submitted; a second was offered and the motion carried on a voice vote.
The vote came with public recognition of the work the health department has done with partner organizations. Commissioners and staff also discussed carrying balances in legacy accounts forward for large capital purchases while HFI support is constrained.
The county will now proceed with the HFI plan filed with the state, and staff said they will return with any further refinements as new guidance or legal clarifications arrive.
