The Johnson County Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved a memorandum of understanding with the East Central Region disability access point to reimburse county employees for certain mental health/disability services, and supervisors raised concerns about potential county liability tied to the region's wind-down.

The MOU was moved by Supervisor Sullivan and seconded by Supervisor Green Douglas; the board approved it on a 5-0 roll call. The chair noted that “there have been a couple small, tweaks to the MOU that were just published in the agenda packet,” and the board approved the revised document.

Why it matters: the East Central Region is ending and local governments are working to settle responsibilities. During supervisor reports, Supervisor Sullivan said a memo from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services “indicated that counties would be responsible for claims that are, unpaid as of the end of the region when it's wrapped up. That is the exact opposite of what had been said previously.” If counties are required to cover unpaid claims, local budgets could face unplanned costs.

Board members and staff framed the MOU as a near-term operational fix. The chair asked supervisors to note small edits in the packet; a supervisor thanked county offices and MHDS and HR staff for quickly producing the agreement. The MOU was presented as an administrative step to make county employees eligible for reimbursement through the East Central Region disability access point.

No statutory citation was offered at the meeting and no formal legal determination about statewide responsibility for unpaid claims was made during the session. Supervisor Sullivan said county attorneys and auditors will follow up with other counties and state officials to seek clarification or challenge the state guidance.

The board took no additional formal action at the meeting regarding longer-term liability or budgetary offsets. Supervisors said they expect more information in coming weeks and that staff will report back as county attorneys and auditors coordinate with other counties.

The board convened with five supervisors present and approved the MOU and other consent items by unanimous votes.