Richland County HHS annual report: crisis calls, foster-home shortages and aging services strain resources

Richland County Health and Human Services (HHS) managers presented the department's 2024 annual report to the Community and Health Services Standing Committee, telling the committee that emergency mental-health detentions, crisis contacts and demand for aging and long-term supports increased last year and are straining staff and local services.

Committee members heard the most urgent details first: behavioral-health staff reported rising crisis contacts and hospitalizations that have pushed workers to the limit. "I do think there needs to be another APS crisis worker," Brandy Christiansen, behavioral health unit manager, said during the meeting. Christiansen told the committee Richland County logged 1,467 crisis contacts in 2024 (1,088 handled by the county and 379 by Northwest Connections) and had 35 emergency detentions for the year. She said April 2025 was already unusually high, with about a dozen hospitalizations that month, and added, "I'm scared to see what the number's gonna end up in December." The unit is fully staffed now but has a vacant mental-health therapist position and managers said more crisis staffing would be needed if current trends continue.

The behavioral-health report also included program statistics: 76 people were served in the Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) program in 2024; the children's long-term support (CLTS) program served 87 children; birth-to-3 served 49 children; and treatment court served 7 people in sobriety court (5 graduations) and 8 in drug court (2 graduations).

Aging and disability services staff reported high service volumes and volunteer shortages. The local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) office recorded 14,979 incoming contacts in 2024 and its disability benefit specialist helped 142 Richland County residents obtain $658,000 in benefits in the year. ADRC staff reported delivering 16,768 home-delivered meals and serving 7,905 congregate meals in 2024; volunteers logged 196,736 miles and donated 5,602 hours, but managers said volunteer numbers have fallen from pre-COVID levels and that some trips now must be declined because of shortages. The ADRC also reported a high redemption rate for senior farmers-market vouchers (79% of 215 sets) and told the committee it aims to expand meal delivery coverage but lacks funding and volunteer capacity to reach all county areas.

Public health managers highlighted core public-health activities and several measurable changes. "We passed that successfully last year," Brandy Anderson, public health manager and local health officer, said about the department's five-year 140 review that grants the county a Level 2 health-department designation. Public health reported a modest decline in overall flu/COVID clinic doses but an increase in state-funded Vaccine for Children/Adults (VFC/VFA) vaccinations (from 46 to 118 doses recorded in the report). Environmental-health work moved in-house in 2024 after a long-time coordinator left; county staff completed 32 home visits for unsafe or unsanitary conditions and distributed 46 radon test kits (29 returned). Public health also tracked 18 elevated blood-lead reports for children and said it has enrolled daycare sites in a state lead-in-water testing initiative. The unit dispensed 198 TB skin tests in 2024 and reported one bat that tested positive for rabies that year.

Economic support and casework numbers showed continued reliance on public benefits. Brianna Turret, economic support unit manager, said the county's FoodShare program brought nearly $4 million into Richland County in 2024; the consortium reported an average caseload of 1,189 in Richland. Turret also said Medicaid paid on behalf of 5,477 county residents in 2023 (the most recent year with finalized figures), totaling about $44 million. The county reported no certified child-care providers in 2024 (seven licensed facilities remain) and said staff plan outreach to recruit certified providers when workload allows.

Child and youth services managers described child-protective workloads and a shortage of licensed foster homes. Britney Wirtz, child and youth services unit manager, said the unit received 253 CPS reports in 2024 covering 408 alleged victims; 71 of the reports were screened in for initial assessment. Wirtz said Richland County had zero licensed foster homes in 2024 and that the unit has increased recruitment and outreach efforts but continues to place children outside the county when kinship care is not available. The department reported 21 ongoing kinship or non-subsidized guardianships at the time of the presentation.

Child-support staff presented performance measures and modernization plans earlier in the meeting. The child-support presenter said current-support collection fell below the benchmark for February and March but that the arrears-collection measure (which resets Oct. 1 each year) stood at 72.36% and staff "anticipate we'll easily in the next couple of months meet our 80% benchmark." The presenter and committee discussed enforcement limits when payors move to other states or enter incarceration or treatment; the presenter noted interstate enforcement requires filing paperwork with the other state.

Managers also described administrative changes and planned technology upgrades. Stephanie Ramfelt, HHS director, pointed to a department-wide financial-system migration to Tyler, saying "the payroll is now running out of Tyler," and staff reported that a statewide child-support modernization program called "Thrive" is scheduled for phased rollout to counties beginning in 2027. HHS finance staff reported a core-budget surplus through March 31 but cautioned that some figures are prorated and tax-levy use is typically finalized later in the year.

Committee and staff discussion closed with budget planning direction: managers will draft the 2026 budget requests, the HHS administration will review and prioritize proposals, and the committee will have an early opportunity to review and advise before the administrator presents a final budget to the county board. Several managers asked the committee to consider funding priorities tied to crisis work, adult protective services and community support services if additional county resources become available.

The HHS presenters emphasized limited local capacity: shortages of crisis and foster-care staff, fewer volunteers for transportation and meals, and uncertainty about potential federal or state funding changes. The report offered program-level data for committee members to use in upcoming budget deliberations and follow-up work.