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Human Services outlines priorities for 2026 budget as rental assistance and Medicaid changes loom
Summary
Human Services Director Kerri Benz told commissioners the department is building a flexible budget for 2026, citing potential loss of grants, continued rental-assistance demand, the 'Just Home' pilot, and uncertainty about future Medicaid eligibility as primary budget pressures.
Kerri Benz, director of the Minnehaha County Human Services Department, told the County Board of Commissioners on May 6 that the department is preparing a flexible FY2026 budget to respond to evolving community needs, the impending close of several federal and local grant programs and continued pressure on rental-assistance and hospital expense line items.
Benz said the department has not operated on a “county-dependent” budget for about five years because of ARPA funds, South Dakota Cares, and other grants that temporarily supplemented operations. “We really wanted to try to build a flexible budget…that can accommodate the changing and ever evolving needs in the community,” she said, describing staff cross‑training, professional development plans, and efforts to streamline collaborative meetings with community partners.
The Human Services presentation highlighted several ongoing initiatives: the Just Home program, a three‑year demonstration project intended to transition justice‑impacted individuals into housing and supportive services; continued development of a digital housing hub (funded by the city) to help case managers locate affordable units; and ongoing case-management guidance training funded by the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.
Benz and Assistant Director Lori Montes said rental assistance is the department’s largest single line item (about $975,000 proposed), and that prior multi‑year external funding streams that supported rental help have ended or will end soon. Benz said South Dakota Cares will stop taking applications July 11, which could increase demand on county resources as households seek assistance previously funded by grants or ARPA allocations.
On hospital costs, Benz said Medicaid expansion and increased insurance coverage have helped reduce the county’s hospital outlays in recent months; she noted the county’s hospital expense decreased from “a couple hundred thousand” in 2023 to about $16,000 last year after staff and a funded attorney pursued claim resolutions. She added that uncertainty about future Medicaid eligibility remains a key budget risk: “significant impact may come should that change in regards to Medicaid eligibility,” Benz said.
Commissioners asked for more detail about potential fiscal impacts and community roles. Commissioner Blindberg and others praised department efforts to hand off some programs to local partners and to recruit vendors for rapid rehousing. Commissioners emphasized the need to protect the county’s role as the “means of last resort” while avoiding unsustainable recurring commitments as grant funds end.
Why it matters: Human Services administers rental assistance, emergency relief, and case management that affect housing stability, hospital costs, and downstream demand on county resources. The department’s FY2026 choices will shape how the county responds if federal or charitable funding streams decline.
Next steps: Human Services will continue refining the FY2026 budget, finish implementation of the case‑management guidance, transition certain projects to community partners where feasible, and monitor Medicaid eligibility changes and the close of grant programs.
