Trumbull County senior-services director says homemaker program overspent; 400 on waiting list
Loading...
Summary
The county senior-services director told commissioners the department overspent in anticipation of levy replacement funds and faces a shortfall; about 400 people are on a waiting list for homemaker services, and staff proposed a new bid cycle and use of carryover funds to sustain services until levy dollars arrive.
Trumbull County senior-services leaders told commissioners on May 14 that they are overspending current contracts for homemaker care in anticipation of a replacement senior levy that passed but whose additional funds will not arrive until early 2026, and that the county has a waiting list of roughly 400 people seeking services.
Diane (senior living administrator) told the board that the department expanded contracted homemaker services last year in expectation that the replacement levy would provide additional funding. She said the replacement levy passed, but the new revenue will not be delivered until about February 2026; as a result the department is currently overspending by about $800,000 and expects carryover to shrink to roughly $1.5 million at year end. She told commissioners, “There's 400 people that are on our waiting list.”
Diane said the department’s contracted providers are facing higher costs; one provider that had relied on a roughly $87,000 Direction Home grant saw that funding run out quickly (the grant previously stretched multiple months but lasted only 4½ months this cycle), which reduced the pool of flexible dollars available to supplement local levy funds. That loss has forced providers to prioritize consumers with the highest acuity, which in turn reduced homemaker hours for some lower‑acuity clients.
Staff proposed issuing a new competitive bid cycle to secure additional contracted homemaker hours using existing carryover funds for the next two years, which the director said could add several hundred thousand dollars of coverage but would not fully meet long-term projected demand. Commissioners and vendor representatives discussed the limits of short-term fixes and the need to prioritize services; a vendor representative, Dave Merkham of ConvergeOne, urged focusing levy dollars on activities of daily living such as bathing and toileting to keep people at home.
Diane said the department will convene its advisory council on May 29 to review bid recommendations and service priorities. Commissioners asked staff to present a follow-up plan including the proposed bid timeline, an updated needs assessment in collaboration with Direction Home, and options to maximize federal and state grant funding while the new levy dollars are pending.
