HHS board reviews 2021 annual report, budget summary and placement spending; approves contract amendments

The Richland County Health & Human Services board reviewed its 2021 annual report and unaudited budget summaries, heard placement fund usage and provider-contract monitoring, and approved amendments to two provider contracts.

Interim director Roxanne Klubertan Gerber and business-manager Stephanie (last name not specified in transcript) summarized unaudited 2021 financials. Staff reported an unaudited net positive agency balance of roughly $402,952 after agency and placement expenses and revenue allocations, but cautioned the figures are unaudited and subject to change.

Placement funds: Jessica (last name not specified) and colleagues summarized placement activity and fund balances. For the county’s placement fund (referred to as fund 54), staff reported April expenses of $129,993 out of an approximately $785,000 appropriation (about 17% utilized), leaving a remaining balance the report listed as $655,077. For fund 44, staff reported a beginning balance of $700,000, placement expenses of roughly $229,000 to date (about 33% utilized). The transcript records the remaining balance for fund 44 as $470,006,656, a figure that appears to be a transcription or typographical error in the meeting record; staff did not provide a corrected remaining-balance figure on the record during the meeting.

Contracts monitoring: Angie (contracts monitoring) reviewed provider contracts above $10,000 and highlighted those exceeding 33% utilization. She noted one provider (identified in the report as A and J) had billed through April and exceeded expected utilization; staff said they will coordinate with program leads to determine whether an amendment is needed. Two providers discussed on the contracts-monitoring report were on the agenda for amendment later in the meeting.

Contract amendments approved: The board approved amendments to two contracts that exceeded their previously authorized amounts. Staff said the CISA services contract (birth-to-3/vision services) was amended from $11,000 to $20,000 to cover billed services. A second amendment increased an M Squared contract for children’s long-term support fence installations from $25,000 to $35,000 to cover additional planned installations. The board moved, seconded, and approved those amendments by voice vote; a specific roll-call tally was not read into the record.

Other highlights from the annual report: public-health staff described pandemic response work in 2021 (testing, vaccination and preparedness), ADRC and benefits programs reported monetary impacts (disability-benefit work generated about $590,000 in benefits to residents; elder-benefit work reported over $1.5 million in benefits to county residents), and behavioral health reported 473 clients served in 2021 with continued crisis and outpatient activity.

Ending: Staff emphasized the unaudited nature of the 2021 financials and said final audited numbers will be available later. Contract amendments were approved on the board’s motion and will be reflected in the county contract records.