Richland County HHS director to leave May 19; department highlights staffing and program activity

Tracy Thorson, director of Richland County Health and Human Services, told the board April 14 she will resign effective May 19 to become human services director in Monroe County and that the county administrator is overseeing recruitment and will name an interim director as needed.

Thorson said she returned to Richland County three and a half years earlier and planned to retire there after a 33‑year career. She told the board she will work with interim leadership and the department’s management team to limit disruption in programs and services during the transition.

Thorson used her director’s report to summarize program activity and operational challenges. She said Children and Youth Services continues to operate with staff shortages; the department has hired a limited‑term family preservation worker to help cover visitations, parenting support and outreach. The YES (Youth Empowerment Services) program plans to run small summer groups to help youth complete community service hours and build life skills, facilitated by youth aide Eric Ives.

For behavioral health, Thorson said Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) participants will assist UW Extension with community gardens this summer and that outpatient substance abuse staff are preparing to implement DHS 75 administrative rule changes effective Oct. 1, which she said will shorten wait times for initial contact and add education for opioid‑affected people.

Birth to 3 providers will join a Child Find event at Ithaca Schools this week, Thorson said, and Child Find information was shared with Kickapoo and Richland schools. She said healthcare renewals that had been scheduled for May 2022 were postponed three months to August 2022 and that no end date for COVID‑19 temporary healthcare policies had been announced.

Thorson said about half of economic support staff had worked fully remotely during the pandemic and the unit will hold its first in‑person staff meeting since COVID began. The ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center) is planning a summer job‑fair‑style event to address caregiver shortages and an April 26 volunteer appreciation luncheon; ADRC volunteers drove 134,928 miles and provided 6,180 hours of service in 2021, she said.

On public health, Thorson said COVID numbers remained low; staff are focusing on vaccine efforts including second Pfizer boosters, continuing testing site support and resuming services such as other immunizations and TB prevention. Nutrition services continue as grab‑and‑go and home delivery; the department is recruiting volunteers for the nutrition program.

Thorson thanked the board and staff for their work and said she would support the transition.

Board members asked no follow‑up questions during the meeting.