County HHS warns SNAP, Medicaid cost-share changes and juvenile corrections proposals could tighten 2026 budget

Walworth County Health & Human Services staff told the board July 16 that recent state and federal budget actions offer a temporary reprieve on youth correction placement costs but leave significant uncertainty about program funding and possible county budget cuts in 2026. A county HHS staff member summarized changes in the state budget and federal rules and said the county had been “scared” by a proposed juvenile corrections daily rate that would have reached roughly $2,500 per day. The presenter said Governor Tony Evers used a line-item veto that reduced the rate to about $501 per day for the first year of the biennium and to roughly $700 per day in the second year — a change the presenter called a “two-year reprieve.” The presenter said the county has not budgeted for juvenile correction placements in 2025 and does not currently plan to include such placements in the 2026…