Blaise Bridal, commissioner of Social Services and Mental Health, presented April service and caseload figures to the Legislature, reporting on temporary assistance, SNAP, homelessness services, Medicaid enrollment, child welfare and adult protective services.

Bridal said temporary assistance covered 1,534 cases in April, with 600 family‑system cases and 934 safety‑net cases. She reported 30 recipients entered employment in April for a year‑to‑date total of 104; at the same point last year the number was 82. “That’s a positive trend,” she told the Legislature.

On nutrition and energy assistance, Bridal said 18,845 cases received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in April, a month‑to‑month decrease but still higher than the same month last year. The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) had 5,880 payments in April, and Bridal said HEAP’s heating season is over while the cooling benefit is open. She reported the county’s fuel fund had $1,400 remaining as of June and had requested a final $20,000 allocation; staff expect to use remaining funds for cooling assistance through the season.

Bridal described homelessness and housing work: in April 130 families and 170 singles were placed in four contracted motels; 11 individuals served by the housing resource center moved into permanent housing in April, compared with a year‑to‑date monthly average of 18.3. Bridal said 824 individuals experiencing homelessness received services in April and that the monthly average year‑to‑date is higher than last year.

Medicaid and managed‑care numbers were presented: 20,573 locally managed Medicaid cases in April (22,663 individual recipients for the month were cited in the presentation), a slight month‑to‑month decrease and down 71 compared with an earlier comparison point. Bridal noted continued gradual declines tied to the state Medicaid unwinding process and recertification requirements.

Child welfare figures included 315 reports of child abuse and neglect investigated in April, with 177 assigned to the traditional response and 138 assigned to an alternative response pathway; both categories decreased compared with the prior month. Foster care placement was reported at 151 children in April, a decline compared with earlier figures and described as a record low. Adult protective services had 209 active cases in April with 68 new individuals assisted during the month. Home care had 335 cases in April. Bridal also noted the state transition to a single disability intermediary for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP); local staff have been assisting clients with paperwork and outreach to avoid gaps in care during the state transition.

The child‑support unit served 9,472 cases in April and collected and dispersed nearly $3,400,000 that month for a year‑to‑date total of $13,700,000. The special investigations unit reviewed 168 benefit and EDR cases in April, reported combined April cost avoidance of $880,296 and more than $3.4 million year‑to‑date; investigators opened 76 allegations of fraud or abuse in April and substantiated 52.

No legislative action was taken as a result of the report; commissioners offered the data as a monthly performance update and noted ongoing operational needs, including continued housing supports and attention to program transitions at the state level.