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CPMT reports rising caseloads and higher private‑day education costs; foster care numbers nearly double from earlier years
Summary
The county’s CPMT (children’s services) reported FY‑24 expenditures rose with a notable increase in children in foster care and private day placement costs, prompting staff to say FY‑25 budgeting had been adjusted.
Cheryl Boswell, presenting the county’s Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT) end‑of‑year report for fiscal year 2024, told the board that allocations have trended around $6 million annually and that expenditures rose this year. Boswell said a significant driver of the increase is a higher number of children in foster care and growth in private day education costs.
Boswell said the CPMT now has roughly 69 children in foster care and about 70 children receiving private day services. She said the county’s expenditures rose by about $1.3 million in the last year and that roughly $4 million of current spending is tied to private day education placements for children. Boswell provided a longer view showing caseload fluctuations since 2017 and said the program served roughly 200–250 children per year overall.
She told supervisors that some increases reflect mandated placements and judicial and individualized education program (IEP) decisions the department must fund. Boswell said staff worked with county finance staff to budget for FY‑25 and that she expects the department’s budget to be in a better position next year but asked for continued monitoring of caseload and placement costs.
Supervisors asked about types of foster care and whether local kinship placements were being used; Boswell said the county has expanded kinship and fictive‑kin placements when appropriate, while some children require treatment foster homes or placements outside the area for higher needs.
