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County brings youth intensive supervision services in-house to save levy and expand oversight
Summary
Marathon County plans to move intensive supervision services (ISS) for adjudicated youth from an external contractor into county management in 2025, citing fiscal savings and closer program oversight; two LTE staff already hired and county will report outcomes.
Marathon County social services staff told the Health and Human Services Committee that the county will operate its Intensive Support Services program in-house in 2025 rather than subcontract it.
The presenter said the ISS program, which provides monitoring, electronic monitoring, substance screening and weekly check-ins for adjudicated moderate- to high-risk youth, has historically been subcontracted to private vendors. “So this has always historically been a subcontracted program. We are looking to bring this program in house,” Social Services staff said, adding the change is driven by fiscal and programmatic oversight goals.
The county’s white paper documented recent cost increases under subcontracting. Social services staff said the 2024 contract amount was about $310,000 and that the subcontractor projected roughly $404,000 for 2025. The county’s 2025 budget included $267,000 for the program; staff said moving the program in-house will save tax levy dollars while preserving services. Staff said costs in-house will cover two limited-term employees (LTEs) already hired to operate ISS, plus expenses such as electronic monitoring, training and group costs. Staff said they expect to seek conversion of the two LTE positions to full-time equivalents for the 2026 budget based on a 2025 outcomes report.
Staff described program operations and sites: one ISS worker will be based at the county’s Youth Opportunity Center and the other at the Community Partners campus to maintain accessibility for youth. The presenter said in-house staff will closely coordinate with assigned social workers and that the county will request an outcomes report after the year to evaluate whether to convert the LTEs to FTEs.
Committee members expressed support in discussion but did not record a formal vote on the delivery-model change during the meeting. The presenter said the change is expected to both reduce county tax levy costs and provide increased program oversight.
