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Richland County HHS reports steady budget use, placement costs average about $197 per day; behavioral health manager role vacant
Summary
Health and Human Services staff reported budget utilization near expected levels, placement costs averaging roughly $197 per day across placements, and that the behavioral health manager recently resigned. Staff said placement totals are largely reimbursed and flagged higher utilization areas but expressed no immediate budget concern.
Richland County Health and Human Services staff told the Community and Health Services Standing Committee on Oct. 2 that through August the department’s budget utilization was approximately 65%, roughly in line with the 67% of the year elapsed, and that most programs are tracking as expected.
Staff reported that the behavioral health manager recently resigned and the position has been posted; interim supervision was assigned to unit staff while recruitment proceeds.
On placement costs, staff reviewed adult placement expenses year to date for 2025: the total adult placement expense reported was $408,715 and, when divided by total placement days, produced an average county cost of about $197 per day across placements. Staff emphasized that many placements are offset by reimbursements such as Medicaid; the county’s Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) program can be 100% reimbursed when clients are eligible.
Budget details in the committee packet highlighted a few nonroutine expenses: a lighting update reported at about $14.75 (as reported in the packet), a required three-year Medicaid/Medicare provider reenrollment fee of about $730, and a postage meter refill at about $4,000. Staff also noted corrected figures in the placement addendum linked in the packet and said placement funds have leveled off as recent high-cost cases closed.
Placement-utilization percentages were called out by program: CCS utilization was about 75.6% and the children’s program for disabilities was about 87.9% — both described as fully reimbursed programs, reducing immediate county budgetary concern. Child and youth services utilization was reported closer to 55–60%.
Staff cautioned that a single high-cost placement can dramatically sway totals; they used the average-per-day calculation to provide broader context beyond an isolated $2,000-a-day contract that had drawn attention at a prior meeting. "If this individual would no longer be eligible for the comprehensive community services program, obviously that average would skyrocket," staff said, noting reimbursement levels are key to county costs.
Staff also reported the county had sent a press release seeking applications for opioid-settlement funding and plans to present recommendations to the committee in November.
Committee members asked questions about call-center closures, the upcoming budget process and where final budget approvals occur; staff said the county administrator manages the finance and executive committee process and that the 2026 budget remains in the approval process with no substantive changes since last month.
