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Committee reviews draft Chapter 3 of Marathon County comprehensive plan focused on health and human services
Summary
Planning staff presented a working draft of Chapter 3 (Health and Human Services) of Marathon County's comprehensive plan and asked committee members to review identified issues and objectives for the next 10 years.
County planning staff presented a working draft of Chapter 3 of the Marathon County comprehensive plan, focused on health and human services. The presenter told the committee the state statutory comprehensive‑plan elements do not require a health and human services chapter, but the county chose to include it to document the breadth of local services, needs and objectives.
Staff explained the draft pulls updated data from the county’s Pulse (Life Report) and that graphics in the working draft will be inserted in the final draft. The draft currently omits some material — staff said family‑keys programming and fall‑prevention content still need fuller integration.
Committee discussion identified several priority issues and objectives for the chapter: sustainable long‑term funding for health and human services; workforce development and capacity to reduce burnout and retain skilled staff; improving access to mental health care and expanding school‑based services; addressing declining vaccination rates while respecting evolving public‑health authority; and emerging concerns about youth access to derived psychoactive cannabis products. Members also discussed the county’s recent opioid gap analysis and next steps for implementation of those recommendations.
Supervisors urged the county to include policy‑level analyses of federal and state changes that could affect county service delivery — for example, proposed federal changes to income‑maintenance administrative matches and possible changes to Medicaid/BadgerCare eligibility rules — and to consider advocacy via the County’s Association. Staff suggested these longer‑term fiscal and program risks may be addressed in strategic planning and noted some impacts may not arrive until 2027–2028.
Ending
Staff asked committee members to review the draft issues and objectives and provide written comments; staff will continue revising the chapter and will incorporate missing program details and graphics in future drafts.
