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Commissioners say state budget impasse forces Carbon County to cover $11 million Children & Youth budget; providers left unpaid
Summary
Commissioners and the county's Children and Youth official described fiscal strain from the state budget impasse, including an $11 million county budget submission and dozens of unpaid providers, and warned the county's fund balance could be depleted by late fall without state action.
Commissioner Sofranco told the meeting that Carbon County submitted an $11 million children-and-youth budget and that the county must plan to cover a portion while the state budget remains unsettled.
"Today, Carbon County commissioners are on the hook for $11,000,000 for children and youth," Sofranco said, adding that the county must file budgets even while the state remains in a budget impasse.
During a press-question period, a county official identified as Jill answered commissioners' questions about the children's-services budget and operational needs. Jill said roughly $700,000 of the $11 million request was earmarked to cover higher provider costs tied to increased placements and staffing needs: "700,000 of that is for our providers. Unfortunately, we have, increased our number of youth in care, and we have 47 teens in care, and they're very hard to place," she said.
Jill said the office currently employs 14 caseworkers and four supervisors, that the county has authorization to hire up to 43 staff but would ideally have 24 caseworkers, and that about 37 providers were not being paid while the state budget remained unsettled. She estimated the county's fund balance could be at risk by November or December if state funding does not resume: "I can tell you ... we probably have somewhere in November. November, December is where we hit," she said.
Commissioners and staff described cascading consequences: unpaid providers could close or stop accepting placements, increasing pressure on foster placements and county fund balances. Commissioners urged state legislators to resolve the impasse so funds can flow to counties; the board also adopted resolution 25‑029 urging action on the budget impasse.
No change to county policy or new borrowing authority was adopted at the meeting, but commissioners said they were monitoring fund balances and might need to consider borrowing if the impasse continued.
