Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
First Step home-visitation to subcontract with Upper Des Moines to continue services in Winnebago County
Summary
Public-health staff announced a transition for the county’s First Step home-visitation program: starting Oct. 1 the county will subcontract services through Upper Des Moines Opportunity to maintain local home-visitation services and continue funding flows.
Winnebago County public-health staff announced that the county’s First Step home-visitation program will subcontract operations to Upper Des Moines Opportunity beginning Oct. 1 to preserve services and billing continuity.
Julie, a public-health staff member who presented during open forum, said the county did not receive credentialing required to continue direct administration of the program and negotiated a subcontract arrangement so local families would continue to receive services. “Starting 10/01, we will be subcontracting under Upper Des Moines,” Julie said. “It will still be the same amount allotted to us this year, but it will just be how, when we go up billing.”
Nut graf: The subcontract will allow the county to continue providing home-visitation services while administrative responsibilities and credentialing transfer to Upper Des Moines Opportunity. Staff said the move preserves local service delivery and revenue flows for the current fiscal year while the program transitions administratively.
Julie said the new program name will be "First Step Winnebago County UDMO" and that staff will update paperwork and branding to reflect the subcontract. She described additional grant activity: Upper Des Moines has applied for a credentialing program (Parents as Teachers/Healthy Families alignment) and invited the county’s home-visitation staff to continue participation under the new affiliate arrangement.
Staff clarified there is no immediate fiscal change to local funding for the current year; billings will shift through the subcontract arrangement. Julie noted state ECI invoicing practices have shifted some reimbursement rules (by hours rather than per-visit for certain invoices), and the county has been tracking time in its new electronic medical record to document travel, visit time, charting and administration for cost reports.
Ending: Supervisors thanked Julie for the update. Staff said they will finalize transition paperwork and coordinate billing changes so service delivery continues without interruption.
