Marathon County reports 62% successful completion rate for Family Keys pilot, urges budget plan to sustain program

Marathon County social services told the County Board on Aug. 21 that its Family Keys pilot helped keep families together and generated measurable fiscal savings while the program’s state grant has ended.

Krista Jensen, social services director, said the county enrolled 21 families (53 children) in Family Keys during 2023–24 and that 13 of those families, or 62 percent, “successfully discharged from the program.” Jensen said a successful discharge meant the family had stable housing at exit and the children remained, or were returned, to parental custody.

The program targeted families for whom housing instability was the primary safety concern and required participating families to follow a handbook and program rules. Jensen said families were asked to save 30 percent of their income during enrollment, accept weekly case management and allow background checks for household members and frequent visitors.

Jensen described outcomes and costs: “We served 21 families total, which was, 53 children included within those 21 families.” She told the board Marathon County spent “around a $129,000 on Family Keys” in 2023 and “around a $106,000 on Family Keys” in 2024, for a combined Family Keys expenditure of $234,528. Jensen and staff calculated that placing those 53 children in foster or other out-of-home care at the county’s lowest average placement rate would have cost $491,239,…