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Lubbock County general assistance director warns welfare funds near exhaustion as demand for cremations and utility help rises
Summary
Director Diana Garel Caputo told the commissioners court the general assistance office is seeing higher demand for utility assistance and cremations, will likely need a line‑item transfer to finish the fiscal year and requested clarity on a part‑time personnel line that has already been converted to full time.
Diana Garel Caputo, director of Lubbock County’s general assistance department, told the Commissioners Court during a June work session that demand for utilities assistance and cremations has risen sharply this year and the department expects to run out of its current welfare funds before fiscal year end without a transfer.
Caputo reviewed the office’s history and operations — noting the department formerly handled burials and USDA food distribution, and now primarily provides limited rent and utilities assistance and handles indigent cremations. She said the office currently has four full‑time employees and is booked every 30 minutes on busy days.
“I'm not sure what you want me to do. I mean, we can … visit the, you know, everything in your processes,” Caputo said when commissioners queried ways to reduce workload. She described intake as an interview‑intensive, in‑person process…
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