Shawnee County Health Department requests $1.58 million in state ‘aid to local’ grants; officials flag funding gaps and workforce limits

Teresa Fisher, director of the Shawnee County Health Department, presented an itemized request for state fiscal year 2026 "aid to local" grants at the Board of County Commissioners work session on March 10, telling commissioners the department's total grant request is $1,579,831 and that many grants do not cover full program costs.

Fisher said grant managers and finance staff were present to review individual grant applications and budgets. "By far and large, these are the majority of grants that we have throughout our department and our various programs," she said, adding the presentations would include staff, match requirements and whether grants are formula-based or competitive.

Craig Barnes, who presented multiple program budgets, said the childcare licensing program regulates roughly 296 licensed facilities in Shawnee County and that the department requested $381,386.30 for that program. He said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) funds childcare licensing on a formula that historically does not cover the full operating budget. "KDHE funds this grant on a formula," Barnes said, and noted requested amounts exceed what the department has received in recent years.

Barnes described a chronic-disease risk reduction grant request of approximately $107,407.19 that requires a 25% match and will fund activities including Safe Routes to School, tobacco and vaping prevention work, nutrition initiatives and a prenatal tobacco-cessation activity in partnership with the Topeka Doula Project.

Fisher and division managers detailed other requests and program goals: local public-health emergency preparedness ($110,191 requested; formula-based), regional preparedness funding for which the county serves as fiscal agent, Title X family-planning funding (federal), an Immunization Action Plan tied to the Vaccines for Children program, and a maternal and child health grant. Family Health Division Manager Missy Middendorf said the maternal and child health request totals $390,530.41 and requires a 40% local match; Fisher noted the match increases the total program cost to $597,799.71.

Division managers stressed staffing and salary pressures. Fisher said most grants have not kept pace with salary and benefits increases and that many programs operate with vacancies. Commissioner Cook asked whether programs are intentionally scaled so county funds do not subsidize grant activities; Craig Barnes replied the department calculates program costs and submits full operating budgets even when the state provides partial funding. "We did not look at trying to keep it within the grant request," Barnes said.

Clinical Services Division Manager Carrie Daus described family-planning funding (Title X) and said the grant requires compliance with 340B pharmacy program rules and maintains an advisory committee. Daus also reviewed immunization funding dynamics and said the county dispensed approximately 3,500 vaccine doses to about 1,100 children for federal vaccine programs in a recent year.

Fisher said the department will present the full packet on Thursday's Board of County Commissioners meeting for formal action. "These will be on Thursday's BCC agenda, so you'll see the full packet then," she said.

Why it matters: The health department funds a broad set of services for Shawnee County residents; gaps between grant-funded amounts and actual program costs can require county general funds, service reductions, or sustained vacancies. Several grants require local matches and regional obligations and the department serves as fiscal agent for a northeastern Kansas regional preparedness grant.

What’s next: The department will submit formal grant documents to the county agenda for final action on Thursday and continue to pursue additional grant opportunities and workforce strategies, including grant-funded home visiting expansions and regional exercise work.