Kenosha County committee hears preliminary 2026 human services budget with cuts to aging, public health and child services

Kenosha County Human Services staff on July 1 presented a preliminary budget outlook for 2026 that includes modest reductions to Older Americans Act funding, a 28% cut to public health emergency preparedness support, expiration of a two-year independent living pilot, several child welfare grant reductions and a projected large increase in juvenile corrections placement costs if the state maintains proposed rates.

The committee was told the aging and disability services budget — about $8 million last year — includes a mix of federal, state, grant and county levy dollars. Staff said Older Americans Act Title III funding will see small decreases: a roughly $2,046 reduction in Title III-B supportive services, about $3,000 less for senior dining (Title C1) from a roughly $375,000 budget, and about $1,000 less to Meals on Wheels (Title C2). Staff said the county funds programs such as the Westosha Senior Center and the Kenosha Area Family Aging Services friendly visitor program with these dollars. The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) was shown with a $502 increase from last year’s $68,256 allocation.

Staff also said the state-run Independent Living for Families Pilot (ILFP) that the county participated in ended June 30. Over two years the pilot totaled roughly "close to $300,000," staff said, and the county expected to have served roughly 480–490 people; final state numbers were pending as of the meeting.

On public health, presenters said federal and state funding changes will shrink the county’s capacity in several areas. Public health emergency preparedness funding that supports the county’s emergency preparedness position and an epidemiologist is projected to fall by 28% in 2026; staff said they expect to retain those positions but will need to reallocate funds. The immunization line that covers nurses’ time was shown with a 50% reduction — staff said the county would still provide immunizations when residents come in but would have fewer clinic hours to staff with funded nurse time. A one-time public health infrastructure grant that previously funded communicable disease response and other activities is winding down; staff listed a $78,000 reduction in 2026 tied to that funding’s remaining spend window through 2027. Presenters said the infrastructure funding had previously enabled adding staff to the communicable disease team and support for school nurses responding to outbreaks.

Behavioral-health-related federal grants were also discussed. The county’s SAMHSA-funded program that supported a navigator and community education, distribution of naloxone and vending-machine naloxone programs ends in September; staff said they have applied for another grant to preserve some functions, including follow-up on EMS reports and maintaining naloxone distribution.

Children and family services divisions face larger program-level reductions, staff said. The department expects cuts or eliminations to several grants: Kinship funding (which pays for a county kinship worker) is subject to state allocation changes; the Brighter Futures Initiative state grant will not return in 2026; a positive parenting grant has concluded; and 4(e) child-welfare earmarks have been removed. The county’s competitive foster family support funding fell sharply: at the time of the packet it appeared to be $15,000 but staff reported it was subsequently reduced to $5,794. The youth innovation grant used for a county-wide truancy program was described as stepping down over multiple years to about $25,000.

Staff flagged juvenile correction placement costs as a major pressure. Presenters said the county currently pays about $1,200 per day for placements to Lincoln Hills or Copper Lakes and averages roughly six youths in correctional placements. If the proposed state rate increase remains in the enacted budget, the county’s per-diem could rise to $2,501 this year and to $2,758 in fiscal year 2026–27, which would raise the county’s placement cost from roughly $2.7 million to about $5.4 million or higher for the same number of youths. Staff emphasized judges place youth in facilities and placement decisions are outside county control; the county is exploring other placement options including a Racine County facility and Mendota for youth with significant mental health needs.

Committee members asked about the share of aging and disability funds that are federal; staff said aging and disability’s budget was about $8 million and roughly $5 million of that originated as federal dollars, with additional state, grant, client-contributed and levy sources. Several supervisors warned that reduced funding — whether federal, state or local — could create waiting lists for services, strain nonprofit safety-net partners and have cascading effects on nursing homes and family caregivers if Medicaid or other supports are cut.

Presenters repeatedly noted these numbers are preliminary and depend on final state and federal budgets. Staff said they would provide additional detail by email and return with updates if the state or federal budgets change. The committee voted to return the presentation and materials to committee business for follow-up.