Human Services director highlights "beautiful struggle," budgets and child-protection casework in annual report

Jefferson County's Department of Human Services presented its 2024 annual report at the county board meeting, reporting a 2024 budget of $41,758,000, more than $35 million in revenue, and about 250 employees across five divisions.

Human Services Director Brent Relo framed the department's work as a "beautiful struggle," saying staff regularly confront generational trauma, addiction and instability while seeking slow, incremental change. "Success is often slow and quiet. It comes in small wins," Relo told the board.

Relo described a 2024 case in which a nonverbal teenage child with autism was at risk of out-of-home placement because the mother had limited childcare options. Human Services staff conducted a same-day response, worked with the mother to build trust, and developed a short-term safety plan that used a retired neighbor for on-site supervision during work shifts while the department arranged additional supports.

Those supports included paying the adult daughter to provide interim childcare using Department of Children and Families safety funds, locating a local respite provider, and securing Medicaid (medical assistance) for the child for the first time. Relo said that obtaining Medicaid allowed the child to receive specialized dental surgery under anesthesia and to enroll in children's long-term support and a summer camp with a one-on-one aide. "Due to the resources provided, he remains in the home with his mom today," Relo said.

Relo said the department ended 2024 under budget and urged ongoing support for staff and programs that provide long-term, case-level work. He told supervisors the annual report includes program-level metrics and goals, and invited supervisors to follow up with staff for details.

No formal action was required; the board received the report.