Chesterfield social services reports higher caseloads, readies contingency plans after state SNAP and Medicaid rule changes

Angie Grant, chair of the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services board, and Kiva Rogers, director of the Chesterfield County Department of Social Services, updated the Board of Supervisors on workforce, workload and program changes at a work session on Oct. 1, 2025.

The presentation highlighted larger caseloads in several areas, steps the department is taking to stabilize its workforce, and contingency planning after recent federal and state changes to SNAP and Medicaid rules. "This plan really is more than just a document. It is a road map that we're using to help guide the department," Rogers said, describing a strategic plan launched in January that centers on leadership, service experience, collaboration and data.

Why it matters: county leaders and social-service staff said the changes could increase local administrative burdens and require new county-level spending while the department manages higher demand for protective services and foster-care placements. Rogers said Chesterfield has nearly 15,000 SNAP benefit cases — equal to about 31,305 individual recipients — and that September SNAP disbursements totaled $5,868,278 for the county.

Rogers told supervisors the department saw a 23% increase in adult protective-services investigations and a 16% rise in children entering the department's legal custody during the year. She also reported a 10% reduction in Medicaid recipients in fiscal 2025 even as new Medicaid applications and appeals rose. "Regardless of the 80,000 Medicaid recipients that we serve, those are . . . individuals who are behind those numbers," Rogers said, urging a person-centered approach to data and service delivery.

On workforce issues, Rogers said turnover has fallen 4% from the prior year and vacancies are down 7% after targeted retention and recruitment strategies. The department reported 12 internal promotions, three completed career development plans and expanded employee wellness efforts, including monthly support groups through a new employee behavioral health team.

Rogers credited community partnerships for program results, citing collaborations with Housing Families First, local faith-based organizations and shelters such as Caritas. She noted the department received a National Association of Counties (NACo) award for a kinship-collaborative program and described an expanded Motel-to-Home eviction-prevention program that used $300,000 in ARPA funds and additional donations to aid families after initial funding was exhausted.

Federal and state policy changes prompted the department's contingency planning. A recorded video presented by department staff said that, as of Oct. 1, 2025, SNAP applicants and recipients must provide verification of housing, medical and dependent-care expenses; and that individuals aged 18–64 must work at least 80 hours per month to qualify. The video also said exemptions for some groups — including homeless individuals, veterans and certain youth — were removed under the bill it named as HR1 (referred to in the video as the "1 Big Beautiful Bill Act") and that the change also requires states to maintain a payment error rate below 6% to receive full federal funding.

Rogers described the state-level response: Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order No. 13 requiring expanded verification. She warned that Virginia's current payment error rate is approximately 11% and that, if it remains there, the state could face about $270,000,000 in costs. Rogers said the state is implementing a plan to reduce that rate and that counties are coordinating regionally and locally to limit customer service disruptions.

On Medicaid, Rogers said redeterminations will move from annual to every six months for expansion recipients and noted the 80-hour work requirement will also apply. The department is preparing for a shift in administrative cost-sharing from a 50/50 federal-state split to 25% federal and 75% state; Chesterfield's local fiscal estimate is an approximate 8% increase in county costs (about $278,000) that staff are accounting for in fiscal-year planning.

Rogers outlined the department's implementation priorities for reducing errors and managing workload: training, process improvement, technology (including limited, supervisory uses of AI), and community engagement with employers, faith-based and nonprofit partners to expand opportunities that can satisfy some work or community-service requirements.

Supervisors asked for clarification on trends. Dr. Miller asked whether increases reflect population growth or other factors; Rogers said pandemic-era effects and complexity of cases likely contribute, and that adult protective-services growth is driven primarily by self-neglect among aging residents. Rogers said her team is focused on providing the least-restrictive interventions for adults who retain decision-making authority.

The presentation closed with Rogers thanking the board for ongoing support and noting plans to continue using data and partnerships to meet shifting needs. No formal votes or board actions were taken during the presentation portion of the work session.

Rogers's exact words on workforce strategy: "We've been able to, over the last year, really taking a strategic effort to stabilize our workforce." Jonathan, a department staff member who presented recorded state guidance in the video, said: "To avoid delays in processing your application, please have all required documentation ready when submitting new or renewal applications."

Ending: County staff said they will continue refining contingency plans, coordinate regionally on SNAP messaging to limit office congestion, and provide fiscal updates to supervisors as the state and federal implementation plans unfold.