Richland County HHS opens 2026 budget public hearing; no public comments

The Richland County Health and Human Services standing committee opened a public hearing on the department's 2026 budget and plan and received no public testimony. Chair (unnamed) read the public-hearing procedures and closed the hearing after no members of the public indicated a desire to speak.

HHS staff reviewed unit updates across aging and disability services, behavioral health, child and youth services, and public health, and highlighted near-term budget implications. Staff said the Aging and Disability Resource Center continues its nutrition program and the county recently added an on-call nutrition-site worker and a transportation driver so services can continue when staff are absent. The behavioral health clinic remains busy; staff said they were granted permission by the county administrator to apply for the State Opioid Response grant this year and noted there is no local match requirement for that application.

On child and youth services, staff reported a youth was discharged from a residential placement and returned to a parent. Staff also said one youth aged out of services, which will remove that case from institutional placement costs going forward. The department said it received a one-time grant to purchase items such as clothing, diapers and car seats for families when other funding sources do not permit those purchases.

Public-health staff are scheduling immunization and school flu clinics, the department said. In workforce news, staff reported that Emily Shelton, a birth-to-3 case manager, received a scholarship from Wisconsin DHS to attend an infant-mental-health capstone at UW'Madison.

Budget context and cash flow: staff described the state budget action as "better news than expected" and warned about potential federal eligibility changes that could reduce funding. Staff said the department relies in part on a 50/50 match for FoodShare and noted a possible federal change to that match could affect local revenues. The department also explained a timing problem affecting Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) revenue after the state changed the third-party billing system from WPS to GainWell/ForwardHealth; that change has delayed claiming and drawdowns. Staff said the county received a deposit of almost $250,000 from the state that should help address the timing shortfall.

On expenditures, staff said the department purchased a replacement computer under a five-year rotation plan and will receive a $750 reimbursement; the department also received a $500 reimbursement related to an assessment tool for the BRT program.

Procedural actions at the meeting included approval of the agenda (the committee struck item 9d), approval of the prior meeting's minutes, and an adjournment motion. Committee members discussed timing for publicity and review of the State Opioid Response grant application; staff said they will try to notify the public in August and review applications in September or October.

The committee set its next regular meeting for Aug. 7 at 9:30 a.m.