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Commissioners allocate $200,000 in ARPA revenue‑loss funds to avoid foster‑care placement gaps
Summary
Lee County approved using $200,000 in ARPA revenue‑loss funds to continue emergency placement payments that allow the department to pay enhanced rates to short‑term providers and avoid children staying overnight in county offices while stable placements are identified.
Lee County commissioners voted Sept. 15 to authorize the use of $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) revenue‑loss funds to extend emergency placement funding for children in foster care. Lee County Department of Social Services staff said state‑directed funding provided earlier had nearly been exhausted and that the requested county funds would allow staff to pay higher temporary placement rates to providers while they locate appropriate long‑term placements.
Angelina Noll told the board the funding had been used to avoid children sleeping in DSS offices on multiple occasions and would provide flexibility to negotiate enhanced payments for hard‑to‑place youth. Program manager Ray Ferreira was present to answer technical questions. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about kinship payment rules and the availability of foster‑parent recruitment or training; staff said kinship payments now allow nonlicensed relatives to receive half of the standard board rate in certain cases and that the department is running training to certify new foster parents.
The motion to allocate $200,000 for emergency placement funding was moved and approved by voice vote with 'ayes' recorded. Commissioners asked staff to continue outreach and to report back on recruitment efforts for licensed foster providers and updates to kinship payment practices.
The allocation is drawn from ARPA revenue‑loss funds and is intended to be a bridge while longer‑term placements and systemic capacity improvements continue.
