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Washington County hires five case managers; CLTS wait time drops but remains above state benchmark
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Summary
Health and Human Services reported hiring five case managers and a drop in average days from referral to enrollment for the Children's Long Term Support (CLTS) program to 99 days (through October), down from 306 in February; the state benchmark is 90 days and the county continues to monitor staffing and funding through rate-setting and reconciliation.
Washington County Health and Human Services presented an update on the Children's Long Term Support (CLTS) program, reporting reduced wait times after targeted hiring and contracting actions.
Julie Driscoll said the county hired five case managers this year and had used a contracted community provider earlier to accelerate hiring while staffing moves to county employment. "Those 5 positions are in our budget, and... it seems like that right at this point in time is sort of the right mix of staff," Driscoll said.
Driscoll cited the state dashboard for Washington County (data through October) showing average days from referral to enrollment at 99 days against the state benchmark of 90 days. She noted the program had a peak average of 306 days in February and said the county is "really excited" about the progress while acknowledging the figure is still slightly above the benchmark.
On funding, Driscoll said CLTS uses annual rate-setting with the state and a year-end reconciliation process; the county received about $300,000 in reconciliation funds last year. She said the current staffing level is expected to be adequate for roughly six to nine months, after which the department may return to the committee if additional positions are needed.
Next steps: the department will continue to track waitlist metrics (November data were not yet available at the time of the meeting), monitor staff productivity, and report back if caseload trends require additional positions.
