Hillsdale County health department outlines child-welfare caseloads and warns food assistance could pause amid federal shutdown

Renee, a Hillsdale County Department of Health and Human Services presenter, told the Board of Commissioners on Oct. 14 that the department is managing a range of child-welfare cases and several assistance programs while staffing remains limited. "We have 20 staff members, first-line workers, and five supervisors" for child-welfare programs, she said, and described the agency's use of case categories to triage investigations.

Renee detailed the department’s September caseload: 121 complaints received for county families; 51 investigations opened; 10 confirmed findings of abuse or neglect involving 18 victims; and 38 cases remaining open. She explained the county’s case categories, from Category 5 (investigations completed with no finding, often when families cannot be located) up to Category 1 (cases for which the department files petitions with the court). "A category 1 case could also be that there's previously or already a category 2 case and the family did not voluntarily participate in services," she said.

On foster care, Renee said Hillsdale had 94 children in care in September, 86 of whom were placed outside the home, with 27 temporary wards and 26 children committed to the state and available for adoption. She said roughly half of children placed out of home are placed with relatives and that reunification remains the primary goal: "We're working with the parents, trying to get them services to make it safe for those children to return home as quickly as possible." The department reported progress on foster-home licensing, rising from 10 licensed homes last year to 16 this year, with more applications in the pipeline.

Renee summarized assistance-payment programs administered by the department. For the most recent compiled month (August 2025), food assistance accounted for the largest caseload: 3,024 cases covering an unduplicated total of 5,727 people (3,655 adults and 2,072 children); she said food assistance averages about $167 per person per month. State emergency-relief payments numbered 49 cases totaling $22,788 across 70 payments, most for energy needs.

The presenter warned that a federal government shutdown could have immediate local consequences. "As of right now with the government shutdown, we are not gonna be able to issue food assistance in November," she said, adding that applications will still be processed "as far as we can" but that approved households would not receive new monthly benefits until federal funding is restored. She urged awareness of local food-bank coordination and said the county's computer system could re-enable issuance promptly when funding returns.

Renee also described the county’s overdose fatality review team, formed about a year ago, which reviews individual deaths (including identifying decedents to learn systemic lessons) and is recommending expanded community responses, such as wider Narcan availability.

The board asked several clarifying questions about definitions of abuse and measures of reunification success. Renee said the county’s recurrence rate (children returning to the system within 12 months) is under 7 percent and that the department relies on provider reports, collateral contacts and ongoing service engagement to judge whether reunification is likely to be sustained. "Our goal is to get out of their life — we don't want to stay in their life — but they need to have a support system that's going to remain," she said.

The board thanked the presenter and moved on to subsequent agenda items. The department said it will continue to process applications during the funding interruption and notify residents about local food-bank options and any reinstatement of benefit issuance.