County says state has removed CLTS corrective action; enrollment improves but waits remain

Presenter (Health and Human Services department) told the committee that the state has officially taken the county off a corrective action plan for the Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) program, and that the county will report on CLTS to this committee going forward in the standard cadence.

The Presenter said staffing changes contributed to the improvement: five positions that had been contracted were converted to county employees in January, and the county expanded its CLTS workforce over the past year to meet program demand. "So we're in good standing again and the numbers I think speak for themselves," the Presenter said.

On benchmarks, the state standard for enrollment after program eligibility is 90 days; the Presenter said the county has reached 75 days on average. The Presenter gave December figures in the report: a wait list listed as "'18" in the transcript and an enrollment figure of 456. The Presenter said the county enrolled an additional "120, 3 children" between January 2025 and December 2025 according to the transcript language and that the program expects to maintain enrollment near 450–475 children while monitoring caseload capacity.

Supervisor Bowser asked whether the program is essentially self-funded by reimbursements; the Presenter said yes, and described how the hourly rate for 2026 was calculated at about $213 per hour using a comprehensive cost spreadsheet. The Presenter said a reconciliation payment (described in the report as about $400,000) arrived to cover prior-year expenses, improving the county’s confidence in reimbursement for program costs.

The committee offered support and no formal action was taken; the Presenter said staff will continue to monitor enrollment, caseloads and reimbursement reconciliation.