Portage County board says mandated mental-health and substance-abuse services will continue amid federal grant delay

The Portage County Health Services Board was told that two federal block grants that fund local substance-abuse and community mental health services have not yet been released to Wisconsin, and members agreed the county will continue mandated services while staff seek clarification.

Chair (first speaker) told the board that although the state had moved funds toward counties, a federal contract provision means the county cannot bill the grants until the federal release is complete. "The money has not been released to Wisconsin," the chair said, and staff were advised to "proceed with extreme caution" until the grant administrator provides clarification.

Why it matters: the grants support core services including the crisis line, which the board said it must continue to operate. Members said they will keep contracting with existing providers to avoid losing service capacity and will temporarily use reserves if federal dollars arrive late, a pattern the board said has occurred in prior years.

Board members described a blocked federal effort to combine the two grants into a new program because the process did not follow required federal committee review. The chair said staff have contacted the county grant administrator and expect a further update after the holidays; leadership will reassess after about a month if there is no resolution.

What was decided: the board directed staff to maintain mandated and essential services (the chair cited the crisis line as an example) and to continue contracts with community providers for now. The county will not bill the grants until federal release is confirmed; short-term costs may be covered from reserves.

The board’s next procedural step is to await the grant administrator’s clarification and revisit the funding decision if the situation is not resolved within approximately one month.