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Seneca County commissioners consider monthly installments to cover rising children-in-care costs
Summary
Facing rising placement and replacement costs for children in county care, commissioners discussed shifting an annual $500,000 allocation into monthly installments and exploring additional funding sources and federal 4E reimbursements.
Commissioners said the county has traditionally set aside $500,000 annually to offset placement and care costs for children in county custody and that those costs have grown significantly. One commissioner proposed shifting to a monthly allotment to smooth the county’s cash flow—suggesting the board might consider dividing the annual allocation into monthly payments (the possible figure discussed was an example of $100,000 per month) while staff seeks other funding sources.
County staff noted the availability of a federal reimbursement program referred to in the meeting as '4E,' which may cover about 64% of eligible care costs but applies only to a subset of youths; commissioners said only two of the youths currently in care appeared eligible, making reimbursements a small portion of total costs. Commissioners asked staff to prepare recommendations and explore additional state or grant funding so county administrators and JFS staff can manage payments without open-ended spending.
No formal budget amendment was adopted at this discussion; commissioners said they expect to return with a recommendation for the board's consideration.
