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Health & Human Services and Child Support offices report program results; procurement transparency and placement costs flagged
Summary
Health and Human Services reported public‑health preparedness, strong birth‑to‑three and children's long‑term support review scores, and concerns about Amazon purchases disclosure; Child Support reported strong paternity and order‑establishment benchmarks and warned of rising paper‑service costs.
At its May meeting the Richland County Community and Health Services Standing Committee heard administrative reports from Health and Human Services staff and the Child Support Agency, and directed follow‑up on procurement transparency and placement funding.
Health and Human Services leadership highlighted recent activity across units: a measles tabletop exercise with the hospital on April 21, volunteer recognition for nutrition and transportation programs, and successful program review results — the birth‑to‑three program scored 100% on its review and Children's Long‑Term Support scored 96.3%. The director said, "we should all be prepared if that measles makes it to our county. Knock on wood it doesn't," and urged continued preparedness and collaboration with the hospital.
Committee members pressed staff on a line of Amazon purchases listed under children long‑term support (CLTS). Staff explained those are pass‑through purchases reimbursed through Medicaid when families qualify and that the department uses a tax‑exempt business account; committee members nonetheless requested clearer accounting and program‑level descriptions so the purchase purpose is transparent. Staff agreed to provide the procurement and credit‑card approval process and to have the finance manager review whether purchasing practices could reduce costs.
On placements and budget staff reported adult placement costs can be unpredictable and sometimes very high, citing Winnebago rates as an example of mandatory placements that can exceed $2,000 per day. Staff said children's placements are low currently and the department is following family‑first guidelines to keep children in their homes when safe to do so.
Melanie Nolford, director of the Child Support Agency, reported that the office handles roughly 750–775 cases and exceeded benchmarks for paternity and court‑order establishment. She told the committee that "for turning establishment for the first quarter we exceeded the benchmark of 90% ... in March 99.32% of our paternity cases we put a father's name on the birth certificate." Nolford also said the office had not met one collection benchmark and that rising paper‑service fees (one recent invoice near $200) may require a budget adjustment for 2027.
Committee members asked staff to provide clearer documentation on purchases and to include the requested procurement oversight materials at the next meeting; staff said they would follow up.
