Human Services director warns of rising protective‑services workload and placements driving budget pressure

Andy Stanley, Marquette County’s human services director, told supervisors the department administers more than 50 programs across the lifespan and saw a rise in child protective screenings in 2025 (screen‑ins rose from 38 to 53). "If they're screened in we have required response times," Stanley said, noting an increase in immediate responses that require staff to make home visits within 24–48 hours.

Stanley said crisis calls and emergency detentions were down in 2025 overall but remain costly because the county lacks a hospital with inpatient psychiatric beds. He explained emergency detentions can require costly out‑of‑county hospital stays "anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 a night," and Marquette County is financially responsible while the person is detained in county.

Adult protective services remain busy, he said, with a rising number of financial‑exploitation reports involving seniors. "A lot of times banks will notice things and they will send us an alert," Stanley said in response to a supervisor’s question, but he cautioned that victims sometimes refuse law‑enforcement involvement, complicating investigations.

On budget, Stanley reported a 2025 departmental operating deficit of $141,142.37, which he characterized as an improvement from a projected $450,000 shortfall. He attributed much of the pressure to higher costs and longer durations for out‑of‑county placements for children and adults.

The director said the department is piloting tools to prioritize home‑delivered‑meal recipients by need, and highlighted the county‑operated food bank that served roughly 1,500 unduplicated clients in 2025. He told the board he would provide additional detail to supervisors who requested comparative statistics across counties.