Jackson County DHS reports child-care fund under budget, aims to recruit 25 foster homes

Jackson County Department of Human Services staff told commissioners during the quarterly report that the county’s child-care fund is under budget and the department will continue monitoring spending while moving forward on foster-home recruitment.

"There's no concerns related to the child care fund. We are under budget," said Britney Tuki, a DHS program manager filling in for the director. Tuki said DHS has a goal of recruiting 25 licensed foster homes in Jackson this year and is partnering with private agencies such as Family Services, Children's Aid, Samaritas and Catholic Charities to meet that target.

The department described the difficulty of placing older youth in foster care, saying those young people often have higher levels of trauma and behavioral-health and substance-use needs that complicate placements. "Our older youth may have the higher levels of trauma ... which contributes to issues with placing them with family members and in licensed foster homes," Tuki said.

In a question-and-answer exchange, program staff identified current capacity figures. "I think we roughly have about 55 ... licensed foster homes," said Jen, a program manager. When asked how many youth are in foster care, staff said the county is "right around 170." Those figures include licensed foster homes and additional relatives the department is licensing as caregivers.

DHS also described outreach activities intended to connect residents to benefits and reduce housing instability. The department hosted a May "lunch and learn" with the Jackson Collaborative Network covering Medicaid enrollment, SNAP reenrollment and time-limited food assistance (TLFA), and staff said the city is continuing work on a TLFA waiver. Tuki described a newly rolled-out "teaming model" that pairs family-resource support staff with children’s-services staff and assistance-payment staff to intervene earlier for families in economic crisis to prevent evictions and homelessness.

Tuki noted that emergency assistance funds and hotel placement are prioritized for families with children; she said separate shelter capacity and funding questions for adult-only clients remain subject to other agencies' resources. Commissioners raised observations about visible homelessness downtown, and DHS said partners such as interfaith housing and other community organizations are pursuing capacity expansions.

The board moved to receive the DHS report and approved it by voice vote.