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Dunn County officials warn of rising placement costs for human services
Summary
Health and human services staff told the executive committee they have logged several new high‑cost placements since the budget was locked; juvenile corrections and medically intensive placements can cost hundreds to thousands per day and increase budget risk.
Paula, a Human Services staff member who briefed the committee on July 22, said the county has seen a surge of high‑cost court‑ordered placements since the round‑one budget was drawn.
"Since the time that we put the budget together, we laid this out... Since they locked the budget, we've had 4 placements this week, and 2 of them are high end medical," Paula said, explaining placements range from foster and treatment‑foster settings to medically intensive group placements and juvenile corrections. She added that some placements can be "about $800 a day" and that specialized contracts (e.g., temporary placement at Rogers Memorial) can run "about $1,200 a day."
Supervisors pressed staff for options to manage the fiscal risk. The county manager noted a human‑services fund balance established in prior years is not currently available to absorb large overruns and urged conservative budgeting or phasing of funds. Committee members discussed seeding a fund balance, adjusting priorities in the 'poker chip' exercise, or using short‑term financing in extreme cases.
Paula recommended caution: budgeting a higher contingency for placements would reduce the risk of drawing down general fund balance or exceeding policy targets. The committee did not adopt a formal change; staff will return with options in Round 2.
