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Carver HHS says internal changes cut MAPPA cost estimate from $3.4M to ~$1.5M
Summary
HHS director Heather Hemsey told commissioners the department reduced its projected MAPPA cost from $3.4M to roughly $1.5M by refocusing assessments on higher‑risk cases, specializing staff roles, suspending nonessential activities, and leveraging contracts and technology.
Heather Hemsey, director of Carver County Health and Human Services, told the board the department has already taken several operational steps that sharply reduced an initial MAPPA cost estimate.
"We are focusing all of our assessment work on the moderate high and the high risk cases only," Hemsey said, describing a deliberate shift away from lower‑risk work to preserve capacity. She said the county will split case management into specialists for children's mental health and child protection, repurpose senior social workers into consultation and training roles, suspend the foster‑care appreciation banquet as a discretionary saving, and explore AI tools to speed court report drafting.
Hemsey and staff attributed the $1.9M reduction in the MAPPA projection primarily to those internal realignments and to updated statutory interpretation. She cautioned that some new costs remain — notably concrete supports and culturally specific services required under the law — and that $100,000 in guaranteed one‑time state MAPPA money and a potential county surcharge could be applied to 2027 costs but are not recurring solutions.
The board thanked staff for the reductions but emphasized continued caution: commissioners urged staged hiring and additional data before committing to full‑year FTEs.
