Human Services director: Medicaid applications jump, proposed $525,114 shortfall to come from department fund

Human Services Director Deb told the Board that child-welfare referrals and benefits workloads remain high even as some program revenues fall. "We have 159 referrals, so we're kind of on track to be around the same, maybe a little bit more," Deb said, noting the department had 194 referrals in 2023 and currently has seven out-of-home placements that require out-of-county travel.

Deb walked commissioners through the department's 2025 budget summary and said the proposed budget shows revenues (excluding county tax revenue) of $2,783,709 and expenses of $3,501,114, leaving a deficit of $525,114 that the department proposes to cover from the human services fund balance. She described a staffing crunch: the team has been supported temporarily by three part-time, experienced employees from another county and by an overflow processing center for applications; she also reported recent hires but said sustained training and retention remain priorities.

Why it matters: commissioners said they understood the accounting nuance that loan proceeds can show as revenue for capital projects but pressed on service-level impacts such as caseworker travel and timely Medicaid renewals. Several commissioners asked whether the department could expand outreach, and Deb said state rules and a lack of dedicated outreach funding limit active enrollment efforts. Commissioners asked finance staff to track any late-arriving grant awards and to return with clarified figures for the human services fund before the preliminary determination.