Costs of required services provided by the Shawano County Department of Human Services continue to rise as state allocations fail to keep pace. Whatever the state doesn’t pay for falls to the county taxpayers.
Members of the county executive committee agreed April 9 to transfer another $750,000 from its unassigned general fund to cover cost overages from 2024.
“There was budgeted fund balance to be used in 2024, so that was all used,” said Carrie Buntjer, finance director. “And then there’s an additional deficit. DHS right now has a negative fund balance of $636,219.”
She suggested the committee fund that to balance the account but actually transfer $750,000 in case an upcoming audit uncovers more expenses, as well as restore a financial cushion for the future.
Programs that came in over budget were: inpatient, $583,661.20; home-delivered meals, $92,893.34; foster homes, $77,342.85; community residential facilities, $44,800; group homes, $17,105.58; and Birth to 3, $16,939.67.
“We just do not get enough tax levy to fund these programs,” said Rick Kane, DHS director. “Mental health placement, they used to be substantially cheaper. Now when you get committed, they’re $1,800 a day (at Winnebago Mental Health Institute). The private sector doesn’t want them; they won’t take them. They go to Winnebago, and they’re there for three days.”
He said of the 790 or so outpatients treated by DHS, 19% get hospitalized.
“People are needing more hospitalization than ever before,” he said.
Food costs for the senior nutrition program also continue to rise.
“You know what it costs to eat, what a dozen eggs cost,” he said. “We serve about 56,000 meals every year in all of our congregate sites.”
Kane said DHS merged its home-delivered meal program with the Aging and Disability Resource Center to build back that fund.
“Still, $93,000 in the hole,” Kane said. “Food prices have gone through the roof.”
By law, meals are provided for a suggested minimum donation ($4.50 in Shawano County), but no one is denied a meal due to an inability to pay.
“There’s more that do have the ability to pay and just don’t,” Kane said. “You can’t cut them off. You can’t send them a bill. You can’t do any of that; it’s against the law.”
Desserts were eliminated a long time ago.
“There’s got to be a way to free up some money,” Kane said of state dollars. “The state is sitting on billions of surplus dollars, and every county is hurting.”
Local officials have tried to convince the seniors who can afford to pay for the meals to actually pay. Some believe poorer people are taking advantage of the program, so they will, too. Others believe they’ve paid taxes for many decades, so they’ve earned free meals.
Lois Krizan, business division manager, said a wait list has been started.
“We never had one before, but with the high cost of food, we now have created a wait list,” she said.
Kane said three main state agencies – Department of Children and Families, Department of Health Services and Department of Corrections – provide funds for the local DHS.
“They haven’t given us an increase in years,” Kane said.
He told the story of a woman who recently turned 18. She is mentally ill and has autism. Her issues have been going on for years.
“That’s the piece that’s almost impossible to treat,” Kane said of the autism. “We’ve had her committed numerous times.”
He said her family is exhausted and doesn’t want her back.
“This last weekend, she was at the hospital because she ate three or four titanium batteries,” Kane said. “We were going to put her in Winnebago again. Before they would take her, she had to be stabilized. There was a deputy … that had to babysit her for 16 hours, because they wanted to be sure she didn’t eat anything more at the hospital.”
The woman is now going to a group treatment home, this time not at the county’s expense.
“If they kick her out, then it comes back to us,” Kane said. “And they’re smart enough to know how to do that. They’ll just say, ‘We can’t treat her.’”
He said in too many cases, treatment is not the main concern; rather, it’s who can get stuck paying for it and dealing with the individual.
The woman in the story has had several altercations with police, including wrestling guns away from officers, Kane said. She spent time at Lincoln Hills, which cost the county more than $500,000 for her care there, Krizan said.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Supervisor Kathy Luebke said about the budget shortfall. “Our hands are tied. We have to pay it.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
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