DHS with low six-figure deficit through Nov. '21 partly due to crisis care

Ryan Patterson, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Jan. 25—EAU CLAIRE — The Eau Claire County Department of Human Services has a six-figure deficit so far in 2021, due in part to a costly crisis care placement.

Through November 2021, the most recent month for which data is available, DHS had a deficit of $127,193. That figure comes from a revenue deficit of $22,485 and expenditures shortage of $104,708.

The DHS Board received this information during its meeting Monday.

A notable reason for the losses is an expenditure deficit of about $342,000 in alternate care programs. Vickie Gardner, DHS fiscal manager, attributed the deficit to "at least one high-cost placement."

Supervisor Colleen Bates, DHS Board chairwoman, said placements for people dealing with mental health or behavioral health crises are very tough to predict. Once they occur, the department must pay for the costs to help people deal with situations where they could harm themselves or others.

"These risk areas are not areas that we can really do a lot about," Bates said. "We're going through such difficult times, between COVID and the issues that it has brought forward, plus the economic stress, that I don't see this changing until those circumstances change."

Ron Schmidt, DHS deputy director, said the pandemic has caused more challenges for residents and the department.

"Going into our almost third year of COVID response, I do think that the community is quite stretched," Schmidt said.

The County Board approved the DHS request to remove four crisis program positions from the county bridge plan and put the positions back into full-time work in 2022. That approval meant funding returned for three crisis social workers and one crisis supervisor, resulting in program funding for 11 full-time crisis workers this year.

Supervisor Kathie Schneider, a DHS Board member, asked if additional crisis workers will decrease the number of placements and thus lower costs.

Schmidt said he couldn't guarantee that, again noting the uncertain nature of crisis placements, but he said more employees hopefully means more proactive work occurs, especially for people experiencing homelessness.

"This is a totally unpredictable thing," Schmidt said. "We hope to have a big impact on people in that crisis arena, particularly where homelessness comes in ... When someone doesn't have a permanent residence, it's possible for a lot more chaos to happen."

The next DHS Board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28.