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by Luther Dorr
Is Mille Lacs County a “high welfare” county, as some county residents have charged during the past few decades?
How do you define welfare and the different programs that Mille Lacs County Family Services operates?
Leo Vos, director of Mille Lacs County Family Services since 1996 and an employee in that department since 1976, talked to the Mille Lacs County Board about his 2008 budget at the board’s Oct. 27 meeting.
He had answers for those questions, and related subjects, and also talked to county commissioners about a possible problem that would be brought about by one of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotments.
Statistics provided by Vos showed that Mille Lacs County spent $51.5 million on human services in 2008.
Based on a population estimate of 26,397, that figures to $1,936 per capita, putting the county 31st among 87 counties for spending the most.
Carver County spent the least per capita, $814, and Mahnomen County spent the most, an average of $4,276 per person.
(Bordering counties are Aitkin – $2,017, Sherburne – $939, Isanti – $1,337, Benton –$1,557, Crow Wing – $1,643, Morrison – $1,672 and Kanabec – $1,902.)
But only about $1.02 million, or two percent of the $51.5 million, was spent on what many members of the public call welfare, Vos told commissioners.
That money goes for cash, food support (formerly called food stamps), rent and similar things that go to people from what were formerly called AFDC families.
Slightly more than $31 million of the county’s $51.1 million budget went for health care programs in 2008, Vos told commissioners.
For example, Vos said in an interview later, paying the costs for just 10 people being in a nursing home vastly exceeds what the county spends on cash welfare programs.
“Maybe a mother-in-law is on Medicaid in a nursing home,” he said. “Those costs add up.”
And about $10.1 million was spent in 2008 on social services, programs in which social workers participate. Some of those programs are for helping disabled people at the county DAC, helping the mentally ill, chemical dependency programs and child protection.
“We’re high in subsidized health care,” Vos said, attributing that to some of the demographics of the county that include a lower per-capita income than some counties and an older population.
How are such programs paid for?
About 46 percent of the total budget of $51.1 million in 2008 came from the federal government, 45 percent from the state and 7.5 percent from county taxpayers. Miscellaneous sources make up the other 1.5 percent.
As far as the health programs go, statistics show that about 48 percent of the $31 million comes from Washington, D.C., about 51 percent from St. Paul and the remaining 1 percent from county taxpayers.
Vos, board to discuss health care for single adults
Vos told commissioners that General Assistance health care for single adults in Minnesota will be phased out by July 1 if one of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotments take effect.
And that could mean a potential problem for providers who must provide care but could then go uncompensated, or at least have that compensation delayed.
“The governor’s rationale is that about half of those adults could be covered under MinnesotaCare,” Vos said in an interview.
The problem, Vos told commissioners, is that there is about a 90-day backlog for MinnesotaCare applications.
“I know we can do it faster than 90 days,” he told commissioners, saying that another employee would be needed to do that.
Vos and commissioners agreed to a work session after the Nov. 3 board meeting to explore possible options for the potential problem.
Stimulus money helping department’s financial status
Vos also presented his quarterly report to commissioners, telling them that there was an increase of about 20 percent for initial inquiries compared to the same quarter in 2008.
There were 193 more food stamp cases than a year ago and Medical Assistance cases have gone up about 300 in 12 months. About 11 percent of county residents are participating in Medical Assistance.
“That’s a reflection of what’s happening with health care,” Vos said.
The report from Vos also told commissioners the Family Services department in the county is in “excellent shape budget wise.”
Federal stimulus money has upped by 6 percent the federal government’s reimbursement to Medical Assistance, meaning about 56 cents on the dollar comes from Washington instead of about 50 cents.
“That extra six percent makes a big difference,” Vos said.
One statistic gives a snapshot of the economy, the crisis fund dropping from $54,505 so far this year to $31,150 as people need help with rent or damage deposits as they are evicted from their home because of foreclosures.
“We never had any contact with many of them previously,” Vos said. “It’s certainly a reflection of the national and local economy. And our county is high on foreclosures.
The county has five primary child support officers, with each of them juggling more than 300 cases apiece, Vos said.
The County Board approved a request from Vos at the Oct. 27 meeting for the county’s child care fund plan for 2010-2011.
The child care assistance program allows a subsidy for working parents, on a sliding fee, who have little take-home pay after paying for child care.
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