Board of Developmental Disabilities Services
For the MCBDDS, which serves people with disabilities and their families, a financial crisis has been brewing for several years due to an increase in costs for services and an increase in clients, said Superintendent Pamela Combs.
The MCBDDS was given an emergency, one-time award of $5 million in Human Services levy funding, which will come to the agency in 2025. But the agency will still need to make $3.9 million in cuts to balance its budget this year.
“We need help in figuring out a sustained plan, whether it’s to work at a DD-only levy — we’ve been wanting to do that for a while — or whether it’s to seek additional funding through the shared levy, we just need to sit down at a table and say, hey, let’s figure out what this is,” Combs said.
Public Health
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County receives 43% of its funding from the Human Services levy, with the remaining funding covered by grants, service fees and permits.
The health department last year projected a “severe” deficit that would result in layoffs and salary freezes, but Wentzel said Public Health was able to balance its budget for 2024.
But through 2028, the agency is looking to eliminate nearly $8.8 million in costs in order to present a balanced budget, according to Wentzel.
The combined health district has a few additional financial needs, said Wentzel. The health department hopes to transition to a new, more efficient medical records system, and the department is also looking at ways to reduce costs related to interpreter services — a service it has needed more in recent years.
“We’re always going to need to be on our toes,” Wentzel said. “But we’ll continue to push forward.”
ADAMHS
ADAMHS has taken $16.5 million in voluntary cuts to its Human Services Levy base award over the past several years, but the agency is asking for a $4.1 million increase to cover costs related to the social services contract line. Roughly $3.2 million of this increase would go toward treatment.
ADAMHS faces multiple challenges looking ahead to 2025. The agency said state allocations have remained stagnant while the need for mental health and addiction services continues to rise, according to ADAMHS Executive Director Helen Jones-Kelley.
Human Service Levy dollars represent 60% of the agency’s total revenue.
Efforts to stabilize the budget include reducing treatment contracts to remove Medicaid-eligible services, and ADAMHS is seeking state and federal grants that do not require significant cash matches. Next year, providers will also be required to have a 25% match for contracts funded by levy dollars.
Children Services
Within the first 10 months of 2024, Montgomery County Children Services had already outpaced the number of families served last year. The cost of placing children into other homes, too, has jumped 38% since 2021, according to Montgomery County Children Services.
The agency reported that 669 children were in substitute care as of last week. More than 120 children were placed with kinship providers — relatives that have a role in the child’s life. Another 16 children were placed out of state, and all 16 of these placements were covered by Medicaid.
Children Services Assistant Director Craig Rickett said the agency is working with partners to prevent removal of children from their homes or facilitate reunification, as well as performing bi-weekly reviews of all children placed in congregate care settings.
Older Adults Services
For Older Adults Services, formerly known as Frail Elderly Services, the demand for services is expected to spike given the population of Baby Boomers entering into their 60s and 70s.
Roughly 24.5% of Montgomery County residents are above the age of 60.
Older Adult Services funding goes toward multiple organizations that provide transportation, housing, food, health, recreation and legal services for seniors.
Doug McGarry, the executive director of the Dayton Area Agency on Aging, said the Older Adults Services budget is projected to have a deficit of more than $280,000 due to provider rate increases. The ComCare program, which provides services to older clients like meal delivery and personal care assistance, was frozen to help stabilize the budget going into 2025.
What’s next?
The next time a Human Services levy will be on a local ballot will be in November 2025. Human Services Levy Council officials are evaluating what changes, if any, will be made to the levy.
The levy council, which consists of 14 members, will meet on Dec. 9.
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