HHS reports staffing shifts, rehiring to avoid service gap; county weighing OWI referrals vs. in‑house assessments

Julia, a Sawyer County Health & Human Services staff member, told the board the department has re‑engaged "Joe" as a limited‑term mental‑health clinician and has offered a supervisory role covering CLTS and birth‑to‑3 to Hailey, who accepted the position Friday. "Joe was gonna be back on with us as a limited term employee for mental‑health clinician," Julia said, describing steps taken to prevent service gaps during staff transitions.

Alicia, who oversees behavioral health functions, explained how OWI assessments will be handled as state credentialing rules have changed. "Although I supervise it, I am not allowed to actually conduct the assessments," Alicia said, adding that Joe has decades of experience and will do the assessments for now. She said the county is also exploring referring OWI assessments to a regional provider, Community Counseling Services, if the county decides not to maintain local provision.

Why it matters: Board members were concerned about continuity of services used by residents, the need to certify additional county employees for CCS billing, and how program staffing affects revenue. Staff said they plan to train additional Sawyer County employees to become CCS certified, which would allow more services to be billed at CCS reimbursement rates rather than lower case‑management rates.

Other operational points: Julia said Katrina moved from a casual to a full‑time position to help maintain caseload coverage; staff noted birth‑to‑3 enrollment is down (about eight clients fewer due to recent age transitions) and they currently have four referrals pending. The board discussed options for OWI assessments and how billing and certification choices could affect service capacity.

Next steps: Staff will continue the short‑term plan to have Joe perform OWI assessments, pursue CCS certification for additional county employees, and bring any policy or referral decisions back to the board when a recommendation is ready.