Social services director warns state call‑center plan and legacy software risk more benefit errors

The Montezuma County Board of Social Services accepted the March 2, 2026 minutes and February financials totaling $1,558,114.63 and heard staff warn that state plans to centralize some benefit calls could increase errors and overpayments.

Laurel (Social Services Director) told commissioners that Colorado’s plan to centralize Medicaid calls and route other benefit questions back to counties could create delays and confusion for many clients who receive multiple benefits. She said the county had recently discovered overpayments that arrived only after a state hotline change and that the county then had to file claims.

"They were overpaid some CDH benefits, but we didn't know about it and we had to file a claim," the Social Services Director said, describing cases that the county discovered only after claim‑level notices arrived.

The director outlined how errors are occurring locally: roughly one‑third are attributed to the state software not communicating with county systems, one‑third to client reporting or input, and one‑third to staff processing. "If we could remove that two‑third error just by updating the technology we wouldn't see the same penalties that we face in the coming years," the director said.

Commissioners discussed broader negotiations among the governor’s office, CDHS and stakeholders about districting, shared services and unfunded mandates. The director said the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) recently released a new figure of $1.5 billion that could affect state funding decisions and predicted continued legislative action on items such as non‑certified kinship foster care payments and caps on some assistance programs.

Board members asked about SNAP rules; staff said federal rules currently allow purchases such as snacks and soda but that the state had paused implementation pending further review.

The board moved and approved acceptance of the Social Services minutes and financials by voice vote before adjourning the Board of Social Services portion and proceeding to the workshop.