County reviews general-relief funeral assistance after funeral homes report unpaid costs

Northeast Community Action representative Trisha Wilkins reviewed Chickasaw County’s general-relief program and presented year-to-year data showing an uptick in funeral-assistance requests.

"Since July 1 we provided $3,000 in total for funeral assistance…we've had a total of three households that were served for funerals," Wilkins said, noting that last fiscal year the county provided no funeral payments and that general-relief case counts are small but consequential for affected families.

Wilkins emphasized program eligibility is strict: "Income guidelines are 100% federal poverty limits. It's very low," she said, and noted the county’s ordinance caps burial assistance at $2,000, cremation assistance at $1,000 and cemetery expenses at $500. The presentation also listed five denied applications during the current year, with common reasons including failing the income test, home-value limits, vehicle-asset limits or other funding sources paying first.

Supervisors discussed whether the problem stems from low reimbursement caps, the strict eligibility criteria, or both. Several members proposed options: keep income eligibility the same while increasing funeral caps; or raise income guidelines and leave caps unchanged, a change that could expand eligibility quickly.

Board members asked staff to gather comparative county data, examine implications for budgets, and return with a recommendation. A multi-county meeting of northeast Iowa supervisors was suggested as a venue to compare approaches and identify consistent, regional solutions.