Adams County warns HR1 changes will strain human services, plans community co-design and staffing shifts

Adams County human services leaders told the Board of County Commissioners on July 17 that federal and state changes tied to the federal HR1 package and recent state budget choices will increase administrative workloads, strain county budgets and likely require workforce adjustments.

Katie McDougall, human services director, said the department’s headline findings were stark: "The top three takeaways if I were to summarize this for you is funding challenges exist and we need to modify how we have traditionally done our work in human services and that will have an impact to our staffing levels." McDougall and Chief Financial Officer Betina Schneider walked commissioners through program-level funding splits and modeling of likely shortfalls.

The briefing focused on SNAP and Medicaid administration because those programs combine sizable federal funding with county and state matches that are changing under HR1. Betina Schneider told the board that Adams County has already used its social‑services mill in 2026 to cover shortfalls, noting that "we use $3.7 million of our county mill to help fill the gap" in SNAP administration this year. Staff said that administrative cost‑share increases due Oct. 1, 2026, and again in large measure in October 2027 will be a central fiscal pressure point unless PropM or other state actions offset the burden.

Staff presented a phased timeline: recent SNAP eligibility and work‑requirement changes took effect in late 2025 and spring 2026; a first round of administrative cost shifts is expected Oct. 1, 2026; another wave tied to HR1 payment‑error and tiering mechanics may produce larger county cost exposure by Oct. 2027; and the state’s planned system modernization (worker portal July 2027, public portal Dec. 2027, CBMS replacement by 2029) will change how work is shared and reported.

McDougall and Schneider said the department has already implemented mitigation steps — a hiring freeze, eliminated contracts, overtime reductions and other savings totaling roughly $10.7 million — and has improved intake performance since earlier backlogs. But they stressed that HR1’s combination of more frequent redeterminations, tighter retroactive coverage and additional compliance checks means county staff will still face substantially more case touches per client, even when caseload headcount falls.

To reduce harm, the department will run community co‑design roundtables with health providers, schools and nonprofit partners. McDougall asked the commissioners to help recruit participants and to champion locally developed strategies. The department’s short list of near‑term actions includes prioritizing cases most likely to affect health and safety, maintaining key client experience metrics where possible, pursuing 90/10 hospital partnership contracts to maximize federal draws, and preparing ordinance or staffing changes if the state’s fiscal choices materialize.

The briefing closed with a warning that, absent additional state or federal offsets, "maintaining existing service models without adjustments is not financially sustainable," and staff will return with recommended operational and budget options for the commissioners’ consideration.