County approves Home & Community Care Block Grant revisions; staff reports 122-person waiting list for meals and $135,000 in Medicaid-expansion funds incoming

Patricia Callaway presented the county’s final revision and proposed budget for Home & Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG) funds, describing modest reallocations to ensure use of the allocation and to respond to client need.

Callaway said the total HCCBG allocation is under $300,000 and that, to maximize service, staff moved funds from adult day health care to adult day care and to home-delivered meals; she reported 122 people remained on the waiting list for home-delivered meals at the end of the fiscal year. "At the end of this fiscal year, we still had 122 people in our community on our waiting list for home delivered meals," Callaway said.

Callaway also said the county received notice that North Carolina will receive $7.8 million through House Bill 696 for Medicaid-expansion assistance and that Ashe County’s share will be approximately $135,000; she said details on how to access the funds are not yet available and that staff will follow up.

Commissioners approved the HCCBG revision and the proposed budget. Callaway said staff will continue to look for supplemental funding sources and partnerships to support adult-day services and meal delivery in areas with long delivery routes.

Next steps: staff will implement the approved budget adjustments and report back if additional state-level guidance clarifies how to access the HB 696 funds.