Committee approves HHS budget amendment to fund lead economic support specialist

The Adams County Admin & Finance Committee on Aug. 7 approved a resolution to amend the 2026 Health and Human Services Fund to accept state consortium funding for additional income-maintenance quality assurance work.

Kelly Olsen, speaking for the Health and Human Services area, said the allocation is intended specifically for quality-control work tied to income maintenance programs such as SNAP. "This funding is for economic support," she said, and added the money must be used for quality-control efforts and a new staff position rather than supplanting existing resources.

Olsen said the county is "receiving a 102 roughly a $102,000, for these efforts, which would cover the position. There is no cost to the county." Committee members asked whether the funding is recurring; Olsen described state contract addendums and the biannual budget process and said the state expects to roll the allocation into base county allocations going forward.

Supervisor Marge Edwards moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded and the committee voted to adopt it. Chair called the question and recorded a majority of ayes with one member noted as opposed. The resolution authorizes adding a lead economic support specialist funded through the income-maintenance consortium allocation and updates the HHS fund budget accordingly.

The amendment implements a state-directed quality assurance step designed to reduce benefit determination errors and avoid state-level penalties tied to high error rates. The committee did not set a hiring date; staff said the county would request the position once the amendment is in place and dollars are confirmed.