Attempting to deal with what it calls an “increasingly bleak fiscal outlook”, Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency has been trying to trim costs wherever they can. It’s the county’s largest department, with responsibilities that include CalFresh, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal, Child Welfare, Adult Protective Services, In-Home Support Services, Housing, Behavioral Health, Substance Use Treatment and more. Most of the agency’s budget is spent on state-mandated programs, so administrators have had to be creative with their cuts, and have brought in multiple outside experts to look at expenses from every angle. Over the past 9 months social services spending has been reduced by an average of $1.28 Million per month. There have also been furloughs, hiring freezes, and other measures taken. HHSA has given regular updates to the Board of Supervisors and next month they’ll report on the new crisis resulting from the Federal so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”.
-Steve Gibson