The costs of placing children in foster care or other care in 2012 was less than half than anticipated.
Koochiching County Community Services Director Terry Murray told the county board last week that the cost of out-of-home placements have declined, in part because of a new philosophy that calls on relatives to provide care when in previous years the county and state pushed for children to be placed in licensed homes or facilities. He also said that increased collections have played a role in keeping the costs down as a result of the assistance of a new collections officer position in the department.
Children are placed in out-of-home care because of safety concerns and behavioral or criminal issues.
Murray provided commissioners with details about the out-of-home placement costs since 2004, when the care cost the county nearly $578,000. The highest costs for care came in 2007 at $830,000.
In 2012, the cost for the care was $231,300 while the county budgeted $475,600.
“Upgrading the collection position was a good move,” Murray said.
Murray said he believes the costs for care will now stay relatively even.
Commissioner Wade Pavleck credited Murray and his staff for their efforts to protect children while at the same time saving county taxpayers money.
Also last week, the board agreed to participate in an agreement that allows the county to obtain an assessment for implementation of the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response, known as ARMER, Minnesota’s shared public safety radio communication system. The agreement does not require Koochiching County to move forward with the system, but will provide costs and details of the program. The county agreed to join in a consulting agreement, the costs of which are expected to be paid by a state grant.
“It’s a good step forward to move on this – it makes sense to me,” Sheriff Brian Jespersen told the board. Sixty-nine of the state’s 87 counties are now on the ARMER system.
Should the board agree to implement the system, Undersheriff Bruce Grotberg said county law enforcement would need 10 mobile and six portable radios and funding for those items is available through a federal grant. In addition, connection to the dispatch unit would be needed, but the cost and funding source is unknown at this time.
The Federal Communications System has required the placement of wideband land mobile radio systems operation in the VHF and UHF spectrum. The county’s VHF system is now 12 narrowband compliant, but lost coverage of about 15 percent in the most rural areas of the county. The FCC is at some point going to require VHF Systems go to six narrowband but at this time there isn’t a radio that works with this system. The county’s VHF System is used by the county’s law enforcement and dispatch, International Falls police and the county emergency responder agencies for fire protection, first responders and ambulance.
The county’s VHF System works for communication within the county but there is no communication with other emergency responders or law enforcement using the ARMER system. The intent would be to keep the VHF System as a backup and move, as funding is available, to the state ARMER system.
The ARMER system is an UHF system. The state has placed the required towers in the county for area-wide coverage so the areas that lack coverage with the county’s VHF system, will now have coverage with the UHF system when the state installs in the county two more towers – one by Bois Forte and another in International Falls on County Highway 155. In addition, county law enforcement will also have regional coverage and communications as well as communication where cell phone service is not available.
In other business last week, the board tabled action on a recommendation by the International Falls City Council to appoint Paul Nevanen as the at-large member of the local airport commission. The airport, jointly owned by the city and county, is governed by the commission which is made up of city and county officials, as well as the at-large member which must be approved by both the city and county.
Commissioners said they were concerned that serving on the commission would pose a conflict of interest for Nevanen, who serves as the director of the Koochiching Economic Development Authority. The authority is made up of city and county representatives, along with other members representing smaller communities in the county.
Commissioner Wade Pavleck said Nevanen must be involved in the operations of the airport because of his position, “but working for it, not running it.”
The Falls City Council earlier this month on a 3-2 vote agreed to appoint Nevanen to the position. Mayor Bob Anderson, who held the at-large position on the commission for decades, relinquished the council chair position to make the motion. Councilors Paul Eklund and Cynthia Jaksa voted against the nomination.
The board is expected to consider the appointment at its Feb. 5 meeting.
