Brown County is doing well in child support collections
By KURT NESBITT Journal Staff WriterNEW ULM - Brown County is among the top 10 in collections for counties that have similar caseloads, said a report shared with county commissioners Tuesday.
Brown County's collections, which are made by Brown County Family Services, are above federal guidelines in every category, although overall numbers are down.
The department made over $4 million in collections in 2007, an average of $3,800 per case.
Child support supervisor Denise Kuehn said the department is trying to get more cases that have court orders. Its caseload is constantly turning over, with cases being opened and closed each year.
On tax intercepts, Brown County is getting more money from the federal government each year. Kuehn said next year will be more because of economic stimulus checks.
Brown County was ranked with other counties based on its caseload size. Current and arrears collections are in the highest brackets - current is 79 percent and arrears are 78 percent - and Brown County's cost effectiveness was rated at 7.38.
In other action, the county board:
Approved the temporary escrow account setup that will hold recoveries of Medical Assistance nursing home costs from spouses who are still living in the community until the Minnesota Supreme Court makes a ruling on a case, which may or may not require the county to return $12,000 it recently collected.
Approved new fees for corporate foster care licenses.
Fees for adult foster care licenses will be $350 and child foster care licenses will cost $500. Henderson said private organizations like Habilitative Services Inc. and MBW Company will be paying these fees. Together, the two make 40 sites that need licenses to operate and each site generates a license and a fee, which translates in to $15,000 collected by the county, Henderson said.
The county board approved a new joint powers agreement for South Country Health Alliance. Henderson said the new agreement switches power from the member board to the member's county boards. The new agreement requires the 14 county boards that belong to the SCHA to vote separately on any further capital or cash calls and 10 of the member counties would have to vote in favor.
Awarded the bridge replacement project on 320th Avenue over the Little Cottonwood River to River Ridge Construction LLC, which submitted the lowest bid at $298,786. River Ridge is considered a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the state Equal Employment Office.
Approved the sale of a 25-foot tax-forfeited lot in Comfrey to a man who already owns three adjoining lots.
Expanded a conditional use permit that would allow the expansion of an auto body shop in Leavenworth Township and a CUP renewal for the MR Paving gravel pit in Milford Township.
Renewed the funding for the GED program in the Brown County jail for this coming year.
