Washtenaw Co Considers Human Services Investments

New Human Services Partnership, Supplemental Funding, ARPA all being considered

From Washtenaw Co

Recommendations from the community review board for the New Human Services Partnership (NHSP) were posted to the Washtenaw County website late last week. Since that time, several community partners, elected officials and residents have reached out to the Administrator’s Office to advocate for additional investments in human services.

“We recognize that the delivery of human services is a crucial part of the work that we do. It’s what makes us the county safety net.”, shares Gregory Dill, County Administrator. “My team has been working to ensure that our partners in the safety net provider network have the resources necessary to continue to meet the needs of our residents. We will continue that work… to ensure that the Board can create policies that lead to equitable, sustainable, long-term investments in human services.”

Since the sun-setting of the Coordinated Funding model in 2021, Washtenaw County and other public partners have worked to find innovative, inclusive, and community-driven solutions for funding organizations that deliver critical, human services related to housing/homelessness, food access, health care, and childcare. The New Human Services Partnership (NHSP) was born out of a need to address the root causes of inequity in Washtenaw in a way that centers equity, data, and metrics for measuring impact. It is comprised of three public-sector partners: Washtenaw County, City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw Urban County. There is currently $2.8 million available, more public money than any previous iteration of the partnership. In addition to the current $1.7 million in first round of safety net funding, NHSP includes two additional rounds of funding: roughly $345,000 for mini grants, expected to be allocated this summer, and just over $830,000 for high impact grants, expected to be allocated in the fall/winter.

Additionally, the county administrative team has prepared an item for tonight’s meeting, whereby the Board of Commissioners may consider a path forward that more closely aligns our NHSP investment with that of our municipal partner, the City of Ann Arbor. The item proposes an additional extension of funding to sustain services for previous Coordinated Funding safety net providers for a period of six (6) months (July 2022- December 2022).

“We know that the need is greater,” says Sue Shink, Chair of the Board of Commissioners. “We realize that even with the increased New Human Partnership funding, even with the Community Priority Fund and other resources, the need is great. We remain absolutely committed to making sure the needs are met for provider organizations and more importantly, for our residents.”