Department of Health and Human Services 2014 Annual Report

The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services has issued its annual report for 2014. The document includes 26 pages of information and data about the department’s wide variety of services and programs. The complete report may be viewed here.

Highlights from 2014 include:

  • Between 2010 and 2014, the Behavioral Health Division has seen:
    • a 48% reduction in Acute Inpatient Admissions
    • a 30% reduction in Emergency Detentions
    • a 20% reduction in Emergency Room Admissions
  • The Wraparound program collaborated with Journey House to initiative a development of transitional apartments that will provide affordable, safe, living for youth ages 18 to 25 who are aging out of foster care or are homeless.
  • Implementation of a Mental Health Court Pilot program. This program combines judicial supervision with community mental health treatment and other support services in order to reduce criminal activity and improve quality of life for participants.
  • There has been a 20% decrease in juvenile justice referrals, and a 22% reduction in total juvenile detention admissions, between 2010 and 2014.
  • A 21% reduction in the average number of juveniles admitted to the State juvenile detention center between 2010 and 2014 has resulted in cost savings of $2.3 million.
  • The Disabilities Services Division created a new Crisis Response Team for individuals with co-occurring intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  •  In the Housing Division, 1,760 families received rent assistance and 519 supportive housing units have been placed into service.The Housing Division added an Intervention Specialist to its staff in 2014. The Intervention Specialist helped identify housing resources for more than 150 individuals being discharged from hospitals, shelters, and correctional facilities.
  • The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division hosted doctors from China and Singapore who traveled thousands of miles to study to Milwaukee County EMS’ nationally recognized system.

County Making Progress on Workers’ Compensation, Other Insurance Costs

At the March 12 meeting of the County Board of Supervisors’ Committee on Judiciary, Safety, and General Services, the Director of Risk Management provided an update on efforts to reduce workers’ compensation costs and reduce other risks.

Highlights of the Report, which can be viewed here, Include:

  • Since implementing a third-party administrator to administer workers’ compensation claims, there has been a 55 percent reduction in the number of claims submitted from the 5-year average for the months of January and February. This has been partially due to the implementation of a nurse care line, less severe winter weather, and stronger examination of claims to reduce fraud.
  • Prior to the implementation of the TPA, the County’s number of workers’ compensation claims were far higher than similar organizations; and the County has incurred a total of 3,061 claims at a total cost of $20.3 million between 2010 and 2014.
  • The County has taken aggressive steps to return injured employees to work, or to identify other opportunities in the community for employees to work until they can return to the County.
  • The Behavioral Health Division, Office of the Sheriff, and Parks and Highways Maintenance departments represent the majority of workers’ compensation claims.
  • The County has yet to experience a single property insurance claim in 2015; this compares to an average of 24 property claims during the months of January and February in recent years.
  • The County experienced 367 property claims between 2010 and 2014 with a total cost of $34.3 million, which was largely reimbursed by insurance. Not including the 2013 Courthouse Fire, there were 366 claims with a total cost of approximately $16.8 million.
  • The most frequent types of property insurance claims during the 5-year period were graffiti (87 claims), vandalism (78 claims), and water damage (71 claims).
  • The County experienced 656 general liability claims and incurred $4 million in liabilities between 2010 and 2014.

The County is implementing a comprehensive safety review and education program to improve safety, reduce injuries, and save taxpayer dollars for premiums and claims in all insurance areas including workers’ compensation, general liability

2015 Budget – Comparison of Program Areas

The 2015 Adopted Budget Narrative provides information about the services that Milwaukee County provides broken out into distinctive program areas, which represent distinct services provided to our constituents. The narrative allocates these programs between different service provision types, and by the Strategic Outcome to which they most closely match.

Service Provision Type: The Budget Narrative indicates whether the program areas are mandated, committed, discretionary, or administrative in nature. Definitions of these terms include:

  • Mandated: Milwaukee County is required by State Statute or Federal Law to provide these services. Generally it is up to the County to determine service levels and quality, but the services must be provided at some basic level.
  • Committed: These are services that are provided through a contract or other long-standing relationship. The County could in theory eliminate these programs only after the existing contract expires.
  • Discretionary: These are programs the County provides that are not required by State Statute or Federal Law. In some cases there may be contracts included in these programs, but in general the entire program could be eliminated if the County so chose.
  • Administrative: These are generally internal services that support other government operations. For instance the Fleet Management program area in the Department of Transportation provides vehicle maintenance and capital replacement for the Parks, Sheriff, Airport, and other departments, without which those departments could not provide their services to County residents.

In the 2015 Adopted Budget, mandated services consume 61 percent of the County’s available General Resources, which includes property tax levy, sales tax, State Shared Revenues, and other countywide sources. These services include 37 percent of the County’s net expenditures and more than half of all budgeted positions. Detailed information about program areas sorted by service provision type can be found in this report. (.pdf document).

Strategic Outcome: The Budget Document also indicates to which Strategic Outcome the program area is most closely aligned. The County’s Strategic Outcomes are planks of the County’s mission statement, which reads:

Milwaukee County Government will provide high quality, responsive services that enhance self-sufficiency,

The data below shows that Personal Safety programs consume the largest share of available General Resources, at 44 percent. This is in line with the share of mandated programs listed above, as many of the County’s mandated law enforcement programs require the largest allocation of General Resources. Personal Safety programs also include the largest share of FTE positions at 36 percent.

Detailed information about program areas sorted by strategic outcome can be found in this report.. (.pdf document)

 

County Reaches $1 Million in Cumulative Focus on Energy Grants

Milwaukee County has participated in the Focus on Energy program since 2007. This program is a statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state’s investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin’s growing demand for electricity and natural gas.

Milwaukee County has earned almost $1 million in incentives through Focus on Energy (FoE), Wisconsin’s statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The County has put the incentives to wise use, implementing projects that will save approximately $1.5 million per year in energy over their expected lifetimes.

Annually, Milwaukee County’s participation with FoE is saving an estimated 8.8 million kWh and 500,000 therms. That savings is equivalent to the energy used by 800 homes for a year. Focus on Energy has approved incentives for a diverse range of County projects, including steam trap repair, HVAC and lighting upgrades, and solar energy systems. The projects have been implemented at the County Courthouse, Children’s Court Center, Fleet Garage, Milwaukee County Zoo, and other facilities.

As of January 13, 2015, Milwaukee County has been awarded Focus on Energy incentives for the following energy efficiency and renewable energy projects:

Date Project Description Incentive Awarded
Aug-10 Courthouse-Energy   Performance Contract $159,679
Dec-07 Milwaukee County Courthouse – PC Lighting $73,482
Sep-09 Zoo Staffing Grant $63,294
Aug-10 Children’s Court Center-Phase 2 GESPC $39,504
Aug-09 Milwaukee County – 2009 Staffing Grant – 08/09 $37,100
Aug-10 Fleet Garage-Phase 2 GESPC-08/10 $32,872
Sep-10 Milwaukee County Zoo – Solar Electric $26,197
Sep-09 V Phillips Juvenile Justice Center – Solar Water Heating $21,109
Dec-07 O’Donnell Park – PC Multiple Measures – Staffing $20,012
Nov-12 Boerner Botanical Gardens – Chiller $15,714
Jun-11 Fleet Garage – Solar Electric $15,486
Sep-14 Fleet Services – Boiler $15,000
Jun-13 House of Corrections – Hood Ventilation $14,200
Sep-14 Children’s Court – Boiler $12,000
Dec-07 King Park – PC Multiple Measures – Staffing $11,865
Dec-07 Kosciuszko Park – PC Multiple Measures – Staffing $10,410
Mar-12 Correctional Facility ERV $9,810
Dec-07 Wilson Park – PC Multiple Measures – Staffing $7,404
Jan-13 Child Adolescent Treatment Center- Lighting $7,309
Sep-09 General Mitchell International Airport Admin Building – T5 Lighting Upgrade $6,790
Mar-10 Juneau Park Pavilion – Solar Electric $6,028
Apr-14 Zoo – Lighting $5,756
Sep-10 Wilson Park Senior Center – Solar Electric $5,287
Feb-09 Milwaukee Cty Airport Division – New Const $3,660
Nov-10 Public Museum – 3rd floor exhibit relighting $3,102
Aug-14 Mitchell Domes – Steam Trap Repair $3,100
Jul-10 Washington Park – Solar Thermal $3,000
May-10 Airport Division – NC Lighting – 05/10 $2,730
Nov-14 House of Corrections – Cooling & Htg Tune up $2,560
Feb-13 Zoo – Htg Equip Tune up $1,902
Dec-09 GMIA Ticketing Roadway-LED upgrades $1,812
Oct-14 House of Corrections – Lighting $1,800
Dec-10 House of Corrections Laundry Lighting $1,480
Dec-07 Washington Park – PC Multiple Measures – Staffing $1,420
Jan-08 Zoo Australian House – Boiler Replacement $1,167
Apr-12 Fleet Admin Bldg – Lighting $1,029
Feb-08 Milw Co Parks – Svc Buydown $946
Mar-13 Correctional Facility South – Htg Equip Tune up $890
Dec-07 Noyes Pool – PC Multiple Measures $808
Jul-11 Wil-O-Way Pavilion $750
Aug-11 Behavioral Health Division – Food Service Equip $750
Apr-09 House of Corrections – Lighting/High Bay $720
Oct-10 House of Corrections – T12 to T5 retrofit $525
Dec-07 Pulaski Pool – Perf Contract Multi Measures $482
Jan-10 Mitchell Park Domes – Heating Tune Up/Boiler $400
May-14 Zoo- ZooFari Conf Bldg – Lighting $380
Jan-09 Milwaukee County Greenhouse – Service Buydown $200
Jan-09 Mitchell Park Conservatory – Service Buydown $200
Jan-10 Greenhouse – Heating Tune Up/Boilers $200
Nov-14 Zoo – Lighting $160
Sep-14 Zoo – Wolf Den – Lighting $150
Aug-14 Zoo – Parking Lot – Lighting $120
Jan-10 Wilson Park Ice Rink – Heating Tune Up/Boiler $100
Sep-10 Zoo Aquatic Reptile Cntr – Solar Hot Water Assmt $100
May-08 Dept of Parks Recreation and Culture (CFLs) $48
Aug-14 Zoo – Anaconda Cage – Lighting $30
May-08 Parks – Lighting (CFLs) $24

2015 Adopted Operating Budget Narrative Now Available

The 2015 Adopted Operating Budget is now available online. The entire document is available to download on the 2015 Budget Documents page of the budget blog.

The departmental narratives and various sections and supplements for the narrative will be available on the County’s website during the week of January 12. Simply click on our page on the County’s website to view these documents!

2015 Adopted Budget Summary Documents Now Available

The process of creating the 2015 Adopted Operating and Capital Budget narrative is nearing completion. The documents will be placed on the County’s website once the entire document is complete.

In the meantime, some sections of the narrative, including the adopted capital budget, are already complete and are now available on the 2015 Budget Documents page.

Please click here for a broad graphical view of the 2015 Adopted Budget.

House of Correction Leadership Presentation

At a December 8 meeting of Department Heads, the Superintendent of the House of Correction provided an update on its progress for the year. The presentation may be viewed here.

The House of Correction was  re-created as a standalone department under the management of the County Executive in mid-2013. Since then the management of the facility has focused on reducing long-term recidivism by implementing additional programming and work-release opportunities to sentenced inmates.

These opportunities include working to clean up parks, highways, and other County facilities; and to develop skills in food preparation, graphics and silk screening, forklift operation, and other areas along with educational improvement and job seeking skills such as interviewing and resume development.

The goal of this programming  is to improve the ability of sentenced inmates to seek long-term employment and avoid criminal behavior; with long-term financial benefits to County taxpayers by avoiding incarceration and prosecution costs.

In addition to information about these  programs, the presentation provides historical information about the House  of Correction, including  its former facilities.

County Receives Letter of Support for Elections Initiative

On October 10, Milwaukee County received a letter of support from the City of Milwaukee’s Election Commission for its 2015 initiative to establish uniform voting equipment across the County’s municipalities.

The initiative would have the County purchase new election machines for each municipality, plus additional voting machines for individuals with disabilities. Municipalities would then reimburse the County for 30 percent of the capital cost and enter into a memorandum of understanding with the City of Milwaukee to provide election programming services. As noted in a previous post, this initiative will result in a net savings (including the capital purchase) for County taxpayers of nearly $3.2 million over the next 12 years, plus additional savings for municipal taxpayers for reduced capital and programming costs.

The letter of support from the City of Milwaukee Election Commission can be viewed here.

2015 Budget E-Procurement Initiative

The 2015 Recommended Budget includes significant changes in how Milwaukee County’s procurement process operates.  Once implemented, these changes will result in cost savings of as much as $1.4 million annually.  One of these changes will be the installation and implementation of a county wide “e-Procurement” system. This system will allow for centralization of the existing procurement contracts, approval processes and various other technologies.  Milwaukee County will gain operational efficiencies and grow organizational purchasing power.  To accomplish some of these tasks SciQuest’s e-Procurement solution was chosen to drive collaboration and change across the system as they have proven track record, low cost ownership, ease of integration and transferable technology.

The current procurement process is decentralized with limited countywide price agreements, and a  manual, paper-intensive process.  The current procurement system has limited visibility of the approval process and no ability to base approvals upon dollar level, category, vendor or account.

Using a new, robust platform coupled with the ability to source contracts through the expanded buying power of the County will provide for:

  • increased contract compliance through “preferred” vendor visibility via price catalogs
  • identification of opportunities for savings and leveraging County spent
  • improved efficiencies; same day POs
  • paperless process
  • total spend analytics
  • enhanced and significant level authorizations by dollar level and commodity
  • increased transparency on commodity expenditures
  • automated bid and quote system

DAS Procurement Department, in collaboration with internal business partners and stakeholder input, plans to go live with SciQuest e-Procurement in 2015.