Chair Powell opened the Human Services portion of Northampton County’s budget hearing by asking staff to explain the status of grant funding amid the state budget impasse.

County staff said federal funds have continued, but the county has not received quarters 3 and 4 of the state block grant and that some state allocations are delayed. “The block grant money we get quarterly — we have not received quarters 3 and quarter 4 of our calendar year because that's under their State budget impasse,” Chair Powell said during the hearing.

Staff described how some funds are pass-throughs and run on a July 1–June 30 fiscal year, which complicates the county’s calendar-year budgeting. Ms. Swondelloski explained that the Homeless Assistance Program and the Human Services Development Fund are allocated to providers and that MATP (transportation) is a pass-through where the county receives and invoices to LANTA.

Officials said ARPA-funded projects tied to human services have largely been contracted but not fully drawn down; mental-health ARPA funds are largely expended and there is no ARPA money budgeted for 2026 in mental health. County staff said they are prioritizing payments and working with providers to keep services operating until the state budget is resolved.

Councilors and staff discussed the concrete effects on services: some providers have “paused taking new folks” or are operating on existing allocations while awaiting state payments, staff said. “We are largely in the same boat” as other counties where some offices have furloughed staff or paused reimbursements, a department leader said.

The Gracedale nursing home was a focal point. Administrators said census is “hovering right around 500,” including short-term rehab, and that per-diem revenues and IGT (intergovernmental transfer) expenses are actuarially determined and tied to census. One administrator said the facility’s IGT expense “has actually dropped, and that's a reflection of our census.” The hearing also noted that Medicaid pendings can take many months to resolve; staff described MA pendings as a recurring timing risk for nursing-home revenue.

Council members pressed whether contractual changes (a new agency-nursing vendor, Telavera) would reduce per-diem or agency nursing costs. Staff answered that Telavera was not contracted at the time the budget was prepared but that the county expects savings once the vendor is fully operating.

Opioid-settlement funds and the county’s Rise outreach van were discussed: the county confirmed one full-time staff member funded by opioid settlement dollars coordinates Rise and related projects. Staff said the settlement funds are earmarked for projects and must be expended within a limited time window, and that the pooled subcontracted-services numbers reflect projects already identified and presented to council.

Councilors asked whether loss of providers would increase county costs to fill gaps. Staff answered that short-term gaps usually create longer wait lists and operational strain rather than immediately producing higher county expense, but warned the longer a state impasse lasts the greater the risk of provider closures.

The session closed with a wider budget context: administration staff presented an eight‑year summary of wage increases across bargaining units and discussed pension funding; council members debated whether to include an additional retirement contribution in this cycle. Staff cautioned that budget assumptions remain sensitive to census and revenue timing and that several elements will be updated as year-end closing and contract adjustments are finalized.

Sources: statements by Chair Powell; Ms. Swondelloski; Gracedale administrators; county staff at the Northampton County Council budget hearing (transcript).