Last updated: October 2026
The Price County Health and Human Services Board approved its monthly placement vouchers on Oct. 14 after a supervisor questioned a stack of charges that ran close to $100,000 for a single month.
Quick Answer: At its Oct. 14, 2026 meeting, the Price County Health and Human Services Board approved out-of-county child placement vouchers totaling roughly $100,000 for the month, on top of about $608,000 already spent on high-cost placements through August, according to figures discussed at the meeting. The board also received the Year-Two Partners for Success impact statement, which reported that 33% of area high school students surveyed reported using alcohol in the prior 30 days and 17% reported binge drinking.
Both numbers come from discussion at the meeting, not from a published county report, and the district has not released the underlying data.
What did the board approve?
The vouchers covered out-of-county placements for children in county care. The charges reviewed at the meeting included roughly $28,000 to Northwest Passage, about $19,000 to Forward Home for Boys, and about $17,000 to Lutheran Social Services, among others.
Supervisor Bob Copish pressed on the total. “That’s like almost $100,000,” he said during the review. He then asked whether those charges sat on top of the placement spending already booked for the year. They did.
The budget picture
Price County had spent about $608,000 on high-cost placements through August, according to the discussion. Copish described the county as over budget at that figure, with the new vouchers still to be added.
“It’s just very disconcerting to say the least,” he said.
The board approved the vouchers. The vote was not recorded in the transcript with a count.
What did the underage drinking presentation say?
Tiffany Polacek, the county health officer, introduced the item. Susie Daniels presented the Year-Two Partners for Success impact statement, covering the second year of a grant aimed at underage drinking among residents aged 14 to 21.
The presentation cited the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered every two years in area schools. Daniels reported that 33% of high school students surveyed said they had used alcohol in the last 30 days, with 2025 data similar at about 30%. She reported that 17% said they had binge drank in the past 30 days, with 2025 data at about 16%.
Why the county was in the study
Price County was not a random selection. Daniels said Marshfield Clinic chose the counties with the worst problem to participate, and Price County was among the five selected.
“These five counties were the top five,” she said. “That when Marshfield looked at who was going to be part of this, they picked the top five counties.”
What the coalition did in year two
Daniels described outreach rather than enforcement. The coalition spoke with more than 70 key stakeholders, including school boards, coalition members and HHS staff, and distributed over 800 educational pamphlets at fairs, school open houses and other events.
The materials covered drinking, mental health, and how parents talk to their children about alcohol. Year one, she said, was extensive data collection and building a logic model that went to SAMHSA and required Marshfield Clinic approval. The county is now entering year three of the grant.
What is the county doing about it?
That question ran through both halves of the meeting, and the answers were not comfortable.
On placements, the county is paying for children to be housed outside its borders, and the monthly charges are large enough that a supervisor asked publicly whether the trend was improving. It was not, by his account.
On underage drinking, the coalition’s own framing is that drinking is a community norm here. Daniels said sessions with law enforcement and other stakeholders confirmed it.
This is a public health body reporting that a third of its high school students drink monthly, and that the county was selected because its problem ranked among the worst in the state. Neither figure has been published by the county outside this meeting.
What happens next
The board meets monthly, and placement vouchers recur on every agenda. Anyone tracking whether the $608,000 figure moves should watch the voucher line each month rather than annual totals, since the year-to-date number can lag the individual bills.
The coalition enters year three of its grant. Whether it publishes the YRBS results it cited, and whether the 33% figure moves, are the two things worth watching.
Price County has tracked youth and family costs before, from placement costs driven by secure detention and residential care to how the county board handles public business. This meeting put both in the same room.
Weather and public budgets both shape what happens here.
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See also: our guide to Price County public records
FAQ
How much did Price County spend on child placements?
About $608,000 on high-cost placements through August 2026, according to figures discussed at the Oct. 14 HHS Board meeting. Monthly vouchers approved at that meeting added roughly $100,000 more.
What percentage of Price County students drink alcohol?
The Partners for Success coalition reported that 33% of area high school students surveyed said they had used alcohol in the last 30 days, and 17% reported binge drinking. The figures come from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered in area schools.
Was Price County singled out for the underage drinking program?
Yes. A presenter said Marshfield Clinic selected the five counties with the worst problem to participate, and Price County was among them.
Did the board approve the placement vouchers?
Yes, the vouchers were approved. Supervisor Bob Copish questioned the cost before the vote, noting the charges were close to $100,000 for one month and sat on top of about $608,000 already spent.
Sources
- Price County WI Government — Health & Human Services Board Meeting, Oct. 14, 2026 (video)
- BrittanyLena Volkman — HHS Board Meeting 10-14-2026 recap (public Facebook reel)
- BrittanyLena Volkman — Agenda Item 5.a, Year-Two Partners for Success presentation (public Facebook reel)
- Price County Fun — Children and Youth Placement Costs Surge (background)