State Rep. Craig Snow, right, speaks as State Rep. David Abbott, left, and State. Sen. Ryan Mishler, on the screen, listen during the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce’s first state legislative update for 2024 on Friday, Jan. 19, at the chamber’s building in Warsaw. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County’s $30 million in orthopedic retention funds, the state’s Medicaid funding shortfall and rules regarding the reporting of abuse came up during the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce’s first state legislative update for 2024.

It was held on Friday, Jan. 19, at the chamber’s office in Warsaw. State Reps. Craig Snow and David Abbott attended in person, with State Sen. Ryan Mishler doing so virtually.

In a question and answer session, after each lawmaker gave a brief update, county resident Chris Plack asked where the process stood for the $30 million the state is giving the county. In 2023, Kosciusko County learned it was getting the funds, which will be given to OrthoWorx this year.

“I’ve been in a lot of meetings … on how to use that money in the best way,” said Snow. “I’m planning on having a kind of gathering if you will to kind of update the community at some point, hopefully late February or March, but we’ve got a few plans kind of in the works.”

Snow said some discussed plans include “where to put new quality of life type projects … and some of that will extend to trails and greenways, those types of things, trying to connect different communities within the county.”

“We’re really trying to look at this countywide and (make it) not just all about Warsaw, Winona Lake,” he added. “The whole goal of this is to come up with a plan, so that whether it’s me or whomever to go down to the budget committee in July or August … to request some of this money toward these subjects, we’re in a good place for that.”

Snow said after the meeting he wasn’t sure of the exact makeup of who would attend the gathering, but he wanted to include local government and business leaders as well as representatives from organizations like the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and Kosciusko Economic Development Corp. He also wanted to include the general public in input whether it be at the gathering or some other way.

Medicaid Forecast

During his portion of the update, Mishler brought up the state’s work to address making up a $984 million shortfall related to Medicaid.

He said with a reversion, that forecast dropped to a $700 million shortfall.

“And again we’re not there, it’s just the forecast says we will get that point of a negative $700 million. So we’re trying to make adjustments now so that doesn’t happen,” Mishler said.

He said the state’s Family and Social Services Administration is working to make “internal changes,” which would help remedy the problem.

Mishler also said the state’s revenue forecast “was off by $400 million as well” from when the budget was done last year.

He said he and State Rep. Jeff Thompson were meeting with FSSA regularly to see how the deficit could be remedied.

“Probably by February, I will have more information to share on that,” said Mishler.

Pierceton Woods

During the question and answer portion, county resident Vicki Morton posed a question connected to Pierceton Woods Academy, where several staff members have been arrested in connection with sexual abuse.

She asked about lawmakers’ opinions on Senate Bill 219, authored by State Sen. J.D. Ford. The bill as documented in its summary on the Indiana General Assembly’s website “requires a person that contracts with the Department of Child Services (DCS) as a residential facility to immediately report any allegation of child abuse or neglect directly to DCS.”

If that doesn’t happen, DCS can, among other things, “stop referrals to the facility.” The bill also would protect some individuals up to 21 years old at such facilities.

Lawmakers indicated they were in favor of the bill.

The chamber is tentatively planning its next legislative update on Friday, Feb. 9, at a yet to be decided location.