Carbon County officials hope that the state continues to provide millions in funding for human services in the county.

On Thursday, the board voted to approve the human services non block grant plan for the 2015-2016 state fiscal year, which includes plans for the Carbon-Monroe-Pike MH/DS and drug and alcohol programs.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that the plan is "very, very important.""It's requesting dollar allocations from the state," he said. "What it means for us is about $13.1 million for Carbon and a variety of agencies. We're in the business of providing human services to children and adults and those in need."He pointed out that approximately $9.1 million of the $13 million budget is projected to be used for mental health services, as well as mental health community residential facilities, and serve over 8,100 people in need.The plan outlines programs that focus on senior citizens, adults, veterans and children and how to best meet their needs with services."Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health and Developmental Services intends to continue providing an array of services to meet the mental health needs of youth and adults residing in our three counties," the plan states.In addition, the plan outlines other programs that would be funded through the state, including the Adult Homemaker Services program; Chore Minor Home Repair Services; Housing/Homeless Assistance Case Management Services and Interagency Coordination."The human services plan involves a lot of agencies," O'Gurek said, noting that the county hopes the state legislators recognize the need to continue funding these programs as they work on the state budget.A few years ago, the state cut county funding for human services by 10 percent."Ten percent of $13 million is $1.3 million," O'Gurek said. "If your agencies collectively take a $1.3 million hit that's a considerable amount of money lost, which causes less services to people who need it the most."The county allocation will not be determined until the state signs a budget. The deadline for the 2015-2016 budget is next Tuesday.