HOLLIDAYSBURG — The state’s revocation of Blair County’s Children, Youth & Families operating license presents no immediate financial risk to the county and its taxpayers, commissioners said Tuesday.

Blair County’s CYF operational costs — with about 80% reimbursed by the state — will remain intact while the county appeals the license revocation and negotiates with the state Department of Human Services on a long-term plan to address CYF deficiencies.

Because Blair County is the first county in the state to have its CYF license revoked, commissioners Dave Kessling, Amy Webster and Laura Burke said Tuesday that they’re not sure what will be included in a long-term plan.

“Some of it may be a continuation of efforts we’re already making,” Burke said. “Some of it may be new things that we aren’t yet doing.”

As for whether the plan could assign the county to cover specific costs, commissioners again said they didn’t know because no county has ever been in this position.

“We’ll go through a negotiation process and we’ll kind of wait and see what they say, and then what we say back,” Burke said.

The Gabriel Fera LLC law firm of Pittsburgh, which commissioners recently retained to provide legal services, is expected to manage the negotiations, with decisions left to the commissioners.

“Whatever settlement agreement we come up with will be public,” Burke said. “And it will be a plan of how (Blair County CYF) can get to meeting what the state’s expectations are.”

It was two years ago when the state issued the first provisional operating license to Blair County CYF, based on a records inspection showing deficiencies that developed when staffing levels dropped substantially. After that license expired six months later, the state issued a second, a third and a fourth provisional license, with the fourth one expiring Sunday.

On Monday, the state DHS announced that it was revoking the CYF agency’s license and in light of the county’s appeal, would begin working with the county on what is to become a long-term plan for Blair County’s CYF operations. DHS, in its announcement, indicated that state law prohibits it from awarding a fifth provisional license.

Burke said the county’s appeal provides both the county and DHS with additional time to work on efforts that are generating Blair CYF operational improvements. And because the county appealed the license revocation, Burke said that stays any effect of not having a license.

Commissioners also praised the support the state has been providing to the county and is expected to keep providing during the development of the long-term settlement plan.

In December, the state DHS office assigned an operational manager to Blair County and before that, assigned employees to provide assistance to the county office.

“It really has turned into a positive partnership for us,” Burke said. “We’ve received a ton of resources … and we’re appreciative of the resources they’ve given us.”

Kessling and Webster also said they expect the efforts toward developing a long-term settlement plan with the state will work out.

“They said ‘partnership’ at least 100 times when we were talking with them,” Kessling said.

“I think the state is really trying to have a positive relationship with us,” Webster added. “And us with them. It really is not an adversarial relationship.”

Burke also mentioned that CYF offices in two additional counties — Clearfield and Lackawanna — are operating on their fourth provisional license and at the risk of license revocation.

“We’re the first but probably not the last, given the state of the industry,” Burke said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.