New Department of Children, Youth and Families outlines transfers, budget and plans to strengthen program integrity

Commissioner Tiki Brown, commissioner of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, told the House Children and Families Committee that the new agency launched July 1 to centralize child- and family‑focused programs and improve access to services across Minnesota.

"We launched a new agency to create a sustainable public face for children's issues in state government with aligned outcomes and policy, improving the front door for services, easing access and navigation for families," Commissioner Brown said.

The presentation outlined why the department was formed and what it now houses: early learning services moved from the Department of Education in July; core child welfare functions and related Office of Inspector General (OIG) responsibilities moved from the Department of Human Services (DHS) in phases; Help Me Connect moved from the Department of Health in January; and a larger set of functions — including the remainder of the DHS OIG, youth-justice functions from the Department of Public Safety, and remaining DHS central operating staff — are scheduled to transfer in June.

"When fully implemented the agency will include programs from four different agencies," Brown said, describing four internal administrations for children and family services, early childhood, economic opportunity and youth services, and family well‑being.

Why it matters: DCYF will be one of Minnesota's largest state agencies by budget and will administer major federal and state safety‑net programs. Committee members pressed for details about program-integrity controls, childcare oversight after recent media reporting on provider violations, the aging SSIS case-management system, and the risk posed by potential federal funding pauses.

Budget and scale

Ashley Reisenhower, chief financial officer for DCYF, told the committee that the agency's projected expenditures are about $3,700,000,000 per year and that federal funding accounts for roughly two‑thirds of that total.

"DCYF's total expenditures are projected to be about $3,700,000,000 per year," Reisenhower said. She said the state general fund represents about…