Children and Families committee reviews DE1 to House File 2436; no final action taken

The Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee on April 6 reviewed the DE1 amendment to House File 2436, the omnibus children and families budget bill, receiving a detailed fiscal walkthrough and policy summary from nonpartisan staff and comments from Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tiki Brown. Committee members took clarifying questions but did not take formal action; a final markup is scheduled for the next day.

Nonpartisan House fiscal analyst Ben Berg led the committee through the DE1 fiscal spreadsheet, telling members the current version (dated 04/06/2025) balances to the target set by the House Ways and Means Committee. Berg highlighted net changes across the biennium and pointed to department- and account-level line items, including a net expenditure of $25,000,000 in 2026–27 and an offsetting negative in the tails, which he said “balances to the target this committee was given by the ways and means committee.”

The committee’s House research staff summarized the bill’s articles and policy provisions. Staff identified funding and policy items affecting the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), including:

- Child welfare IT modernization (SSIS): The DE1 would appropriate $40,000,000 to the Statewide Social Services Information System (SSIS) project in the house column; combined with $10,000,000 appropriated previously this makes $50,000,000 for the project, which staff said is at the upper end of last year’s statewide estimate.

- CCAP (Child Care Assistance Program) federal compliance and electronic attendance: The DE1 funds federal-compliance items for CCAP and funds the first two years of an electronic statewide attendance and enrollment system in 2026–27 only.

- Early learning and compensation: The DE1 adds a one‑time $6,000,000 appropriation for early learning scholarships, moves the Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program into a special revenue account so funds do not cancel, and modifies program rules related to incentive payments.

- Other items: food security funding ($1,500,000 split among American Indian Food Sovereignty Program, food shelves, and the prepared meals program), increased fines for background study violations (from $200 to up to $500 per violation), grant and scholarship program modifications, and multiple licensing, reporting and technical changes tied to federal compliance and department realignment.

Commissioner Tiki Brown, representing the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families, thanked the committee for including the DCYF policy bill and the governor’s budget items. Brown said the DE1’s CCAP attendance system funding “is an important program integrity measure,” but warned that “the failure to include an ongoing appropriation leaves the agency without funding to maintain the system and give ongoing support to providers after the 26, 27 biennium.” Brown also urged caution about canceling transition funds, saying that reducing transition funding to $1,000,000 would leave the agency without resources to complete specialty transition work.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about statewide implementation of the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (referred to in committee as MAPPA) and whether implementation would be phased. Commissioner Brown said the department convened a statewide work group and will use its recommendations to plan statewide implementation, but added, “I would like to look more closely at the legislation to determine if that is in fact feasible.”

Staff and testifiers also stressed the technical and cost pressures on counties and providers. County officials and human services associations urged the legislature to fund SSIS modernization, saying outdated software and lengthy data-entry processes drain staff time and hamper care delivery. Dakota County Commissioner Lori Halverson, speaking for county associations, said counties “have staff that are working on systems that were built in 1989” and that the $40,000,000 appropriation would help counties replace outdated systems and reduce onerous manual work.

Members agreed to defer formal action until the committee’s markup session the following day; prior to the DE1 walkthrough the committee approved the minutes from the April 2 meeting by voice vote. The committee adjourned with instructions to save materials for the next day’s session.

Ending: The DE1 contains multiple policy and finance changes across licensing, child welfare, CCAP, early childhood scholarships and IT modernization. Lawmakers and the department signaled concerns over the sustainability of one-time funding and the need for ongoing appropriations to support systems and staff; the committee scheduled a formal markup for the next day to consider amendments and final action.