JBC staff recommends additional general fund for early intervention, asks department for RFIs and more reporting

JBC staff briefed the committee on projected shortfalls for the state’s Early Intervention program and recommended a set of actions to stabilize services going into FY 2025-26. Staff said the department is carrying forward $6.4 million in federal funds from the prior year that are not expected to be available in FY 2025-26, and that the program faced a current-year budget shortfall of roughly $4.2 million.

To cover those gaps and provide a cushion for projected caseload growth, staff recommended adding $14,500,000 in new general fund and using $2,000,000 of general fund that staff expected would be available from the Department of HCPCS transfer. The recommendation also included policy adjustments staff described as “cost containment” options (for example, revising mileage reimbursement), and a set of reporting and review requirements: the committee directed staff to ask the department for a robust RFI on caseload drivers, statewide provider contracts, administrative practices and potential sustainability measures.

Staff emphasized the limits of available modeling and acknowledged the caseload-growth estimate was necessarily approximate. “I don't have any way to anticipate the cost of caseload growth, but I do anticipate the caseload growing in FY '25 '26,” a staff analyst said. The committee approved the staff recommendation on the record and also approved a package of RFIs to collect more data and require presentations (including June and December presentations) so the committee can reassess funding after receiving better information.

Several members criticized the department for underestimating needs when it submitted initial requests; others said they supported staff’s package because it buys time and requires more frequent reporting. Staff warned that lower funding than recommended would increase the risk of supplemental requests in the next year.