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Appropriations Committee presses DCF on federal benefit funding, TANF swaps and LIHEAP uncertainty
Summary
The Appropriations Committee heard an overview from Department for Children and Families officials on SNAP, LIHEAP, TANF and Summer EBT funding,requested budget reports, and asked staff to clarify TANF “swap” mechanics and remaining weatherization funds.
The Appropriations Committee on Thursday heard an overview from Department for Children and Families officials on federal benefit funding streams and asked staff to return with more detailed budget figures and timelines.
Megan Smeaton, financial director for the Department for Children and Families, and Leslie Wisdom, food and nutrition program director for DCF’s Economic Services Division, briefed the committee on SNAP, LIHEAP, TANF and the recently approved Summer EBT program. Committee members pressed for clearer numbers in the state budget system and follow-up on weatherization drawdowns and how TANF “swaps” affect maintenance-of-effort calculations.
The discussion mattered because several of the funding lines are large, fluctuate year to year and depend on federal approvals and state accounting choices that affect how much federal funding DCF can claim. “Only the cash-out portion of our SNAP program goes through DCF. The rest of it, the federal dollars never flow through our budget,” Smeaton told the committee, noting that substantial SNAP funds go directly to Vermonters rather than through the department’s appropriation.
Smeaton walked members through an FY24 actuals spreadsheet and said she removed one-time pandemic-era revenues so the figures better reflect ongoing federal earnings. She said the department is running federal reports for the third quarter of FY25 and cautioned that half‑year data are not reliably annualized because of seasonal benefit timing.
Committee members asked how FY26 budgeted amounts compare with FY24 actuals. Smeaton said the LIHEAP budget line in the state’s Vantage system shows about $14,500,000 for LIHEAP benefits for FY26, compared with roughly $16.1 million in FY24, and that the totals can shift between LIHEAP and weatherization draws. She said she would provide the Vantage report to the committee.
Wisdom confirmed a recent federal approval for Summer EBT, which did not show in FY24 actuals because benefits went out in July and therefore count in FY25. “Vermont was just approved last Friday. We were the first state in the Northeast Region,” Wisdom said, adding that a state plan must be submitted annually.
On TANF, Smeaton described the department’s use of swaps to maximize the amount of state maintenance-of-effort it can claim. “It allows us to claim $8,400,000 more in our state maintenance of effort by doing that swap than we would otherwise be able to do,” she said, explaining that the swap typically moves TANF funds into a federal column and substitutes state special fund dollars to cover state costs. She told the committee there are TANF dollars located in multiple appropriations and divisions and that staff would compile a cross-agency TANF summary.
Committee members also asked whether LIHEAP or related weatherization funds remain available to draw for this fiscal year. Smeaton said she would check whether weatherization money under LIHEAP has been fully drawn down and report back. She also noted uncertainty about future LIHEAP allocations and that many federal offices have paused or slowed grant activity during the federal transition: "I don't know what the future holds for LIHEAP, but know that we're all just kind of waiting for more direction at this moment in time," she said.
Members asked for a clearer timeline for federal plan submissions and approvals; Smeaton said state plan work for block grants typically occurs in the summer and that she would get back to the committee with timelines and the requested Vantage export.
The committee concluded by asking DCF staff to resubmit the spreadsheet in a readable, landscape or slide format and to provide the Vantage budget report, a cross‑agency TANF summary (including TANF in Economic Services Division, Family Services Division and other appropriations), and the current status of LIHEAP and weatherization drawdowns. No formal votes were taken.
The committee also noted its upcoming schedule: the floor session at 9:30 a.m. Friday and a series of briefings the next day, including on developmental disabilities and the Department of Labor.
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