House Human Services committee backs a set of budget priorities: childcare funding held, Medicaid rates adjusted, more support for shelters and elder services

At a House Human Services committee meeting reviewing fiscal-year budget recommendations, committee staff presented a set of prioritized funding decisions and the committee registered its sense on each item through show-of-hands votes.

The staff recommendation kept a $19 million childcare appropriation intact rather than moving the funds to other uses, approved a partial rate increase for Children’s Integrated Services, recommended one-time and base restorations for emergency shelter and 2-1-1 services, and advanced several elderly- and disability-focused items including Meals on Wheels and HomeShare expansion.

Committee staff told members the childcare recommendation balances an uncertain federal compliance cost and continuing workforce and access concerns. “Given the unknown cost of compliance with the federal rule, continuing need for workforce development, the need to address gaps in service, the committee recommends that it's premature to move any of the $19,000,000 out of the childcare appropriation,” the staff presenter said. The committee registered its support by a show of hands; the tally recorded in the transcript shows a majority in favor.

The committee recommended a partial increase for Children’s Integrated Services, which serves Medicaid-eligible children in early intervention. Staff said a recent cost study supports a higher per-member-per-month rate than the current $6.50; the recommendation moves the rate to $6.75 rather than the study’s full $7.38. The staff noted the total cost of the change was about $450,000, of which $67,500 was state general funds and the remainder covered through Global Commitment Medicaid funding. Members voted to support the recommendation.

Several smaller human-services line items were taken up during the meeting. The committee recommended:

- $322,444 for Building Great Futures (a public–private partnership) with expectations the organization continue fundraising and philanthropy; members recorded more votes in favor than opposed.

- $30,640 for supervised visitation for one year, funded from judiciary CHINS (tobacco settlement) funds; the transcript shows unanimous support in the committee’s recorded vote.

- A funding increase for youth mentoring (Mentor Vermont) to $200,000, to be funded from prevention resources in the health department (the staff recommended language that would allow VDH to transfer to the Vermont Community Foundation or similar recipients); members supported moving the item to a higher priority and increasing the ask from $100,000 to $200,000.

On economic services, the committee recommended restoring temporary shelter funding to FY25 levels to provide a stable transition to a new program referenced as H91; staff said the governor’s proposal had largely placed funds in one-time accounts and the committee preferred stable base funding through the transition. A related recommendation restored $322,000 to make the statewide 2-1-1 emergency housing/intake line a 24/7 service in base funding rather than one-time funding.

The committee also asked to retain $299,000 in general funds for general assistance after a proposed reduction in the governor’s budget; staff argued outreach and staffing changes meant cutting the appropriation now would be premature. Members voted in favor of restoring that amount.

Food-security and related requests from other committees were endorsed in part: the committee concurred with the House Agriculture recommendation to support Vermont Food Bank funding (transcript references $2 million to base and $3 million one-time) and recorded more votes in favor than opposed. The committee noted that it was supporting an item originating in another committee’s jurisdiction.

Member discussion also addressed home- and community-based services (HCBS) for older Vermonters and people with disabilities. Staff recommended full implementation of the 2023 rate study across Medicaid-eligible HCBS services and presented updated numbers: roughly $4.387 million in general funds and $10.6 million in Global Commitment Medicaid funding to complete the work. Members voiced support, and the transcript shows a favorable vote for implementing the rate study as presented.

Other elder-services recommendations included expanding HomeShare to the Northeast Kingdom (recommended at $235,000 and moved to high priority) and advancing $2 million in state funds for Meals on Wheels (the staff noted an average meal cost cited in testimony of $13.43 and that the recommended state funding would not by itself fully cover all program costs). Members moved the Meals on Wheels funding to a higher priority and recorded support for that change.

Committee members also discussed a 4% COLA proposal for home- and community-based service providers and whether substance-use-disorder providers should receive the same prioritization; members asked staff to check prior-year COLA timing for different provider groups before finalizing language.

The meeting included multiple show-of-hands votes on the staff recommendations; the transcript records the tallies given verbally for each item and staff noted the committee’s sense would be conveyed to Appropriations when the committee’s memo is submitted.

The committee paused its agenda to hear scheduled witnesses and planned to resume detailed budget-item discussion afterward.