Health and Welfare seeks staff and $14.1M supplemental to curb reliance on costly congregate care

The Department of Health and Welfare asked the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20 for new staff and supplemental funding aimed at keeping more children safely in their homes and reducing expensive congregate-care placements.

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, walked the committee through the department’s reorganization and the child-welfare budget, telling members the division now called Youth Safety and Permanency (formerly Child Welfare) is responsible for child protection, foster care and adoptions. Williamson said the division has 434.8 authorized full-time positions and reported 45.8 vacancies as of Feb. 10, with about 25 of those in the interview process and nine posted.

The request before the committee includes a $14.1 million supplemental tied to foster-care population forecast adjustments for the 2025 fiscal year. Williamson said much of the recent increase in costs was driven by rising congregate-care rates and higher clinical needs among youth.

Director Alex Adams told the committee the budget package is designed to put "the right kid in the right place at the right time" by expanding prevention services and recruiting foster families. Adams described the cost differences the department faces: "If I keep a kid in their home, in a prevention case, it's $1.80 a day. If a child is removed and placed in…