Legislators and Department Officials Debate Ground-up vs. Incremental Budgeting for Child and Family Services

Legislators on the 2025 Legislature MT appropriations review questioned Department of Public Health and Human Services staff on Oct. 12 about why the Child and Family Services Division’s (CFSD) biennial budget is presented as incremental adjustments instead of a ground-up, zero-based budget.

Madam Chair Gillette opened the discussion by saying the committee had expected a “full budget review, at least the numbers part of it,” and asking staff to explain how the department builds its baseline figures. "From the department's perspective, we concluded our presentation on the child and family services division budget yesterday. We are here to answer your questions and have a discussion with you on CFSD budget related matters," the department director said.

The department’s budget staff explained they rely on an incremental approach informed by historical expenditures. "What we do is we look at a year's worth of actual experience," Ms. Aiken said, describing the process that uses fiscal 2024 completed expenditures as the base for the 2026–27 budget projections. Aiken added that some areas—such as personal services—are driven by prescribed personal-services snapshots, while other lines (leases, motor pool, travel) are reviewed account by account.

Lawmakers repeatedly said they had expected a more detailed,…