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Department of Social Services seeks $114.6 million to expand child welfare, modernize benefits system
Summary
Acting DSS director Tony Catone told the Healthcare Subcommittee the agency requests $114.6 million overall to expand child-welfare supports, child care scholarships, prevention services and to modernize the SNAP/TANF mainframe, citing recent improvements in hiring, SNAP timeliness and compliance with federal adult-protective-services rules.
The Department of Social Services asked the Healthcare Subcommittee for recurring and nonrecurring funds to expand child-welfare services, boost child-care scholarships and modernize its benefits computer system.
Tony Catone, acting state director for the Department of Social Services, said the agency’s “mission is clear. We fight against hunger, poverty, abuse and neglect,” and outlined a budget request he described as $114,600,000 in total, including $68,100,000 in recurring state general funds and $18,600,000 in nonrecurring state general funds.
Catone said the agency has posted measurable improvements that inform the request. “Our child support portal has surpassed 5,000,000 total visits,” he told the committee, and DSS has exited parts of the Michelle H. consent decree after meeting measures on out-of-home abuse-and-neglect investigations and placements. Catone also cited a fall in foster-care population from a high of 4,716 in April 2010 to 3,252 in January 2025 and an increase in SNAP application timeliness to “a…
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