Committee considers pay for DCYF oversight board members with lived experience; five-day notice waiver approved

Allison Mendiola, committee staff, briefed the Senate Human Services Committee on Senate Bill 5199, which would permit members of the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) Oversight Board with direct lived experience to receive the $200 per-day stipend and reasonable travel and child/adult care reimbursement consistent with prior legislation addressing lived-experience compensation.

For the record, Senator Claire Wilson, sponsor of SB 5199, described the Oversight Board’s role — monitoring DCYF to ensure the agency achieves outcomes and complies with policy — and noted that the board includes members with lived experience and legislative advisors. The bill would align the board with a 2022 statute that authorized stipends for part-time boards and the 2023 Nothing About Us Without Us Act by clarifying that DCYF oversight-board members with direct lived experience may receive the stipend and reasonable expenses provided they are not otherwise compensated for their service.

Committee members asked about reimbursement guardrails. Allison Mendiola said the Office of Financial Management (OFM) determines the reimbursement amount. A fiscal note was not requested for SB 5199.

Before the bill hearing, the committee considered a procedural motion to waive the five-day notice requirement for public hearing so the committee could consider SB 5199 on a shortened schedule. A member moved to suspend the five-day notice rule for Senate Bill 5199; the motion carried on a voice vote with no recorded nays. The committee then opened the public hearing on the bill and received the staff briefing described above.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 5199 with no further action recorded in the transcript.