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Lawmakers hear about Title IV-E limits, rising transport costs and contract increases in family services
Summary
Department for Children and Families officials told the House Appropriations Committee that Title IV-E eligibility rules and fingerprinting delays prevent charging the first 14 days of some residential placements to federal funds, transportation contract costs have risen and UVM's child safety contract requires an increase to continue services.
Department for Children and Families officials told the House Appropriations Committee Thursday that federal funding rules and operational pressures are driving several requests for budget adjustments within Family Services.
Megan Seaton and Commissioner Chris Winters explained that DCF cannot draw Title IV-E funds for the first 14 days of some residential placements because the Family First Prevention Services fingerprinting rules require background checks to be completed before those days can be charged to Title IV-E; delays in fingerprint processing mean the department must cover the costs locally.
The nut graf: Committee members asked whether fingerprinting delays could be addressed through equipment or process changes; DCF said there are legal and operational constraints to deploying fingerprint machines and that processing backlogs at the Vermont Criminal Information Center (VCIC) also contribute to delays.
Seaton also told lawmakers that the Family Services Division is seeing contract pressures for transportation of children between placements, to medical appointments and for school travel. She said relatively few providers supply these services and costs have increased significantly during recent renewals, creating a budget gap that the BAA seeks to address.
On specialized clinical supports, DCF said the University of Vermont requires additional funding to continue providing child abuse pediatric services used in DCF investigations and that there are limited alternatives to that contract.
Post-permanency supports were addressed as well: DCF indicated it plans a rate increase and a small caseload increase for post-permanency providers, noting about $43,917 of the proposed adjustment would add roughly 13 beneficiaries per month to post-permanency supports.
Ending: Lawmakers pressed DCF on whether solving fingerprinting delays would permit more federal reimbursement and asked for follow-up on provider availability and contract negotiations; DCF said it is exploring options but legal and processing constraints remain.
