Health and Welfare outlines push to hire prevention specialists, expand foster supports and curb congregate care costs

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee heard Thursday that the Department of Health and Welfare is proposing a set of staffing and program changes aimed at keeping more children safely in their homes, expanding the pool of foster parents and reducing placements in expensive congregate-care settings.

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee the division now titled Youth Safety and Permanency (formerly child welfare) is authorized 434.8 full‑time positions and had 45.8 vacancies as of Feb. 10; “out of those vacancies, about 25 of those are currently in the interview process. Another 9 are posted,” Williamson said. She told lawmakers child welfare expended about $117.8 million in fiscal 2024, with roughly 60% of that going to foster care and assistance payments and the remainder to clinicians and caseworkers.

The department’s request for fiscal 2026 includes a package of new positions and one-time funding, focused on prevention work, clinical supports for foster caregivers, licensing capacity and operational support. Key elements presented to the committee include:

- A request for 36 prevention specialist family-service worker positions intended to “strengthen families and prevent the removal of children when they can safely remain in their home.” Williamson said the agency currently has 14 prevention specialists statewide who carry both prevention and foster-care caseloads; adding 36 would bring the total to 50.

- A request for additional youth safety and permanency staff (agency requested 12…