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DHW asks to replace fleet, upgrade servers; MMIS staffing near hire stage
Summary
The Department of Health and Welfare requested one-time capital for vehicle replacements and IT hardware and listed ongoing software assurance needs; the department said MMIS implementation staff are posted and expected to be hired soon.
Alex Williamson of the Legislative Services Office presented the Division of Indirect Support Services budget to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 13 and described replacement-item requests and IT needs included in the department’s 2026 request.
The department requested $2.8 million in one-time replacement items composed of visitation-room upgrades ($384,000), office remodels and furniture ($648,000), and funding to replace 60 vehicles ($1.8 million). The Office of Information Technology requested $1.8 million in hardware replacement items including laptop replacements and SQL Server upgrades, and asked for an ongoing $140,000 to cover software assurance services. The governor’s recommendation approved the agency’s requests except for a requested appropriation for cloud server capacity and support, which the agency later removed.
Director Alex Adams told the committee the department has a state fleet of 435 vehicles and aims to replace its fleet on a seven-year schedule. He said two-thirds of the fleet use is in child-welfare work — transporting children to visitation, court, and appointments — and that most vehicles targeted for replacement have more than 105,000 miles (some up to about 159,000). Adams said the department’s goal is to maintain safe, reliable vehicles for child welfare purposes and that market prices for vehicles have risen in recent years, which increases replacement costs.
On IT staffing, the department explained that six positions tied to the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) operational data work were included in last year’s budget and have been posted; the director reported hires are expected soon, with February cited as a possible start date. The MMIS project is a major Medicaid IT modernization effort and agency officials said hiring the staff is critical to successful implementation.
Why it matters: Vehicle replacements, facility repairs and IT modernization affect the department’s ability to provide timely services, especially for child welfare and Medicaid system operations. The SQL Server upgrade and MMIS staffing relate to continuity of data systems and to oversight of large federal-state programs.
Committee follow-up: Legislators asked for more detail on the fleet (vehicle-by-vehicle mileage and replacement priorities) and on the status of MMIS hires. LSO and agency staff said they would provide a fleet list and hiring status as the hearings continue.
