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DCYF outlines staffing and program‑support tradeoffs as House and Senate propose different reductions
Summary
DCYF said the House and Senate budgets take different approaches to administrative and staffing reductions: the Senate proposes furloughs and modest FTE cuts in program support; the House proposes steeper FTE reductions across child welfare, early learning and program support but no furloughs.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families described competing House and Senate approaches to staffing and program‑support reductions, noting different effects on furloughs, FTE counts and collective bargaining obligations.
Renee Newkirk, the department’s chief financial officer, said both chambers fund the collective bargaining agreement that provides state employee cost‑of‑living increases (3 percent in fiscal year 2026 and an additional 2 percent in fiscal year 2027) and certain classification increases. Beyond that, the chambers take divergent approaches to administrative savings.
“The Senate proposed an 8.67 percent reduction per month for fiscal year 26, which equates to 13 furlough days in fiscal year 26, and includes a reduction of about 14 FTEs in program support,” Newkirk said. “The House does not include furloughs; instead it proposes reducing about 23 FTEs in child welfare, seven FTEs in early learning and 14 FTEs in program support.”
DCYF said the FTE reductions listed in the House budget would be in addition to any programmatic FTE reductions resulting from program eliminations or funding cuts. Agency staff said implementation details — specifically which positions or programs would be affected and when — have not yet been determined and will depend on final budget language and implementation decisions.
The webinar included staff and attendee questions about alternatives to furloughs (for example, delaying salary increases), and DCYF presenters said they were not privy to all options and that many choices remain under legislative and executive consideration. DCYF reiterated that it would communicate implementation decisions when the final budget is available.
