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Sponsor seeks 15‑day reimbursement requirement for child‑care providers serving children in foster care
Summary
LD 11 91 would require DHHS to pay childcare providers for foster‑care placements within 15 days of a complete invoice; department testimony said most payments already meet administrative timelines and raised concerns about language and issues outside OCFS control.
Senate sponsor testimony introduced LD 11 91, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse childcare providers who care for children in state custody within 15 days of receiving a complete invoice and to establish procedures to ensure timely processing.
Betsy Grant, a licensed child‑care provider with 25 years' experience and a provider of foster‑care child placements, testified in support and described operational challenges when placements arrive on short notice and cashflow is strained by delayed payments. "Very often, you might get a call at 11:15 at night for 5 children coming into your childcare," Grant said; she recommended a billing approach aligned with private‑pay families to reduce cashflow risk for providers.
The Department's Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) testified in opposition only to the bill's drafting and potential legal and administrative conflicts. Director Bobbie Johnson said OCFS is not opposed to timely payments but noted state payment rules in the State Administrative Manual (SAM) already require agencies to pay no more than 25 working days after receiving a proper invoice. OCFS reported that, on average, payment from entry in the state's accounts payable system to payment is five days and that 99% of payments are made within 15 days; the department said data show most payments are timely but acknowledged outliers exist.
OCFS also raised practical concerns: the bill's text refers to payment to a "family foster home" rather than payments for childcare services for a child in state custody, and OCFS said issues such as mismatched vendor records or bank information—problems with the state controller's vendor system—cause many payment delays and are outside OCFS's control.
Committee members asked clarifying questions; staff recorded no formal action or vote. OCFS offered to work with the committee at the work session to address identified drafting problems and to help target solutions that reduce payment delays for providers.
