DHHS presents child-welfare budget shift toward prevention, highlights Family First investments

Chairman Deaver and members of the Senate Appropriations Committee heard a briefing from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Children and Family Services unit on the agency’s budget, funding sources and program redesign, including Family First Prevention Services, kinship supports and qualified residential treatment program use.

Kelsey Lehi, licensing unit administrator for Children and Family Services (CFS), told the panel the division relies on a mix of federal dollars (including Title IV-E) and state general fund dollars and that roughly 88% of the division’s budget is passed through to providers.

Lehi said Title IV-E eligibility remains a major offset to state spending. “The IV-E numbers are about 42 percent tribal IV-E cases and then of that number 2 58 percent of those cases are state funded,” she said, explaining that the federal FMAP and IV-E rules determine cost shares. Lehi added that IV-E eligibility thresholds remain low, reflecting older AFDC standards in federal rules.

Why it matters: the CFS presentation framed a multi-year shift from higher-cost placements to prevention and family-based care. Committee members were shown data CFS said demonstrate fewer out-of-state placements (the agency said there are currently zero children placed out of state) and higher use of kinship and family foster care, changes officials linked to the Family First Prevention Services Act and other redesign work.

Budget and program details

- Funding mix: Lehi said the division’s “primary funding sources are Title IV-E federal dollars” and state general fund dollars, with roughly a 50/50 split in some program lines. She emphasized that…