Legislative analysts, DCF seek state funds for Summer EBT administration, ABLE accounts and behavioral-health teams

Amanda Prosser, fiscal analyst with Legislative Research, briefed the committee on how the Department for Children and Families’ budget is reflected in the House proposal and the governor’s differences, emphasizing several current- and next‑year items that would affect agency operations.

The most immediate item discussed was the Summer EBT program (branded in testimony as Sun Bucks). Prosser told the committee the federal program “provides a hundred and $20 per summer to kids who qualify” and that the state pays roughly half of the administrative cost. The House inserted $925,000 in state general fund (SGF) to cover the administration in the current year; that amount includes a $100,000 set‑aside “to reimburse individuals who experience fraudulent transactions,” Prosser said. Under the House language the SGF would be held by the State Finance Council and released to DCF once the secretary certifies that a waiver has been submitted to the USDA to exclude certain items from eligible purchases.

Prosper and DCF staff also explained recent lapsing of reappropriations. Prosser said the agency had about $30.8 million in reappropriated funds from fiscal 2024 into fiscal 2025 and that the Special Committee on…