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Office of Children's Services reports hires, cites People First shift; department highlights talent-acquisition gains
Summary
DFCS said the Office of Children's Services (OCS) continues to manage foster care and related programs with federal Title IV-E support; department officials highlighted a talent-acquisition team that reduced specific job-series vacancy rates from 34% to 27% and noted the governor's People First initiative moved $10 million into foster-care funding now in the base.
The Department of Family and Community Services told the House Finance Family and Community Services Subcommittee on Feb. 6 that the Office of Children's Services continues to provide child-welfare services statewide while implementing recruitment and retention initiatives.
Assistant Commissioner Marion Sweet described OCS as the state's child-welfare agency with 21 offices, more than 600 full-time positions and a budget approaching $205.5 million. Sweet said the department's UGF authority for OCS is made up of General Fund, General Fund Match and General Fund Mental Health, with the largest federal grant support coming from Title IV-E, which funds foster care, adoptions and guardianship services.
Sweet and Commissioner Kim Koval told lawmakers that a governor's "People First" initiative allocated $10 million toward foster-care programming; those funds are now part of the base and DFCS reallocated some previously proposed duplicative requests toward complex care needs. The department also described an independent living program serving youth ages 18-21 who choose to remain in care and receive assistance with education, housing, transportation and other supports through age 21.
On recruitment, DFCS highlighted a departmental talent-acquisition team that in calendar year 2024 processed 83 job requisitions for targeted OCS job series, reviewed 539 applications, interviewed 425 candidates and hired 73 staff. Sweet said vacancy rates in the targeted series fell from 34% to 27 after the team's work and that turnover has improved from pandemic highs (Sweet cited a prior peak of roughly 59% down to approximately 37%).
Lawmakers asked whether the department's FY26 budget keeps pace with inflation; Sweet said some FY26 reductions reflect one-time Mental Health Trust funding that ended and that essential services are being maintained. DFCS offered to provide additional turnover and recruitment cost analyses at a future briefing.
