Department for Children and Families officials told the House Appropriations Committee on Dec. 17 that caseload shifts and contract pressures require targeted budget adjustments for FY26.

DCF interim commissioner Sandy Hopplin and staff outlined requests that include a roughly $2 million investment to maintain and expand shelter capacity, a $127,000 reallocation to support permanent supportive housing transition services, funding to sustain a crisis-stabilization program, and a transportation-cost increase driven by contracted secure and nonsecure transports.

Why it matters: DCF said it serves about 200,000 Vermonters annually and must balance caseload trends, federal funding opportunities and rising contract costs. Members probed cost drivers and asked for breakouts to understand how increases will be allocated across family services, secure transport and school-of-origin obligations.

Details: DCF staff said some federal systems (an income-verification system often called EBS) are being discontinued and the department and ADS are working on an interim solution that DCF estimates may cost roughly $50,000 to stand up, with ongoing operating costs not yet fully detailed. "We have to build a system out," a presenter said.

On transportation, Heather McClain, DCF revenue-enhancement director, said the family-services transportation line covers sheriff transports, staff-secure and secure contracted transports, school-of-origin transports and some foster-parent reimbursements. McClain said the transportation pressures are partly driven by a federal requirement to transport a child to their school of origin after placement changes, and the department will provide a detailed breakout of the roughly $1 million increase upon request.

Subsidized adoption and shelters: DCF reported a rise in subsidized-adoption costs because more adoptions occurred than budgeted. "More kids have been adopted, than we initially budgeted for, which is a good thing," Heather McClain said, while noting the program is a Title IV-E–supported federal/state arrangement that can continue assistance until children turn 18. The Office of Economic Opportunity said the $2 million request would preserve shelter projects launched with one-time funds and maintain semi‑congregate and noncongregate capacity in communities including Burlington, Waterbury, Montpelier and Rutland.

Crisis stabilization and secure beds: DCF described Red Clover (a secure program) and West River (a nonsecure crisis stabilization program). Tyler Allen, system-of-care director for family services, said Red Clover’s annual contract cost is about $4 million and that Red Clover is typically a four-bed secure program (temporarily operating three beds due to facility damage). West River operates as a three-bed nonsecure stabilization site. Allen noted Vermont’s small number of secure beds makes per‑bed costs higher than in states with larger institutional capacity and said the Green Mountain Youth Campus proposal would add roughly 14–15 beds to address in-state capacity needs.

One-time items and follow-up: DCF flagged a one-time IT upgrade for the child-abuse hotline to meet technical compatibility requirements and a $1.9 million stabilization ask to operate crisis residential programs in Windham. Committee members asked for cost-per-bed comparisons, contract details, and whether carryforward or one-time appropriations are being used to sustain programs; DCF offered to provide additional documentation.

Next steps: Committee members requested detailed staffing and contract line items, a transportation-cost breakout, information on carryforwards used to support secure residential programs and follow-up on whether HOP (Housing and Homelessness) provider funding gaps remain. DCF agreed to provide the requested detail.