Committee backs larger supplemental for adoption and guardianship assistance

Emily Pope, JBC staff, presented a supplemental request focused on child‑welfare adoption and relative guardianship assistance programs. The Department requested $8.2 million in additional general fund for FY25–26; staff recommended $10.1 million based on three‑year averages of caseload and rate changes and because prior-year expenditures had exceeded appropriations.

Pope explained that a standardized assessment tool implemented in recent years changed how payments are set and increased the program’s costs by aligning rates and eligibility across counties. She reminded the committee these benefits are entitlements and that reconciling underestimates results in reserve impacts rather than denying services. Staff also flagged a legislative option for figure setting: reducing the state reimbursement rate (previously increased to 90%) as one lever to lower future costs, or moving benefits into a capped child-welfare block (a less-preferred option because it would reduce access).

Several members asked for trend data on how negotiated rates changed when the standardized assessment replaced capped allocations; staff agreed to provide more detailed rate-history information for figure setting. The committee approved staff recommendations for S5 on a unanimous vote as recorded in the transcript.