House committee approves multiple DCF additions, rejects $12.1 million SNAP administrative match

The Committee on Social Services Budget on an afternoon session approved several targeted funding recommendations for the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) while declining a high-dollar request to replace federal SNAP administrative match funds.

The committee, chaired by the meeting’s presiding member, adopted a one-time FY27 increase of TANF funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters from $300,000 to $1,000,000 after Representative Carpenter moved the change and Representative King seconded the motion. Amanda, committee staff, summarized DCF’s request earlier as including funding to reduce the SNAP payment error rate, CCWIS contracts, and community foster-care supports in Sedgwick County.

Why it matters: members framed the approved items as investments to stabilize child-welfare services and expand preventive supports ahead of next fiscal-year appropriations. Representative Reese urged quicker action on foster-care stabilization in Sedgwick County, saying the money would help recruit therapists and local supports.

The committee debated a larger FY27 request from DCF: Representative Orpiza moved to add $12,100,000 SGF to replace the federal administrative match for SNAP after changes under HR 1. Amanda clarified the motion ‘‘referenc[ed] just the administrative match portion’’ and did not include payment-error-rate initiatives or employment-and-training FTEs. Members questioned staffing and program needs; Representative Carpenter challenged the size of the request, noting the department’s existing progress in reducing the SNAP error rate. The motion failed on a voice vote: ‘‘The noes do have it,’’ the chair recorded.

Other recommendations approved for DCF included:

- $436,482 (partial FY26 allocation/pro-rated) to stabilize foster care services (member discussion focused on partial-year funding and hiring timelines). - $500,000 one-time for expanding parenting support/prevention (Foster Adopt Connect in Sedgwick County) (Representative King). - $800,000 ongoing to the Children’s Alliance of Kansas for a child-welfare workforce initiative (Representative Steens). - $200,000 one-time reinstatement for Hope Ranch (Representative Carpenter). - $500,000 (later clarified in discussion to be for contracting) to start a nurse co-responder partnership to pair public health nurses with child-protective responses for infants; members debated whether the funding should be one-time or ongoing and the committee approved the recommendation while transcript remarks show inconsistency on whether it was recorded as one-time or ongoing. - $215,000 one-time continuation for a Research Foundation of Kansas pilot and $500,000 one-time for Youth Corps Ministries.

Committee process notes and clarifications: Amanda repeatedly reminded members that some reappropriations had lapsed and that the governor’s recommendations restored some items; she also flagged that the department provided a breakdown of how the $12.1 million would be used. Representative Ballard recommended prorating partial-year FY26 approvals to reflect remaining months in the fiscal year and suggested a defensible fiscal approach for appropriations committee review.

What’s next: the chair asked staff to compile today’s recommended changes into the Appropriations Committee format and signaled that KDHE and KDADS work would continue in subsequent sessions. The committee adjourned after completing its DCF recommendations.

Quotes: "You snooze, you lose, guys," Representative Carpenter said while urging timely action on grant reinstatements. Amanda told the committee, "I don't have a document that I'm gonna reference, but we'll go through kind of where we're at." Representative Orpiza clarified on the SNAP motion: "My 12,100,000 for ... 2027 as a 1 time, and then we'll see how this works out."

Ending: The committee approved a package of targeted DCF investments and deferred some larger structural funding decisions; it rejected the $12.1 million SNAP administrative match proposal and directed staff to produce an appropriations-format summary for follow-up votes.