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Committee advances increase in grandparent and relative caregiver subsidy amid budget questions
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Summary
Bill 26-398 would raise the daily grandparent/close-relative caregiver subsidy to $38 in FY27 with annual inflation adjustment; members supported the policy but raised fiscal concerns about a $6 million FY26 impact and $25 million over the financial plan.
The committee moved Bill 26-398 to print with leave for staff after members expressed broad support for raising the grandparent and close-relative caregiver subsidy to $38 per day in fiscal year 2027 and indexing it for inflation thereafter.
Council member Parker (S6), the bill sponsor, said the increase aims to address the long-standing gap between the current subsidy (about $24.79 per day for younger children and $27.92 for older children) and the foster care subsidy. Parker told the committee the subsidy rate had not been adjusted for roughly a decade and that CFSA and caregivers had testified to the financial strain on kin caregivers.
Members pressed fiscal concerns. Council member Crawford (S10) cited an FY26 cost estimate of $6,000,000 and $25,000,000 over the financial plan and asked the sponsor to work with budget staff to explore funding options. Parker said initial proposals that would have extended eligibility up to age 21 were removed because of cost. Parker also confirmed that CFSA had indicated it would not be offsetting SNAP and other benefits in a way that would reduce caregiver payments, and that the committee sought to eliminate or limit automatic offsets in law to maximize the subsidy benefit for caregivers.
Committee officials confirmed the measure was legally sufficient and recorded the fiscal impact as presented in the report. The bill was placed on the consent agenda for March 3 with unanimous approval to move the report.
