Legislators press Department of the Family on staffing, phones and PAN recoveries during budget hearing

The House Finance Commission on May 7 questioned Department of the Family leaders about whether the agency’s staffing and procurement plans match its public commitments as the department seeks approval of a consolidated FY2026–27 budget of $3,825,724,000.

Secretary Susan Roy told the commission the recommended consolidated budget totals $3,825,724,000, of which roughly 11% is general‑fund and 89% federal money, and walked members through line‑item allocations for the secretariat and each administration. She said the federal portion primarily funds the nutrition assistance program (PAN), child‑protection services and early‑childhood programs such as Head Start.

The hearing focused quickly on workforce capacity. Members pressed for precise staffing numbers and targets after multiple high‑profile child‑safety incidents were reported in the press and discussed during the hearing. Roy confirmed the department currently records 851 social‑work positions across its components and said the administration has recruited more than 100 new social workers this fiscal year and is pursuing funding to continue hiring; she and administrators said an ongoing recruitment goal is to approach 200–250 social workers to better cover regional needs.

“Tenemos 851 trabajadores sociales y vamos a sobrepasar la meta de 100 trabajadores sociales nuevos al final del año fiscal,” Susan Roy said in presenting the department’s hiring progress.

Legislators repeatedly asked whether pay, classification and the speed of hiring are keeping pace with demand; several members said rural and mountain offices have persistent shortages. Representative Rodríguez Aguiló used a recent Barranquita child‑protection case to press for concrete counts in the district and to check whether local offices had adequate on‑call coverage; Roy said she reviewed the casefile and that the office had documented service but acknowledged local staffing mismatches in harder‑to‑staff regions.

Members also demanded action after repeated delays in the department’s procurement to provide agency cellphones to front‑line staff. The department described a procurement that began in December and went through multiple steps, including a rejected adjudication and a reissued process; the Administration of General Services (ASG) later informed the commission that an applicant had sought a judicial stay and that the appeals court had temporarily halted final adjudication. The commission voted to request full procurement records and cancellation explanations from ACG/ASG and the department, setting a five‑day deadline for the information.

On program integrity, members raised a May audit showing PAN disbursements to deceased beneficiaries between 2017 and 2024. Roy said the department has recovered substantial sums and is pursuing additional recoveries and corrective measures, including a renewed five‑year data‑sharing agreement with the Demographic Registry and an action plan for the office of the Comptroller to certify. She detailed categories of identified funds and ongoing investigations but did not provide a single final figure for all unresolved cases.

Several members pressed the department for follow‑up documents: a breakdown of service vs. operational spending, the staff‑vacancy list by office, a list of owed payments to long‑term care providers, and copies of the PAN corrective‑action plan. The commission accepted multiple data requests and set short deadlines for the department to deliver them.

The hearing adjourned for a midday recess and reconvened to hear the Tourism Corporation later in the afternoon. The Department of the Family’s budget discussion will continue as members review the requested figures and the procurement record provided by ASG/ACG.

The commission recorded formal requests for procurement documentation and for lists of outstanding provider debts; it set a five‑day turnaround for those answers.