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CPS, Medicaid and DHS brief JLBC on custody, legal staffing needs, Medicaid shortfalls and SNAP admin changes
Summary
Presenters told JLBC that Child Protection Services currently has about 3,982 children in custody and needs additional attorneys and staff to reduce length of stay; Medicaid warned of a potential FY27 shortfall requiring roughly $1.3B in direct state support absent federal funds; DHS briefed SNAP/TANF caseloads and noted an impending increase in the state's SNAP administrative share.
A series of social‑service agencies briefed the JLBC on urgent budgetary and program pressures.
Child Protection Services reported 3,982 children in custody, roughly 3,208 receiving in‑home supervision, and 2,786 open investigations. CPS leaders said earlier ARPA‑funded county attorney pilots cut average days in custody substantially and requested additional permanent legal capacity (the agency described a system need of roughly 60 attorneys to fully staff courtroom representation; current internal and AG resources cover part of that need). CPS also described progress on caseload reduction and a negotiated stay in the long‑running Olivia Wilde litigation but said completing required settlement metrics remains challenging and further court work is expected.
Medicaid officials said pandemic‑era federal funding is nearly depleted, that last year’s $60M appropriation fell short of a $160M request, and that current projection for FY27 direct state support to maintain current services is about $1.3 billion. Medicaid cited nursing home and home‑and‑community‑based waiver growth (each growing by more than $400M since 2021) as principal cost drivers and reported process improvements (faster MAGI eligibility processing, higher ex‑parte recertification rates) and IT modernization underway. Officials noted federal policy changes could affect state directed payments to hospitals in 2029 and flagged an administrative cost increase for SNAP that will raise state admin share in 2026.
DHS reported average monthly SNAP recipients of about 368,839 (182,000 households) and cautioned that federal rules will change the state’s share of SNAP administrative costs (estimated additional ~$15M). The department described childcare voucher pauses and partial restorations after emergency appropriations, ongoing TANF subgrant work for workforce and family supports, and proposed SNAP purchase waivers (options to restrict candy/soft drinks while allowing certain hot prepared items and expanding Double Up/healthy food incentives).
Committee members asked for written follow‑up on attorney needs for CPS, projected Medicaid shortfalls with alternative scenarios and timing, and district‑by‑district chronic absenteeism and school staffing proposals discussed earlier in the meeting. No final budget decisions were made at the hearing; agencies were told to provide written backup and cost estimates for the JLBC’s budget deliberations.
