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DCYF proposes separating state and federal money in Home Visiting Services Account to reduce accounting confusion
Summary
DCYF presented agency-request‑legislation options to split state and federal funds in the Home Visiting Services Account (HVSA) to reduce legislative and fiscal confusion; staff recommended a state‑only account for state funds and federal grants to be managed separately, and said draft bill language will be shared for feedback before a September submission to the governor’s office.
Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) staff told the Home Visiting Advisory Committee that they are preparing agency‑request legislation (ARL) to address recurring accounting and legislative risks tied to the Home Visiting Services Account (HVSA).
Jennifer Personius (JP), senior policy adviser for government affairs assigned to the home visiting portfolio in PPS, explained the HVSA currently mixes multiple state funds and a federal McBee grant. She said the blended account has caused repeated confusion because state and federal funds operate on different fiscal timelines and federal drawdown rules add additional reporting requirements.
DCYF presented two legislative options: separate state and federal funds so the state portion remains a multibiannual dedicated account while federal funds are managed as standard annual federal grants; or eliminate the special account entirely (reverting funds to regular line‑item management). DCYF staff said their preferred programmatic recommendation is the first option. ‘‘The change that we would recommend as the program is that it be changed to a state only account so that it holds only state only state dollars and not the federal dollars,’’ a DCYF official said, adding that the proposed revisions are backend accounting changes and ‘‘would not affect provider contracts or how the funds are spent.’'
Advocates and committee members generally favored separating the funds for administrative clarity but flagged potential unintended consequences if statutory language is not narrowly drawn. Erica Hallick of the Home Visiting Advocacy Coalition said simplicity in a difficult legislative year favors separation but warned that language should not inadvertently deemphasize the value of home visiting or the statutory roles of advisory bodies.
DCYF described next steps: draft bill language will be circulated for HVAC review, the Attorney General will review for legal issues, and DCYF will submit decision packages and ARL templates to the governor’s office in September. DCYF staff said whether the governor’s office advances the proposal will likely be known in November or December.
