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Senate committee hears request for $7.6M to cover child-care subsidy invoices through Sept. 30
Summary
Public health officials told the General Government Operations and Appropriations committee the territory needs a $7.6 million local supplemental to cover June–September child-care subsidy invoices after federal CCDF funding arrived late and inconsistently; DPHSS warned that without local funds eligibility and the number of providers served would shrink.
Public health officials told the Senate committee on General Government Operations and Appropriations that the Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) needs a $7.6 million local supplemental to cover outstanding child-care subsidy invoices and to preserve current service levels through Sept. 30.
"If no subsidy is given, then, we're gonna have to live within just the federal subsidy, which is gonna have to collapse the eligibility more and less kids and less families and providers helped," said Therese, public health director, describing the department's assessment of federal funding uncertainty and its operational consequences. DPHSS said the overall program cost to serve about 2,730 enrolled children is roughly $29 million annually; the department received about $22 million in CCDF federal funds this year and therefore requested a $7.6 million local infusion to cover June through September obligations.
Committee members pressed DPHSS on specifics. The department reported 60 of 160 participating providers had pending June invoices that had not cleared muster and cited roughly $1,208,943 in outstanding June obligations that staff were preparing to batch and forward to the Department of Administration (DOA) for payment. DPHSS staff emphasized that providers have 90 days to submit back-billed invoices, which affects when payments enter the DOA pipeline.
Senators expressed concern about the longer-term funding picture. DPHSS said the $7.6 million would bridge June–September and that the department hopes federal CCDF allocations will approximate the $22 million received this year but cannot guarantee a similar cadence in fiscal 2027. Without assurance of federal timing and amounts, DPHSS said it would be forced either to reduce eligibility or to seek repeated supplemental appropriations.
The committee did not vote on the appropriation; at the end of the session the chair recessed the panel to reconvene on August 4 at 9 a.m.
