Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Welfare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DCBS outlines child-welfare prevention funding, highlights Family First update
Summary
The Department for Community Based Services presented FY2021—FY2025 funding and an update on the Family First Prevention Services Act, saying recent 2022 RS HB 1 funding includes a 50/50 match and $20 million designated for prevention efforts. Staff described efforts to integrate evidence-based practices and automate claims.
At the July 1, 2026 meeting of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services, Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) officials reviewed child-welfare prevention funding and provided an update on the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). Mary Carpenter, DCBS executive advisor, Jennifer Thornhill, DCBS assistant director, and Steven Stack, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, outlined expenditures for fiscal years 2021—2025 and described program-level changes to support federal matching.
"It includes a 50/50 match and allocates $20 million for prevention efforts," Secretary Stack said, describing additional funding from 2022 RS HB 1. Assistant Director Thornhill said DCBS is integrating evidence-based practices into existing prevention programs and automating parts of the child-welfare information system to optimize claims processing.
DCBS staff identified the Kentucky Strengthening Ties & Empowering Parents program (KSTEP) as a mixed-model intervention that does not currently qualify for the FFPSA clearinghouse 50% match. Carpenter said the cabinet is pursuing a clearinghouse rating so KSTEP could become eligible for the federal match, while noting that some locally run models will remain non-evidence-based until rated.
Committee members heard that staff-level changes are focused on integrating existing workers with program supports rather than terminating positions. DCBS also described administrative-match changes that will affect how states account for program administration going forward.
