| Members Present: Sen. Allen M. Christensen, Senate Chair Rep. Paul Ray, House Chair Rep. Raymond P. Ward, House Vice Chair Sen. Luz Escamilla Sen. Keith Grover Sen. Todd Weiler Rep. Steve R. Christiansen Rep. Kim F. Coleman Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost Rep. Brad M. Daw Rep. Sandra Hollins Rep. Marsha Judkins | Rep. Adam Robertson Rep. Norman K. Thurston Members Absent: President J. Stuart Adams Sen. Kirk A. Cullimore Sen. Daniel Hemmert Staff Present: Russell T. Frandsen, Finance Officer Clare Tobin Lence, Finance Manager Kimberly D. Madsen, Financial Analyst Paula Morgan, Committee Secretary |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the
meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| Chair Christensen called the meeting to order at 8:23 a.m. |
| 1. Public Input on Topics on Today's Agenda |
| Nathan Davis, Education Specialist, Prevent Child Abuse Utah, spoke to endorse a new funding request to increase caseworker salaries. |
| Mike Hamblin, Executive Director, Utah Foster Care Foundation, spoke on behalf of caseworker salary increase. |
| Allison Sherman, foster parent, spoke in favor of a salary increase for caseworkers. |
| Doug McLain, foster parent, spoke in support of caseworker salary increase. |
| Chair Christensen commented on Foster Parent service. |
| 2. Department of Human Services (DHS) - Base Budget |
| Clare Tobin Lence, Finance Manager, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA), gave an overview of the Department of Human Services (DHS) as well as the Office of Recovery Services (ORS) and the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). She began by referring to Compendium of Budget Information (COBI) at COBI.utah.gov which is available online and referenced the following materials: |
| 4ai-DHS - Expenditures by Vendor - 2020 GS |
| 4aii-DHS Facility List - 2020 GS |
| 4b-DHS Fund Balances - FY 2019 |
| 4c-Issue Brief - 2020 General Session - Fees - Department of Human Services |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued by referring to the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee - Motions for Consideration (blue sheet) items #CA1 and CA2 |
| 3. DHS - Agency-Wide New Funding Requests |
| Clare Tobin Lence referred to the sheet entitled Building Block List Ongoing General Funds - Agency Requests (gray sheet) - Priority List item #DB for her presentation. |
| Chair Christensen asked about the current match rate. Clare Tobin Lence responded. |
| Rep. Ward commented on the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) and how the percentages could change slowly according to economics. There was comment from Chair Christensen. |
| Rep. Judkins commented on the changes to the fees for licensing. Clare Tobin Lence responded to clarify her understanding. |
| 4. DHS - Office of Recovery Services (ORS) - Base Budget |
| 6b-ORS - Purposes - 2020 GS |
| Clare Tobin Lence reviewed the purposes of Office of Recovery Services. |
| Chair Christensen asked about dead-beat dads statistics and Liesa Stockdale, Director, ORS, commented to clarify. |
| Clare Tobin Lence referred to Budget Reduction Options (purple sheet) #35 and 36. |
| Liesa Stockdale requested an adjustment. |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued with her presentation on item #36 on the Budget Reduction Options list and Liesa Stockdale responded. |
| Rep. Christiansen commented that he had his concerns clarified. |
| MOTION: Rep. Ray moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Subcommittee - Motions for Subcommittee Consideration" dated 1/27/2020: #BC6, BC7, BC8 The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays-0 | Abs-5 | |
| Sen. A. Christensen Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Coleman Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Rep. B. Daw Rep. S. Hollins Rep. M. Judkins Rep. P. Ray Rep. A. Robertson Rep. N. Thurston Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. L. Escamilla Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Hemmert |
| MOTION: Rep. Ray moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Subcommittee - Motions for Subcommittee Consideration" dated 1/27/2020: all #CA The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays-0 | Abs-5 | |
| Sen. A. Christensen Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Coleman Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Rep. B. Daw Rep. S. Hollins Rep. M. Judkins Rep. P. Ray Rep. A. Robertson Rep. N. Thurston Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. L. Escamilla Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Hemmert |
| 5. DHS - Office of Recovery Services (ORS) - Base Budget |
| 4b-DHS Fund Balances - FY 2019 |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued with her presentation of the Federal Funds Brief. |
| Rep. Judkins asked for clarification on the Federal Funds. Clare Tobin Lence clarified. |
| Rep. Robertson asked a question about funding in excess. Liesa Stockdale responded from the ORS point of view. There was continued explanation from Mark Brasher, Deputy Director, DHS to clarify. |
| 6ei-ORS General Fund Projections - 2020 GS |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued sharing information about amounts collected. |
| Leisa Stockdale shared the process used in recovery efforts and explained the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) Lien and the benefits of it with comments from Chair Christensen. |
| Rep. Christiansen asked about amounts recovered and wondered how much the annual operating cost of the department is. Liesa Stockdale responded with the amount. There was comment from Chair Christensen. Liesa Stockdale continued with explanation of implementation of the TEFRA program. |
| Rep. Christiansen had a question about how the current performance will reflect on future performance and Liesa Stockdale responded. |
| 6fi-DHS - Line Item Performance Measures - FY 2019 |
| Rep. Robertson had a question about recovery numbers. Liesa Stockdale explained her estimations. There was continued conversation to clarify. |
| 6fii-DHS - Budget Item Performance Measures - FY 2019 Final Report |
| Clare Tobin Lence referred to COBI and clarified about the varying performance measures used by the Subcommittee. |
| Chair Christensen commented on the targets determined for the department with comment from Liesa Stockdale. |
| Clare Tobin Lence directed the Subcommittee to the blue Motions Sheet and referenced all #CF motions on the motion sheets except #CF3 and suggested holding that item. |
| MOTION: Rep. Ray moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Subcommittee - Motions for Subcommittee Consideration" dated 1/27/2020: All #CF except #CF3 and with the change on #CF4 with the target amount to remain at $6.25. The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays-0 | Abs-5 | |
| Sen. A. Christensen Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Coleman Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Rep. B. Daw Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. S. Hollins Rep. M. Judkins Rep. P. Ray Rep. A. Robertson Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Hemmert Rep. N. Thurston |
| 6. DHS - Child and Family Services (DCFS) - Base Budget |
| Diane Moore, Director, DCFS, commented. |
| Clare Tobin Lence referred to the budget reduction sheet and discussed items #25 and 26. |
| Mark Brasher gave a history of the Social Services Block Grant and its purposes and expressed concerns over a recession and reserves available as well as the needs of the department. |
| Chair Christensen addressed the students who were present and shared what the job of the Subcommittee is. He also welcomed Pamela Atkinson, Advocate for the Homeless. |
| Pamela Atkinson addressed the caseworker salary issue and made a request for $1.9 million. |
| 7bi-Child and Family Services - Annual Report - FY 2019 |
| 7d-Criminal Surcharge Restricted Accounts |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued to explain various Fund Balances for DCFS. |
| Clare Tobin Lence continued explaining the #CC items on the budget motions from the Motions for Consideration sheet items #CC 1-8. |
| Chair Christensen had a question about nonlapsing funds and some of the ongoing funds and if the nonlapsing funds are being used for ongoing purposes. |
| Diane Moore responded to the question with input from Mark Brasher. |
| Rep. Christiansen had a question on #CC5 and asked for the results of the pilot and also requested results of #CC7 performance measures and current results. Diane Moore explained using the annual report statistics. |
| Chair Christensen commented on the difficult balance of removing children from homes. |
| Clare Tobin Lence further explained information about the targets from the performance measures. |
| 6fi-DHS - Line Item Performance Measures - FY 2019 |
| 6fii-DHS - Budget Item Performance Measures - FY 2019 Final Report |
| 6fiii-DHS - Budget Item Performance Measures - FY 2020 Initial Report |
| Diane Moore continued responding to the question about results. |
| Rep. Christiansen asked whether the targets should be increased and Diane Moore responded. |
| Chair Christensen commented about the realistic goals set by DCFS. |
| MOTION: Rep. Ray moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Subcommittee - Motions for Subcommittee Consideration" dated 1/27/2020: All #CC. The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays-0 | Abs-6 | |
| Sen. A. Christensen Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Coleman Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. S. Hollins Rep. M. Judkins Rep. P. Ray Rep. A. Robertson Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. B. Daw Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Hemmert Rep. N. Thurston |
| 7. DCFS - New Funding Requests |
| Diane Moore presented information and talked about request specifics and the focus of the department including the importance of workforce issues. |
| 7bi-Child and Family Services - Annual Report - FY 2019 |
| Rep. Robertson asked about salaries for retention for caseworkers for child welfare in other states as well as other public sector jobs. Diane Moore responded. There was continued explanation and conversation to the issue. |
| Rep. Judkins asked if the federal Family First Prevention Services Act services would be able to integrate with the current services. Diane Mooore explained the things that need to be considered. Rep. Judkins also asked about the turnover rate effect. Diane Moore emphasized the need to help keep kids safe in their own family. Chair Christensen commented. |
| Rep. Daw shared an experience about a neighbor working with DCFS and gave thanks to DCFS. |
| Sen. Escamilla expressed thanks for work being done. She referred to the request of $1.9 million and asked how that compared to Idaho and asked how much we need to come up to our neighboring state. Diane Moore responded with statistics. |
| Rep. Ward asked if these workers are part of the Utah Retirement System and Diane Moore responded affirmatively. |
| Chair Christensen made a suggestion about distribution of funds over a period of time and Diane Moore responded with ideas for using the funds. |
| Rep. Christiansen requested information on what are the root causes for removal of children from their homes. Diane Moore responded that 80% are from substance use disorder resulting in neglect. |
| Diane Moore expressed gratitude to the Subcommittee. |
| Diane Moore gave recognition to the beginning of Family First in Utah. |
| 8. Domestic Violence Shelters |
| Jenn Oxborrow, Executive Director, Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, spoke about 3 different areas. |
| She addressed the issue of domestic violence and the affect it has in many areas. |
| Jenn Oxborrow shared information about thow the shelters are doing overall. Jenn Oxborrow next addressed the question about the resources across the various shelters. She wrapped up by exploring a funding formula and funds used for Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and opportunity to use the funding they have in differing ways. |
| Chair Christensen asked how the Maryland based lethality assessment program is working and Jenn Oxborrow shared statistics to answer. She continued to give information on the work being done. |
| She wrapped up questions of exploring a funding formula and funds used for Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and opportunity to use the funding they have in differing ways. |
| Chair Christensen asked a question regarding a formula through the criminal surcharge and if that is filtering down to them. Jenn Oxborrow responded. |
| Rep. Coleman asked if there is statutory support for funding. Jenn Oxborrow responded in the affirmative. There was continued conversation and clarification between Rep. Coleman and Jenn Oxborrow. |
| Chair Christensen reminded the Subcommittee about tomorrow and the Department of Workforce Services (DWS). |
| MOTION: Rep. Ward moved to adjourn. The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays-0 | Abs-6 | |
| Sen. A. Christensen Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Coleman Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Sen. K. Grover Rep. S. Hollins Rep. M. Judkins Rep. A. Robertson Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. B. Daw Sen. D. Hemmert Rep. P. Ray Rep. N. Thurston |
| Chair Christensen adjourned the meeting at 10:55 AM. |