FY 2016 Appropriation

This area includes the accounting and grouping of several separate programs. Some services previously funded in this program have been shifted to other programs in DCFS. The selected programs remaining in this budget include:

  • Masters of Social Work: The division has a contract with the University of Utah and Utah State University whereby the universities provides the state funding match and the division draws down Title IV-E federal funds for some salaries and costs associated with the Master of Social Work (MSW) and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) programs. This also includes a number of student stipends.
  • Attorney General Services: The division has an agreement with the Office of the Attorney General (AG) to pay for legal costs incurred on behalf of children in DCFS service. The AG (Child Protection Division) provides the state match for the federal Title IV-E share that then comes through the DCFS budget.
Funding History
Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $4,366,000 from all sources for Selected Programs. This is a 5.5 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources.

Appropriation Adjustments

In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:

DescriptionOngoingOne-Time Attorney General Dedicated Credit Adjustments$79,000$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$79,000$0Federal Funds
This item designates additional funding appropriated to an agency to pay higher costs for Attorney General services, due to statewide and AG-specific compensation increases.
Staff Analysis

For the most recent completed fiscal year, the following information represents the purposes for which the money was used:

DCFS Selected Programs Detailed Purposes

Percentage of out-of-home cases for which an Assistant Attorney General was assigned to represent DCFS in court

Percentage of in-home cases (court ordered protective supervision) for which an Assistant Attorney General was assigned to represent DCFS in court

Regarding the negative trend greater than 5% in the precent of in-home cases (court ordered protective supervision) for which an Assistant Attorney General was assigned to represent DCFS in court from the DCFS Selected programs performance measures, the agency states, "The last four years of this measure have remained fairly steady. We are not sure what accounted for the high in 2010 or the slight dip in 2012."

Intent Language

HB0003: Item 92

Under Section 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code, the Legislature intends that any remaining funds provided for the Division of Child and Family Services, in Item 41, Chapter 13, Laws of Utah 2014 not lapse at the close of FY 2015. The Legislature further intends that these non-lapsing funds are to be used for Adoption Assistance, Out of Home Care, Service Delivery, In-Home Services, Special Needs, and SAFE Management Information System modernization consistent with the requirements found at UCA 63J-1-603(3)(b).

SB0002: Item 85

The Legislature intends the Department of Human Services' Division of Child and Family Services use nonlapsing state funds originally appropriated for Adoption Assistance non-IV-E monthly subsidies for any children that were not initially Title IV-E eligible in foster care, but that now qualify for Title IV-E adoption assistance monthly subsidies under eligibility exception criteria specified in P.L. 112-34 [Social Security Act Section 473(e)]. These funds shall only be used for child welfare services allowable under Title IV-B or Title IV-E of the Social Security Act consistent with the requirements found at UCA 63J-1-603(3)(b).

SB0002: Item 85

The Legislature intends to reinvest non-lapsing state funds originally appropriated for Out of Home Care to enhance Service Delivery or In-Home Services consistent with the requirements found at UCA 63J-1-603(3)(b). The purpose of this reinvestment of funds is to increase capacity to keep children safely at home and reduce the need for foster care, in accordance with Utah's Child Welfare Demonstration Project authorized under Section 1130 of the Social Security Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9), which grants a waiver for certain foster care funding requirements under Title IV-E of the Act. These funds shall only be used for child welfare services allowable under Title IV-B or Title IV-E of the Act.

SB0007S01: Item 30

The Legislature intends that the Department of Human Services report on the following performance measures for the Child and Family Services line item: (1) Administrative Performance: Percent satisfactory outcomes on qualitative case reviews/system performance (Target = 85%/85%), (2) Child Protective Services:  Absence of maltreatment recurrence within 6 months (Target = 94.6%), and (3) Out of home services: Percent of children reunified within 12 months (Target = 74.2%) by January 1, 2016 to the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

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COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.