TO: | Honorable Patrick M. Rose, Chair, House Committee on Human Services |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | HB324 by Raymond (Relating to monetary assistance for substitute care provided to a child by a relative caregiver.), As Introduced |
Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
---|---|
2010 | ($44,942,881) |
2011 | ($79,283,035) |
2012 | ($80,864,606) |
2013 | ($82,478,453) |
2014 | ($84,100,751) |
Fiscal Year | Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1 |
Probable (Cost) from Federal Funds 555 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2009 |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | ($44,942,881) | ($200,424) | 4.0 |
2011 | ($79,283,035) | ($38,649) | 4.0 |
2012 | ($80,864,606) | ($38,649) | 4.0 |
2013 | ($82,478,453) | ($38,649) | 4.0 |
2014 | ($84,100,751) | ($38,649) | 4.0 |
The Department of Family and Protective Services reports that the average monthly number of kinship care placements is 8,065 and estimates that 75 percent of these children would be eligible for the new monetary assistance benefit during the first year of operation. It is assumed that daily payments ranging from $23.15 to $42.13 would be made to their relatives for an average of 14.3 months per child. These amounts correspond to 60 percent of the current child-placing agency rate for basic and moderate foster care. It is assumed that two-thirds of the children would receive the lower rate and one-third would receive the higher rate.
The average monthly number of children eligible for monthly assistance payments would rise from 6,049 in fiscal year 2010 to 7,790 in fiscal year 2014 based on a 2 percent annual growth rate and the average length of stay assumption noted above. The total cost for monthly assistance payments would be $43.4 million in fiscal year 2010, $79.0 million in fiscal year 2011, $80.6 million in fiscal year 2012, $82.2 million in fiscal year 2013, and $83.8 million in fiscal year 2014. The method of financing would be 100 percent General Revenue Funds because current law states that relative caregivers may not be licensed or certified to operate a foster home which is a requirement for federal matching funds under the Title IV-E program.
It is assumed that any movement or diversion of children from paid foster care into paid relative care because of the new monetary assistance benefit would be cost neutral because there are method of financing differences between the two programs (foster care uses less General Revenue). It is also assumed that the agency would continue to offer all of the currently available relative caregiver benefits because the bill does not eliminate them.
Source Agencies: | 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of
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LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, NM, MB
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