Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1853 by Kolkhorst (Relating to children placed in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services, including the provision of community-based foster care.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1853, As Introduced : a negative impact of ($66,412,604) through the biennium ending August 31, 2025.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2024
($26,829,477)
2025
($39,583,127)
2026
($43,742,294)
2027
($57,920,519)
2028
($65,357,822)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Probable (Cost) from GR Match For Medicaid 758
Probable (Cost) from Federal Funds 555
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2023
2024
($26,632,028)
($197,449)
($1,226,568)
(810.0)
2025
($39,184,216)
($398,911)
($2,385,541)
(922.5)
2026
($43,303,104)
($439,190)
($2,631,840)
(918.0)
2027
($57,340,044)
($580,475)
($3,477,914)
(1,226.0)
2028
($64,627,777)
($730,045)
($4,360,180)
(1,223.0)
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the definition of family preservation services to include services under the Family First Prevention Services Act, and enhanced in-home support services and nonrecurring financial support to promote safe and stable families.
The bill would also transfer family preservation services to the Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) providing foster care services in that area.
Methodology
This analysis assumes the transfer of preservation services and direct case management, including the reduction of FTEs, would occur six months after Stage II is implemented, or for regions currently in Stage II, six months after the implementation of the bill. This analysis assumes costs will increase as Community-based Care (CBC) rollout continues, with full implementation occurring by fiscal year 2028.
This analysis assumes the funding for fringe and benefits to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) for family based safety service (FBSS) caseworkers that would be transferred to the SSCCs. This analysis assumes one-time start up funding for readiness activities such as protocol development, workforce training and software purchases. This analysis also assumes additional resource transfer for the transfer of FBSS case management to the SSCCs. These assumptions align with current funding and methodologies for CBC.
This analysis is unable to determine the fiscal impact of providing direct nonrecurring financial support to families. This analysis cannot determine who would be eligible for the payments or which benefits would be included.
This analysis assumes additional work would be needed to provide services under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). According to DFPS, the agency would need to develop and submit a Title IV-E Prevention Plan to the Administration for Children and Families for federal approval. In addition, the agency would need to modify data systems to track all federally required data. Following the approval of the Prevention Plan and system modifications, the agency could then draw down Title IV-E Federal Funds.
To provide services under FFPSA, this analysis assumes the average cost per family would be $4,000. This is based on other evidence-based programs the agency provides. This analysis assumes to qualify for services, a candidate for foster care is a child who is at high or very high risk of abuse and neglect and is referred to FBSS. In fiscal year 2022, 5,308.0 investigations were referred and met this criteria. This analysis assumes costs for services would be $4,770,300 in General Revenue in fiscal year 2024 and would increase as the rollout of CBC continues.
FFPSA requires evaluation of any models not currently rated as well-supported. According to the agency, they have 4.0 models that need additional evaluation work. This analysis assumes $500,000 in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to contract with a third-party evaluator in order to meet requirements under FFPSA.
This analysis assumes continued funding for 2.0 Program Specialist VI Fulltime Equivalents (FTEs) beginning in fiscal year 2026 to support the continued implementation of FFPSA and model evaluation as well as 2.0 additional Program Specialist VI FTEs to support statewide implementation of the Prevention Plan.
According to DFPS, the SSCCs are unable to remove children on behalf of the state. FBSS FTEs completed 14.0 percent, or 1,355 removals, in fiscal year 2022, therefore Child Protective Investigators (CPI) and support staff are needed to address those removals. This analysis assumes the need of 9.0 CPI and support FTEs in fiscal year 2024, 17.5 CPI and support FTEs in fiscal year 2025, 22.0 CPI and support FTEs in fiscal year 2026, 30.0 CPI and support FTEs in fiscal year 2027, and 33.0 CPI and support FTEs in fiscal year 2028.
Technology
This analysis assumes 5,240 hours and 2.7 Contracted IT FTEs in fiscal year 2024 and 524.0 hours and 0.3 Contracted IT FTEs in fiscal year 2025 for system modifications. These changes include, updates to the Information Management Protecting Adults and Children in Texas (IMPACT) system for the transfer of FBSS to SSCCs, updates to batch jobs for payment request processing, and updates to assessment forms.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of