2009-10 Enacted Budget Gap-closing Plan – Human Services

Human Services

The 2009-10 Enacted Budget invests in critical human services programs. The basic public assistance grant will increase for the first time since 1990 to address the needs of this vulnerable population. The budget also preserves core programs including foster care and adoption services, child and adult protective services and domestic violence services.

The fiscal challenges faced by the state require the elimination or reduction of some established non-mandated services, many of which have provided valuable services but which are supplemental to the state’s core mandated programs.  However, many reductions proposed in the Executive Budget were restored using either Federal ARRA funding or the TANF Contingency Fund, which has been available to states since 1996, but for which New York recently became eligible because of its increased food stamp population.  ARRA funding was used to restore the following programs:  SSI, Community Optional Preventive Services, Homeless Prevention Program, Single Room Occupancy Supportive Services, Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Program, caseload reduction, HIV Welfare to Work, and supportive housing for children aging out of foster care.   After these changes, the budget provides nearly $3.5 billion for human services programs.

Gap-closing Actions

*Programs partially restored by Federal ARRA or TANF funding.

• Increase the Basic Allowance Portion of the Public Assistance Grant. The monthly public assistance benefit is comprised of a basic allowance and a shelter allowance and varies based on family composition and county of residence. The 2009-10 Enacted Budget increases the non-shelter portion of the public assistance grant for approximately 200,000 household by 10 percent, from $291 to $320 in July 2009; by another 10 percent to $352 in July 2010; and by a final 10 percent to $387 in July 2011. In addition, the State will assume the local share of the increase for the first three years of implementation. (2009-10 Cost $8 million; 2010-11 Cost $41 million)
• Right-size Youth Facilities Program. Effective July 1st, 2009, the state will lower costs and improve efficiency of the OCFS youth facility system by consolidating and reducing capacity in line with population trends. Vacancy rates will be reduced from 33 percent to 24 percent by closing or downsizing a total of eight residential facilities and three evening reporting centers. After this action, OCFS will still operate 25 residential facilities at 76 percent capacity with approximately 1,390 beds and five day placement centers that have sufficient excess capacity to accommodate any potential upturns in youth placed in state facilities by the family or criminal courts. (2009-10 Savings: $10 million; 2010-11 Savings: $14 million). See below for a list of facilities.

• Increase Child Welfare Offset. Currently, local districts are given federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) allocations from the state Flexible Fund for Family Services (FFFS) that they can direct according to local priorities to fund a variety of local TANF-eligible programs, including child welfare services. The Enacted Budget replaces General Fund support for local public assistance administrative costs with federal funds by increasing the FFFS by $310.6 million, to $964.6 million. However, the amount of the FFFS that local districts are required to spend on child welfare services is raised in order to offset both state and local child welfare spending. (2009-10 Savings: $67 million; 2010-11 Savings: $67 million)
• Eliminate 2009-10 Human Services COLA of 5.6 Percent. A 5.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment projected for 2009-10 is eliminated. This affects providers who receive funding through the following human services programs: Adoption, Foster Care, Committee on Special Education, OMH Medicaid Waiver, Bridges to Health Medicaid Waiver and New York/New York III. To continue the state’s long term commitment, these adjustments resume April 1, 2010, and the budget extends the COLA for a third year in 2012-13. (2009-10 Savings: $55 million; 2010-11 Savings: $63 million)
• Preventive Contract Programs. A portion of contracts for Preventive Services and Post Adoption Services are shifted from the General Fund to TANF to generate 2009-10 savings. (2009-10 Savings: $19 million; 2010-11 Savings: $0 million)
• Reduce Youth Services Programs. The Enacted Budget reduces General Fund support for the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention, Special Delinquency Prevention Program, Runaway and Homeless Youth, Alternatives to Detention and Alternatives to Residential Placement programs by 10 percent, generating $4 million in savings. The Budget also replaces $10 million of the remaining General Fund support for the Alternatives to Detention and Alternatives to Residential Placement with TANF, generating an additional $10M in savings without further impacting these programs. (2009-10 Savings: $14 million; 2010-11 Savings: $14 million)
• Limit Public Assistance Reimbursement to Districts to Service Year. Local social services districts incur costs for public assistance benefits in the first instance and then receive reimbursement from the state for the federal and state shares of such costs. Current practice allows social service districts to submit claims at any time. This action would limit the reimbursement period to the year in which the services were incurred, and will encourage more efficient practices at the local level. (2009-10 Savings: $6 million; 2010-11 Savings: $6 million)
• Reduce reimbursement for non-mandated Community Optional Preventive Services. Community Optional Preventive Services (COPS) are programs for youth at risk – but not imminent risk – of foster care placement. The Enacted Budget provides a separate capped appropriation for COPS reimbursement, and reduces program funding by about 15 percent, generating $5 million in State savings. The Budget also uses Federal ARRA funding to support the estimated $29 million in remaining COPS costs. In 2008-09, the state provided open-ended 64 percent reimbursement for qualifying COPS programs as well as mandated preventive services. In 2009-10, the state will only provide open-ended reimbursement for mandated preventive services. Overall, state support for child welfare services, including child preventive and protective services, will be appropriated at $625 million and state reimbursement will continue at the 64 percent level. (2009-10 Savings: $5 million; 2010-11 Savings: $5 million)
• Shift Training and Welfare to Work Costs. OTDA’s training and welfare to work programs are largely supported with Federal grants. General Fund dollars support activities for which OTDA cannot claim Federal reimbursement and to cover the required State match for Federal funding streams such as Food Stamp Employment and Training. This action would shift costs associated with activities not eligible for Federal reimbursement and state match costs to an agency Special Revenue Other account. (2009-10 Savings: $3 million; 2010-11 Savings: $3 million).
• Reduce funding for Legislative Additions by 20 percent. Legislative additions in the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the Department of Labor, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and the Office of Children and Family Services were reduced by 20%. (2008-09 Savings: $3 million; 2009-10 Savings $3 million; 2010-11 Savings $0)
• Eliminate Preventive Services COLA. Funding to support 100 percent of the local districts’ costs up to the available appropriation for a COLA for preventive service workers is eliminated. (2009-10 Savings: $3 million; 2010-11 Savings: $5 million)
• Eliminate 39 Positions in OCFS. The 2009-10 Enacted Budget eliminates 39 OCFS positions through attrition. (2009-10 Savings: $3 million; 2010-11 Savings: $3 million)
• Reduce Rural Rental Assistance Program. RRAP provides rental subsidies to landlords who provide housing for the elderly and low income populations of upstate New York in properties financed with mortgages from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Services “515” program. This action would achieve savings by eliminating subsidies for 75 new units scheduled to come on line in 2009-10, reducing subsidies for existing units to reflect a lowering of the capital reserves landlords are required to maintain, and transferring 394 units scheduled to expire from the program to federal Housing Choice Vouchers. Currently, 5,100 units that provide housing for mostly elderly individuals and couples are subsidized through this program, and these measures will not impact individuals currently living in the units served by the RRAP program. (2009-10 Savings: $2 million; 2010-11 Savings: $2 million)
• Reduce the Evidence Based Community Initiatives (EbCI) Program. The 2009-10 Enacted Budget reduces support for the EbCI program by $2 million. (2009-10 Savings: $2 million; 2010-11 Savings: $2 million)
• Increase local share of gross fair hearing costs. The fair hearings chargeback is the local district share of costs for providing grievance-related hearings for public assistance recipients. After first paying the full cost of these hearings, the state then “charges back” the local share to local social services districts. The amount of the chargeback has not increased since 2004-05, despite an increase in the number of fair hearing cases. (2009-10 Savings: $2 million; 2010-11 Savings: $2 million)
• Maximize Federal Revenue (Weatherization). DHCR receives Federal weatherization funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Home Energy Assistance Program. The agency will charge appropriate indirect and overhead weatherization program costs to its Federal funding. (2009-10 Savings $580,000; 2010-11 Savings $580,000)
• Eliminate the Substance Abuse Co-Location Project. Funding to support a pilot project designed to support families in the child welfare system affected by substance abuse is eliminated. (2009-10 Savings: $1 million; 2010-11 Savings: $3 million)
• Shift Fatherhood Program to TANF. The Fatherhood program encourages non-custodial parents to become more involved in their children’s lives. The program has been supported through the General Fund since SFY 2007-08. This action shifts funding for the program onto TANF. (2009-10 Savings: $1 million; 2010-11 Savings: $3 million).
• Maximize Federal Revenue. Consistent with the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Enacted Budget includes a 6.2 percent enhancement to Title IV-E reimbursement for Foster Care Maintenance and Adoption Assistance. This IV-E enhancement drives $22 million in State savings in Adoption in 2009-10. In addition, ARRA restores the authorization (repealed in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act) for states to claim federal reimbursement on child support incentive awards for FFY 2009 and FFY 2010. This provision drives $7 million in additional State revenue. (2009-10 Savings/Revenue $29 million; 2010-11 Savings/Revenue $25 million)