Deputy Secretary Nancy Hardy, Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF), conducted a meeting and conference call with Department of Public Welfare (DPW) leadership and county administrators to review the fiscal year 2006/07 budget proposal for OCYF. Focal points of the presentation were review of budget elements, proposed increases in the Act 148 allocation, and reductions in the certified needs based budget allocation related to Medicaid (MA) Realignment.
The Needs Based Plans and Budgets from all 67 counties totaled $1.96 billion, of which the state has certified an expenditure level of $1.809 billion, a decrease of $14.7 million from fiscal year 2005/06 .
The budget reflects the extraction of $103.7 million as part of the MA realignment initiative and the extraction of $1 million related to the Nurse-Family Partnership Program, also expected to be funded through Medical Assistance. The budget includes $30 million in state TANF Transition Funds. The proposed budget includes a special appropriation of $14.9 million outside of the needs based budget for behavioral health transition. These would be contingency funds for certain children and youth agencies in HealthChoices counties, where an additional $28.6 million in expenditures were extracted from their needs based budget submissions.
DPW regional staff will meet with county administrators to review the assumptions and allocations for each county.
For additional
information or questions, contact Connell
O'Brien.
