FY 2004-05 FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY BUDGET H.B. 5516 (CR-1*): CONFERENCE REPORT

FY 2003-04 Year-to-Date Gross Appropriation $4,109,439,900
Changes from FY 2003-04 Year-to-Date:
  Items Included by the House and Senate
1. Caseloads. The Conference Report includes caseload and cost per case adjustments: Family Independence Program - 2,935 cases; Food Assistance Program - 99,900 cases (includes waiver for 75,000 cases); Day Care Services - 828 cases; State Disability Assistance - 1,461 cases; State Supplementation for SSI - 4,900 cases; Adoption Subsidies - (754) cases; and Foster Care - 568 cases 180,208,700
2. Child Support Services. The Conferees concur with the Executive proposal of paternity testing on babies born out-of-wedlock to avoid Federal penalties. 4,530,700
3. Medical History Determination. The Conference Report includes the Executive's increased cost for Social Security disability applicants' medical histories. 1,600,000
4. Juvenile Justice Services. The Report includes 20% contracts reduction and $1,115,200 savings for Sequoyah closure. (1,775,200)
5. Budgetary Savings. The Conferees agree in the Executive's proposal for a 7% increase for employee-related economics, but due to pressures of reduced State revenue the recommendation reduces the increase by 5% for savings. (25,007,300)
6. Economic Adjustments. The Conferees include the Executive's 7% economic increase. 63,529,300
7. Other Changes. The Conferees concur with replacing penalty revenues with $14,063,400 GF, a Food Assistance Reinvestment Program reduction, and a net increase from the transfer of E.O. 2003-18. Two new positions for fraud detection, a 1% CSS&M reduction, retirement and split pay savings, and elimination of the Grand Tower facility bond reimbursement line are included. (3,248,000)
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
8. Foster Care and Adoption. The Conference Report includes a permanency placement initiative, Adoption Subsidies savings of $12.3 million, adds a 3% increase for Foster Care and Adoption private agencies and a 1% increase for foster care and adoptive parents. (6,460,100)
9. Initiatives. The Conference Report includes: Homeless prevention - $100,000; MiCAFE - $50,000; IDA Program - $200,000; Earned Income Tax Credit Education - $500,000; Fatherhood - $200,000; Marriage - $250,000; Pontiac Crisis Intervention - $78,500; and Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund - $2,000,000; and Barry County domestic violence services- $75,000. 3,453,500
10. Cash Assistance. The Conferees make TANF adjustments: reduce Kinship Care to $1million; a $5 million Before-and After-School Program; a Clothing Allowance $2.1 million increase with eligibility determined by the department; $250,000 for Boys and Girls Clubs; and includes a $14.5 million fund shift. Also a $459,700 LIHEAP increase; a $15 million Day Care fraud savings; and a $3.2 million increase for Community Services Block Grant. (13,494,900)
11. Information Technology. The Report includes reductions in desk-top services, $12 million in the Child Support Enforcement System, and a $8.7 million Gross (7%), $2 million GF DIT reduction. (21,249,900)
Total Changes 182,086,800
  FY 2004-05 Conference Report Gross Appropriation $4,291,526,700
Amount Over/(Under) GF/GP Target: $ 0
FY 2004-05 FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Changes from FY 2003-04 Year to Date:
  Items Included by the House and Senate
1. Local Office Consolidation. The Report includes a five-year plan for county office restructuring. (Sec. 261)
2. Individual Development Accounts. The Report allows expansion of IDA savings programs. (Sec. 418)
3. Michigan Children's Institute. The Report requires discontinuation of the consent or denial reviews. (Sec. 501)
4. Before- and After-School. The language requires a state-wide, competitively bid program, with a 25% match to the allocation. (Sec. 657)
5. Boys and Girls Clubs. The language allows spending of $250,000 in TANF funds. (Sec. 668)
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
6. Travel Restrictions. The Report includes target agreement limiting State employee travel. (Sec. 217)
7. Evaluate Efficiency Using Contracts. The Report requires FIA to contract with private firms to maximize federal funds and program efficiencies and savings, including fraud detection. (Sec. 278)
8. Fraud Detection. The Report appropriates 2 positions to detect child day care program fraud. (Sec. 303)
9. Community Services Block Grant. The Report adds $500,000 in TANF for tax credit education programs. (Sec. 414)
10. Fatherhood Initiative. The Report includes $200,000 in TANF funds and access to available Federal HHS grants. (Sec. 415)
11. Marriage Initiative. The Report includes $250,000 in TANF funds and access to available Federal HHS grants. (Sec. 416)
12. Community Action and Economic Opportunity Bureau. The Conferees approves reporting on the Bureau and the Commission on Community Action and Social Opportunity implementation. (Sec. 417)
13. Private Agency Staff Training. The Report requires FIA to allow private agencies to train their staff with FIA providing training materials. (Sec. 421)
14. Food for Elderly. The language allows food stamp funds for hot line State match and Civil Justice Center contract. (Sec. 423)
15. Permanency Placements. The Report requires private nonprofit agencies' contracts for managed care approach to foster care placements. (Sec. 515)
16. Foster Care Cases' Ratio. The Report requires that private nonprofit agencies have first opportunity to provide services when the cases-to-worker ratio is no greater than 20 cases. (Sec. 537)
17. Foster Care Rate Increase. The language includes a 3% rate increase for private Foster Care and adoption agencies and a 1% rate increase for Foster Care and adoptive parents. (Sec. 545)
18. Disproportionate Cultural Representation Study. The language requires a study and report of the representation of children of color in the State's child welfare and juvenile justice systems. (Sec. 548)
19. Clothing Allowance. The language provides $6,850,000 with eligibility defined by the Department. (Sec. 669)
20. Child Care Rate Structure. The Report requires exploration of costs using the market rate survey to implement a new day care rate structure; March 1 report. (Sec. 675)
21. Juvenile Facilities. The language requires notification to the legislature prior to any status change. (Sec. 719)
22. Family Resource Centers. The language requires implementation based on specific criteria. (Sec. 751)
23. Child Advocacy Centers. The Report requires FIA to research possible funding for centers in the State. (Sec. 752)
24. Lead Testing. The Report requires testing with available Federal funds prior to day care licensure. (Sec. 1003)

Date Completed: 9-8-04 Fiscal Analyst: Constance Cole Bill Analysis @ http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa September 8, 2004 This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations. hifia_cr.doc