This is not the official budget document.

Budget Summary FY2009

48000015 - Social Worker Services and Related Operational Support
Data Current as of:  6/22/2009





Account Description FY2009
GAA
FY2009  
Total  
Spending
  
4800-0015 Social Worker Services and Related Operational Support
For central and area office administration; provided, that the associated expenses of employees whose AA and DD object class costs are paid from item 4800-1100 shall be paid from this item; provided further, that no funds shall be expended from this item for the compensation of unit 8 employees; provided further, that the department shall not place a child or adolescent referred by, or discharged from, the care of the department of mental health until the latter department forwards an assessment and recommendation as to whether the child or adolescent may be appropriately placed in foster care or, if due to severe emotional disturbance, is more appropriate for group care; provided further, that the department, in consultation with the department of mental health, shall assist the latter department in making such assessments and recommendations; provided further, that, unless otherwise authorized, all funds, including federal reimbursements received by the department, shall be credited to the General Fund; provided further, that the department shall expend not less than $1,000,000 in the AA or CC object codes to hire four to five full-time board certified or board eligible child psychiatrists to serve in each of the area offices; provided further, that hiring and supervision shall be done in conjunction with the department of mental health; provided further, that such physicians shall collaborate with the department's social workers; provided further, that the department shall employ not less than 1 full-time board-certified physician; provided further, that the department and the department of early education and care shall implement standards for early education and care placements made through the supportive child care program; provided further, that the department of social services, in collaboration with the department of early education and care, shall maintain a centralized list detailing the number of children eligible for supportive child care services, the number of supportive slots filled and the number of supportive slots available; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department shall not reduce recoupment amounts recommended by the state auditor; provided further, that not later than February 17 of the current fiscal year, the department shall provide to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on children and families a report detailing the number of medical and psychiatric personnel currently employed by or under contract with the department; provided further, that the report shall include the number of foster care reviews conducted by the department and the average length of time in which each review is completed; provided further, that the report shall contain the number of the department's contracts reviewed by the state auditor and the number of corrective action plans issued; provided further, that the report shall also include the number of corrective action plans entered into by the department; provided further, that the report shall include the number of social workers and supervisors who have earned a bachelors' or masters' degree in social work; provided further, that the report shall include the total number of social workers and the total number of social workers holding licensure, by level; provided further, that the comptroller shall act in accordance with item 1000-0001 if the report, with all of its components, is not filed within 10 days of the stated due date; provided further, that the department shall file a report on the first business day of each month to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children and families on the caseload of the department; provided further, that caseloads provided in this report shall include: residential placements, group care, foster care, therapeutic foster care, adoption, guardianship, 51A reports, substantiated 51A reports, the number of children who die in the care and custody of the department, the number of children on the waitlist for supportive child care and the number of medical and psychiatric consultation requests made by the department's social workers; provided further, that the report shall include the number of approved foster care placements; provided further, that the report shall also include the number of children in psychiatric hospitals and community-based acute treatment programs who remain hospitalized beyond their medically-necessary stay while awaiting placement and the number of days each case remains in placement beyond that which is medically-necessary; provided further, that the report shall include the number of children under the department of social services care and custody who are being served in medical or psychiatric care provided through other publicly-funded sources; provided further, that the report shall also contain the number of children served by supervised visitation centers and the number of those children who are reunified with their families; provided further, that the report shall contain information on the total number of children served, their ages, the number of children served in each service plan, the number of children in out-of-home placements and the number of placements each child has had before receiving an out-of-home placement; provided further, that the report shall also contain the number of families receiving multiple 51A reports within a 10-month period, the number of cases reopened within 6 months of being closed and the number of children who return home and then re-enter an out-of-home placement within 6 months; provided further, that the report shall detail the number of children diverted from residential settings, the programs in which they were placed, the associated cost savings from the diversion and any other measurements that would help assess the success of these programs in promoting the health and well-being of children; provided further, that the commissioner of the department of social services may transfer funds between items 4800-0021, 4800-0030, 4800-0038, and 4800-0041, as necessary, pursuant to an allocation plan, which shall detail, by object class, the distribution of the funds to be transferred and which the commissioner shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means 15 days prior to any such transfer; provided further, that not later than December 1, 2008, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on children and families including but not limited to (a) the criteria for which a child in need of services is removed from the home; (b) the criteria for the delivery of services alternative to removing a child from the home; and (c) the criteria for the involvement of the department of social services when a child remains in the home; and provided further, that not more than 5 per cent of any item shall be transferred in fiscal year 2009
77,337,703 75,145,658  

 
 
HISTORICAL SPENDING CATEGORIES ($000)
column definitions
SPENDING CATEGORY
FY2005
Expended

FY2006
Expended

FY2007
Expended

FY2008
Expended

FY2009
GAA
FY2009
Budget
Reductions
Wages & Salaries 39,983 42,033 41,951 45,971 44,765 -1,069
Employee Benefits 8,899 9,803 10,411 7,614 5,321 -92
Operating Expenses 16,279 20,064 22,416 24,645 27,251 -1,128
TOTAL 65,160 71,901 74,778 78,231 77,338 -2,289

 

FY2009 Spending Category Chart

Pie Chart: Wages & Salaries=58%, Employee Benefits=7%, Operating Expenses=35%



 
Earmarks

EARMARK DESCRIPTION

City / Town
FY2009
GAA
  FY2009    
  9C Cuts    
Medical Staff to Collaborate with Social Workers Statewide1,000,000 0