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Budget Summary FY2014

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Department of Children and Families
Data Current as of:  9/11/2013





FISCAL YEAR 2014 BUDGET SUMMARY ($000)
ACCOUNT FY2014
Conference
FY2014
Vetoes
FY2014
Overrides
FY2014
GAA
Clinical Support Services and Operations 68,829 0 0 68,829
Roca Retained Revenue for Cities and Towns 2,000 0 0 2,000
Foster Care Review 2,996 0 0 2,996
DCF Local and Regional Management of Services 6,000 0 0 6,000
Sexual Abuse Intervention Network 699 0 0 699
Services for Children and Families 249,436 -125 125 249,436
Family Support and Stabilization 44,611 0 0 44,611
Congregate Care Services 206,489 0 0 206,489
Child Welfare Training Institute Retained Revenue 2,077 0 0 2,077
Placement Services for Juvenile Offenders 1,028 0 0 1,028
Social Workers for Case Management 171,921 0 0 171,921
Support Services for People at Risk of Domestic Violence 22,906 -150 150 22,906
TOTAL    778,991 -275 275 778,991 0  

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account description amount
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 795,997,157
Direct Appropriations
4800-0015 Clinical Support Services and Operations
For central and area office administration and service coordination; 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 department of mental health forwards an assessment and recommendation as to whether the child or adolescent may be appropriately placed in foster care or if such child or adolescent is more appropriate for congregate care placement; provided further, that the department, in consultation with the department of mental health, shall assist the department of mental health in making such assessments and recommendations; provided further, that if placement of a child with someone other than a parent becomes necessary, the department shall place the highest priority on identifying a family resource within the child's kinship or family circle and shall provide services and support to partner with the family resource in meeting the child's needs; provided further, that the department and the department of early education and care shall provide standards for early education and care placements made through the supportive childcare program; provided further, that the department of children and families, in collaboration with the department of early education and care, shall maintain a centralized list detailing the number of children eligible for supportive childcare services, the number of supportive slots filled and the number of supportive slots available; provided further, that no waiting list for the services shall exist; provided further, that all children eligible for services under item 3000-3050 shall receive such services; provided further, that not later than September 13, 2013, the department shall promulgate and implement regulations which shall ensure that the department shall maintain a timely, independent and fair administrative hearing system; provided further, that the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014 on: (i) the fair hearing requests filed in fiscal year 2014, stating for each hearing request using nonidentifying information: (a) the subject matter of the appeal; (b) the number of days between the hearing request and the first day of the hearing; (c) the number of days between the first day of the hearing and the hearing officer's decision; (d) the number of days between the hearing officer's decision and the agency's final decision ; (e) the number of days of continuance granted at the appellant's request; (f) the number of days of continuance granted at the request of the department of children and families or the hearing officer's request, specifying which; and (g) whether the departmental decision that was the subject of the appeal was affirmed or reversed; and (ii) the fair hearing requests filed prior to fiscal year 2014 which are pending for more than 180 days, stating the number of such cases, how many of such cases have been heard but not decided and how many have been decided by the hearing officer but not yet issued as a final agency decision ; provided further, that not later than March 3, 2014 the department shall report on: (a) the number of foster care reviews conducted by the department; (b) the average length of time in which each review is completed; (c) the number of the department's contracts reviewed by the state auditor; (d) the number of corrective action plans issued; (e) the number of corrective action plans entered into by the department; and (f) the total number of social workers employed by the department; provided further, that the department shall file a report on the first business day of each quarter to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on the caseload of the department; provided further, that the report shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) the caseloads of residential placements, congregate 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 currently eligible for supportive childcare, the number of children presently receiving supportive childcare and the number of medical and psychiatric consultation requests made by the department's social workers; (2) the number of approved foster care placements; (3) 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; (4) the number of children under the department of children and families' care and custody who are being served in medical or psychiatric care provided through other publicly-funded sources; (5) the number of children served by supervised visitation centers and the number of those children who are reunified with their families; (6) 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; (7) for each area office, the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in the quarters covered by the report and the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in that quarter for which federal reimbursement was received; (8) for each area office, the total spending on services other than case management services provided to families for the purposes of keeping a child with the child's parents or reunifying the child with the child's parents, spending by type of the service and the unduplicated number of families that receive the services; (9) for each area office, the total number of families residing in shelters paid for by the department, a list of where the families are sheltered, the total cost and average cost per family of those shelters and a description of how the department determines who does or does not qualify for shelter; (10) for each area office, broken down by type of service, the number of requests for voluntary services, whether the request was approved or denied, the number of families that are denied voluntary services and receive a 51A report, the reasons for denying the service and what, if any, referrals were made for services by other agencies or entities; and (11) 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 not later than November 1, 2013, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children and families that details any changes to rules, regulations or guidelines established by the department in the previous fiscal year to carry out its duties under chapter 119 of the General Laws including, but not limited to: (A) criteria used to determine whether a child has been abused or neglected; (B) guidelines for removal of a child from the home; and (C) standards to determine what reasonable efforts are being made to keep a child in the home; provided further, that the department of children and families shall provide the caseload forecasting office with data on children receiving services and other pertinent data related to items 4800-0038 and 4800-0041 that is requested by the office on a monthly basis; provided further, that the information shall be provided in a manner that meets all applicable federal and state privacy and security requirements; provided further, that the commissioner may transfer funds between items 4800-0038, 4800-0040 and 4800-0041 for services only, as necessary, under an allocation plan, which shall detail, by object class, the distribution of the funds to be transferred and no transfers shall be made for administrative costs; provided further, that the commissioner shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means 15 days in advance of any such transfer; and provided further, that not more than 5 per cent of any item shall be transferred in fiscal year 2014
68,828,898
4800-0025 Foster Care Review
For foster care review services
2,995,812
4800-0030 DCF Local and Regional Management of Services
For the continuation of local and regional administration and coordination of services provided by lead agencies through purchase-of-service contracts, including flex services
6,000,000
4800-0036 Sexual Abuse Intervention Network
For a sexual abuse intervention network program to be administered in conjunction with the district attorneys
698,740
4800-0038 Services for Children and Families
For guardianship, foster care, adoption, family preservation and kinship services provided by the department of children and families; provided, that services funded through this item shall include shelter services, substance abuse treatment, young parent programs, parent aides, education and counseling services, foster care, adoption and guardianship subsidies, tiered reimbursements used to promote the foster care placement of children with special medical and social needs, an assessment of the appropriateness of adoption for children in the care of the department for more than 12 months, protective services provided by partnership agencies, targeted recruitment and retention of foster families, respite care services, post-adoption services and support services for foster, kinship and adoptive families and juvenile firesetter programs; provided further, that the commissioner of the department of children and families shall lead a task force to study ways to reduce the costs and delays of the adoption process in the commonwealth; provided further, that this task force shall consist of two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, two members appointed by the president of the senate, one member appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives, one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate, and two members appointed by the governor; provided further, that the task force shall consult with the chief justice of the probate and family court, the chief justice of the juvenile court, and the chief justice and trial court administrator of the trial court; and provided further, that the task force shall convene by September 1, 2013 and subsequently file a report with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate no later than March 1, 2014, and this report shall contain recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes to reduce costs of the adoption process and to make adoptions more easily available; provided further, that not less than $25,000 shall be expended for the planned learning achievement program for youth in Amherst, in collaboration with the department of elementary and secondary education, through an interagency service agreement; provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to the Weymouth teen center to provide job skills training, remedial education services, and to promote a social service program promoting growth and social welfare; provided further, that funds may be expended on programs that received funding in fiscal year 2013; provided further, that the department may contract with provider agencies for the coordination and management of services, including flex services; provided further, that funding shall be expended on children's advocacy centers and services for child victims of sexual abuse and assault; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for the Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County; provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Plymouth County Children's Advocacy Center; provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Children's Cove Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center; provided further, that funding may be expended on supervised visitation programs; provided further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended for a contract with Julie's Family Learning Program in the South Boston section of the city of Boston; and provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Fragile Beginnings program
249,436,051
4800-0040 Family Support and Stabilization
For family preservation, reunification and service coordination; provided, that services shall include family support and stabilization services provided by the department; and provided further, that no funds shall be expended from this item for the compensation of administrative employees and associated administrative costs of the department
44,610,551
4800-0041 Congregate Care Services
For congregate care services; provided, that funds may be expended from this item to provide community-based services, including in-home support and stabilization services, to children who would otherwise be placed in congregate settings; and provided further, that the department shall oversee area review teams that shall evaluate the feasibility of maintaining the child in the community in this manner whenever possible before recommending placement in a congregate care setting
206,488,950
4800-0151 Placement Services for Juvenile Offenders
For a program to provide alternative overnight nonsecure placements for status offenders and nonviolent delinquent youths up to the age of 17 to prevent the inappropriate use of juvenile cells in police stations for such offenders, in compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; provided, that the programs which provide the alternative nonsecure placements shall collaborate with the appropriate sheriff's office to provide referrals of those offenders and delinquent youths to any programs within the sheriff's office designed to positively influence youths or reduce juvenile crime
1,028,388
4800-1100 Social Workers for Case Management
For the AA and DD object class costs of the department's social workers; provided, that funds shall mitigate social worker caseloads in those area offices furthest above the statewide weighted caseload standard and toward achieving a social worker caseload ratio of 18 to 1 statewide; and provided further, that only employees of bargaining unit 8, as identified in the Massachusetts personnel administrative reporting and information system, shall be paid from this item
171,921,284
4800-1400 Support Services for People at Risk of Domestic Violence
For shelters and support services for people at risk of domestic violence and for the operation of the New Chardon Street homeless shelter; provided, that the department shall pursue the establishment of public-private partnership agreements established for family stabilization services funded from sources other than the commonwealth; provided further, that services shall include supervised visitation programs and scattered site transitional housing programs, including programs to assist victims of domestic violence in finding and maintaining permanent housing; provided further, that participants in battered women's programs shall be provided with information regarding local transitional housing resources; provided further, that funding shall be made available to enhance counseling services for children who have witnessed domestic violence; provided further, that funding shall be made available for emergency shelters for substance abusing battered women; provided further, that $150,000 shall be expended for the operation of the Portal to Hope servicing Everett, Malden, and Medford; provided further, that the department shall ensure that there is no reduction in the availability of contracted rooms in any region of the commonwealth; provided further, that $1,200,000 shall be expended to increase support for family transitional support services funded from this item in fiscal year 2014; provided further, that not later than September 1, 2013 the department of children and families shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the estimated allocation of funds in fiscal year 2014 to each contracted provider funded from this item; provided further, that funding shall be made available for a statewide domestic violence hotline; provided further, that the department shall continue to provide any match funding required by federal program regulations; and provided further, that domestic violence prevention specialists shall be funded from this item
22,905,532

account description amount
Retained Revenues
4800-0016 Roca Retained Revenue for Cities and Towns
For the department of children and families, which may expend for the operation of the transitional employment program an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 from revenues collected from various state, county and municipal government entities, as well as state authorities, for the costs related to the provision of services by the participants and the overhead costs and expenses incurred by the not-for-profit managing agent selected by the commissioner for administering the program; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of the department of children and families may enter into a contract with Roca, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based agency, to manage the transitional employment program and to provide services to participants from the aging out population, parolees, probationers, youth service releases or other community residents considered to have employment needs
2,000,000
4800-0091 Child Welfare Training Institute Retained Revenue
For the department of children and families, which may expend not more than $2,077,119 in federal reimbursements received under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act during fiscal year 2014 for the purposes of developing a training institute for professional development at the department of children and families; provided, that for the purposes of accommodating timing discrepancies between the receipt of retained revenues and related expenditures, the department may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the lower of this authorization or the most recent revenue estimate as reported in the state accounting system
2,077,119

account description amount
Federal Grant Spending 17,005,832
4800-0005 Children`s Justice Act
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Children's Justice Act
407,717
4800-0007 Family Violence Prevention and Services
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Family Violence Prevention and Support Services Act
1,892,892
4800-0009 Independent Living Program - Title IV-E
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Title IV-E Independent Living
2,860,911
4800-0013 Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Family Preservation and Support Services
5,455,202
4800-0085 Education and Training Voucher Program
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Educational & Training Voucher Program
1,057,401
4899-0001 Child Welfare Services
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Title IV-B Child Welfare Services
4,132,275
4899-0022 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment
495,801
4899-0025 Massachusetts Child Trauma Project
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Massachusetts Child Trauma Project
703,633

account description amount