COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION

FISCAL NOTE

L.R. No.:         5534-03

Bill No.:          HB 2508

Subject:           Children and Minors; Family Law; Family Services Division

Type:              Original

Date:               April 15, 2008

Bill Summary:            This legislation requires the state to make reasonable efforts to locate the grandparents of a child for emergency placement of the child and requires the grandparents to be given first preference as foster parents.

FISCAL SUMMARY

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 7 pages.

*Income and costs of Unknown but Greater than $170,016 in FY09, Unknown but Greater than $177,859 in FY10 and Unknown but Greater than $183,194 would net to $0.

☐ Estimated Total Net Effect on All funds expected to exceed $100,000 savings or (cost).

☒ Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue Fund expected to exceed $100,000 (cost).

FISCAL ANALYSIS

ASSUMPTION

Officials from the Office of Prosecution Services, Office of the Attorney General, Office of State Courts Administrator and the Office of the State Public Defender each assume the proposal would have no fiscal impact on their respective agencies.

Officials from the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) state many bills considered by the General Assembly include provisions allowing or requiring agencies to submit rules and regulations to implement the act. The SOS is provided with core funding to handle a certain amount of normal activity resulting from each year’s legislative session. The fiscal impact for this fiscal note to the SOS for Administrative Rules is less than $2,500. The SOS recognizes that this is a small amount and does not expect that additional funding would be required to meet these costs. However, the SOS also recognizes that many such bills may be passed by the General Assembly in a given year and that collectively the costs may be in excess of what the office can sustain with the core budget. Therefore, the SOS reserves the right to request funding for the cost of supporting administrative rules requirements should the need arise based on a review of the finally approved bills signed by the governor.

Oversight assumes the SOS could absorb the costs of printing and distributing regulations related to this proposal. If multiple bills pass which require the printing and distribution of regulations at substantial costs, the SOS could request funding through the appropriation process. Any decisions to raise fees to defray costs would likely be made in subsequent fiscal years.

Officials from the Department of Social Services - Children’s Division (DSS-CD) assume the proposal will require additional staff to work a minimum of three hours to locate a placement with a grandparent.

In Fiscal Year 2006, the CD had 6,130 children enter into care. This proposal would require at least three (3) additional hours per placement to attempt to locate a grandparent.

This calculates to: 6,130 children X 3 hours = 18,390 additional staff hours. 18,390 ÷ 2,080 (number of full-time annual hours) = 8.84 or 9 additional Children Service workers. Additionally, 1 Children's Services Supervisor (7 Children Service Workers to 1 Supervisor ratio) and 2 Senior Office Support Staff (6 Professional Staff to 1 Office Support staff ratio) would be required. This is a total of 12 additional staff.

ASSUMPTION (continued)

If a grandparent were unable to be located within those three (3) hours, the fiscal impact would be much greater. Therefore, the CD is submitting a cost of unknown greater than $620,498 for FY 2009. 

Oversight notes that states can earn the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) on Medicaid program expenditures. The FMAP used in the DSS-CD response is a 73/27 split between General Revenue Funds and Federal Funds.

FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business

No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.

FISCAL DESCRIPTION

The proposed legislation requires the juvenile court or the Children's Division within the Department of Social Services to make a good faith attempt to contact and place a child needing emergency placement with a grandparent when the child must be removed from his or her

primary caretaker's home. If placed with a grandparent, the emergency placement arrangement will remain in effect until a court conducts a hearing on the matter. The grandparent must comply with the emergency background check requirements. If contact with a grandparent cannot be made within three hours of the Division determining an emergency placement is necessary, the child may be placed in a foster home. If placed in a foster home, the Division must continue to attempt to contact the child's grandparents during the initial 24-hour period after an emergency placement was deemed necessary.

When a court determines that a child must be placed in a foster home, the Division must make a good faith attempt to contact the grandparents of the child to determine if they wish to be

considered and given first consideration for foster home placement of the child.

This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Office of the Attorney General

Office of the State Courts Administrator

Department of Social Services

Office of Prosecution Services

Office of the Secretary of State

Office of the State Public Defender

                                                                                                Mickey Wilson, CPA

                                                                                                Director

                                                                                                April 15, 2008