Development of Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) Stakeholder Forum May 15, 2014

Judge John J. Specia, Commissioner LAR Exceptional Item Development Agenda Welcome Judge John J. Specia, Commissioner LAR Exceptional Item Development Tracy Henderson, Chief Financial Officer Public Comments Closing Commissioner Specia

Progress Report Adult Protective Services (APS) implementing improved client assessment and decision-making tools on September 1, 2014 Child Care Licensing has increased staff dedicated to proactively searching for illegal child care operations Since November 1, 2013: 408 operations investigated As of February 2014: 52 previously illegal operations have submitted applications

Progress Report (continued) Reduction in Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator caseloads Fiscal Year (FY) 2012: 24.7 to 1 FY 2013: 19.9 to 1 Reduction in CPS investigation delinquencies (open more than 60 days) March 2012: 30.1 percent March 2014: 20.8 percent

Progress Report (continued) Increases in adoptions, particularly those involving relatives All adoptions Percent to Relatives FY 2012: 5,040 42% FY 2013: 5,364 50% Increase in the number of children in kinship placements FY 2012: 9,982 FY 2013: 10,059 Continued reduction in the number of foster children receiving psychotropic medication

External Reviews Sunset Advisory Commission Operational review of CPS Late May: public release of staff report June 24th and 25th: public hearing August 13th: Commissioner decision hearing Operational review of CPS February: analysis began June: report to be delivered Casey Family Programs review of Harris County December 2013: assessment began April: report submitted

LAR Timeline May 2014 Governor and Legislative Budget Board (LBB) provide instructions, including policy guidance Public hearing June 2014 Submit 2014-15 Baseline Request Continue preparing LAR documents

LAR Timeline (continued) July 2014 Brief DFPS Council Finalize items to be included as exceptional items Complete preparation of LAR documents August 2014 Submit LAR to Governor and LBB Publish on agency and LBB home pages

Baseline vs. Exceptional Items Baseline Request: may not exceed the sum of amounts expended in FY 2014 and budgeted for FY 2015, per policy guidance Exceptional Item Request: any request for General Revenue (GR) funding in excess of the Baseline Request DFPS anticipates the policy guidance to allow an increase in GR funding to maintain entitlement caseload growth

Categories for Exceptional Item Development Ensure Solid Foundation for Delivery of Current Services Improve Safety for Children Increase Prevention Services Improve Staff Retention, Recruitment and Safety Improve Program Infrastructure Additional Initiatives

Ensure Solid Foundation for Delivery of Current Services Maintain FY 2015 Staffing Levels and Costs for FY 2016-17 This request would annualize the 2014-15 increases in staffing and support costs for a full 24 months Maintain 2016-17 Caseload Growth for Non-Entitlement Services This request would fund the projected caseload in non-entitlement services such as day care and other purchased services Replace Statewide Intake Automated Call Distributor This request would replace certain components reaching their end of life and directly impact the ability to take incoming calls

Improve Safety for Children Focus on Review of Child Fatalities This request would increase centralized, independent review of child abuse/neglect fatalities and serious/near fatal injuries Improve Operation of Child Care Licensing This request would allow improvements and efficiencies in the operations of both Residential Child Care and Day Care Licensing Enhance Background Check Process This request would dedicate staff to evaluating compliance with background check rules and automate the process for a “Clearance Pass” for persons working in or fostering children in a licensed child care setting

Increase Prevention Services Help Military and Veteran Families This request would fund family support services for military families experiencing deployment to reduce the stress that may result in child abuse and neglect Expand the Project HOPES, focusing on Young Children This funding would expand these prevention services to five at-risk counties. Project HOPES stands for Project Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support.

Improve Staff Retention, Recruitment and Safety Worker Safety This request would provide staff dedicated to provide trauma support and assistance in navigating safety procedures Improve Staff Retention This request would fund additional training staff and support staff initiatives to handle staff complaints, analyze exit surveys, and manage and implement a comprehensive plan to improve retention and increase accountability Improve Staff Recruitment This request would provide an educational stipend to Child Care Licensing staff Recommendations from CPS Operational Review This is a placeholder for recommendations needing funding

Improve Program Infrastructure Continue IMPACT Modernization This request would continue the funding for the next two years of modernizing the IMPACT system APS Improvements This request would add staff to review facility investigations to ensure quality and timeliness and decrease the ratio of supervisors to caseworkers to 1:5 Improve CLASS Modernization This request would review the current automated system for child care licensing as well as other external systems and recommend a automated solution for the 2018-19 biennium

Additional Initiatives Streamline Adoption Processing This request would fund solutions such as expediting redaction requests Enhance Forensic Assessment Center Network This request would improve access to medical professionals in order to improve timely diagnoses of injuries and medical emergencies and to improve medical outcomes

DFPS Exceptional Items in HHSC LAR Certain technology-related requests may be carried by HHSC on behalf of all or some of the HHS system agencies. For DFPS those items include: DIR Data Center CAPPS Financial Upgrade Telecommunications Management Services Cyber-security Advancement System to manage and secure mobile devices, laptops, and desktops

Public Comment Public Comment

Questions or Additional Comments? Email: Stakeholder@dfps.state.tx.us Stakeholder website: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/Stakeholders/default.asp Thank you for your attendance today. We value your input.