CAFCA Public Policy Committee Minutes

September 5, 2006

Members present: Catherine Hoich (Arapahoe House), Arnie Goldstein (Excelsior), Skip Barber (Coalition of Accredited Agencies), Fofi Mendez (Mendez Steadman) and Susannah Carroll, Katie Mason and Peg Long (CAFCA).

The meeting was called to order at 12:15 pm by Peg Long in the absence of committee chair Cyndi Dodds.

2007 Legislative Agenda

Expanding Child Care Tax Credit to › 12 year olds – Fofi contacted Senator Brandon Shaffer (D) as a potential bill sponsor at the suggestion of Senator Moe Keller. He explained that the Democrats have tentatively established a policy that for the duration of Referendum C (4 more fiscal years), there will be a moratorium on all tax credits.  (One reason is to allow the revenue to grow at the full 6% rate every year). As an alternative, Senator Shaffer suggested that we consider a bill to create a government grant program that would match donations made by private donors.  It is unknown whether any other state has such a program. Peg expressed concern about how CDHS could use this funding source as a way of arguing that it increases rates or reduces state fiscal obligations. Peg emphasized that it is important that any funding source supplement, NOT supplant, current child welfare funding.  Fofi will verify this policy with Senate President Joan FitzGerald before we decide what action to take.

Amendment to Notice Provision in Expedited Voluntary Relinquishment statute – Senator Paula Sandoval would like more information about the notice process and the problem that this bill would solve before she commits a bill title.

Adoption/Children’s Code – Peg’s research indicates that felonies committed by an adult cannot be “expunged” from one’s criminal record. Only crimes committed as a juvenile can be expunged. At best, an adult may petition the court to have his/her criminal record “sealed,” i.e., access by the public or by others, with some exceptions, is prevented. Peg will discuss this concept with the Adoption Committee members and get back to Fofi.

HB 05-1084 amendments – Fofi and Peg will meet with Matt Flora, the CDHS lobbyist, to discuss the changes requested by CDHS.

CAFCA Received the Following Requests for Support/Opposition:

Federal Wage Garnishment Worksheet – a private citizen requested CAFCA’s support to exclude court-ordered child support payments from the calculation of disposable income for purposes of federal garnishment. Peg stated that in an intact family (no divorce), the amount of income the parents spend on their children is not court ordered and could not be similarly determined, or enforced, even though Colorado child support statutes could theoretically be applied. The group declined to grant this request.

Every Child Matters (ECM) Concert 9/30 & ECM Congressional District #7 forum co-sponsorship – Both of these are aimed at encouraging voters to become informed and participate in the election process. Committee members agreed to support these two activities as long as no financial support was required.

Amendment #39 School District spending (Referendum J addresses this issue in similar ways) – This amendment would require Colorado’s 178 school districts to spend a minimum of 65% of their operating budgets on classroom-based instruction. Budget items such as transportation, support staff (counselors, nurses, and bus drivers), Superintendents, building construction and central administration (payroll, accounting and budgeting) would be excluded from this 65%.  Pat Steadman thought this amendment could impact school district spending for facility schools. The committee agreed that CAFCA could go on record as in opposition to this amendment.

Discussion re: Formulating a Plan to Rebalance TRCCF rates

Fofi discussed the high threshold that must be met for a supplemental budget request, even with HB 05-1395, which gives CDHS the ability to bring a request for supplemental funding for the newly created PRTF/TRCCF (psychiatric residential treatment facilities and therapeutic residential child care facilities) programs. She explained the potential roles JBC analysts and the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budget (OSPB) in the event CDHS does not submit a request for additional funds.  Arguments identified as supporting the need for a supplemental include: 1) disparate rates as a result of those providers who have successfully appealed their rates; 2) increase driven by staff retention issues, especially increases for licensed therapists (Cathy pointed out that the costs for licensed therapists has also increased because a single therapist cannot provide all the therapies required in a 40-hour week); 3) the projected vs. actual fee-for-service (FFS) billings; 4) accreditation costs; 5) unlike other long-term care providers, e.g. nursing homes, TRCCFs have very few private pay clients; 6) IV-E dollars for maintenance and administration may not have been maximized; and 7) rates do not reflect changes in individual provider’s programming, e.g. treating dually diagnosed or other difficult populations.  Fofi has attempted to obtain information regarding the fee-for-service figures without success. It is rumored that Viki Manley has been relieved of her position. Peg obtained assurance from Judy Rodriguez that Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) FFS billing data would be shared with the provider community. She asked Arnie, who will fill in for her at the rescheduled 9/15 RTC Redesign meeting, to raise the question of WHEN we will have this information.

Peg has been trying to secure a copy of the August 2006 State Performance Audit on State-Operated Nursing Homes for Veterans. There could be information in this document that would support provider arguments for rates that more closely reflect current, actual costs. She has been unable to obtain the document through the Internet and will try to get a hard copy.

Peg also asked Fofi to find out where the mandate exists for the state to create a budget every year. Henry Sobanet, the Governor’s budget analyst, has suggested that a biannual budget process could allow for a more thorough and accurate process. Fofi will look into this. 

Update on Problems with Medicaid Coverage for Kids in OOH Care

Thus far, there is one confirmed situation in which a child was passively enrolled in Medicaid HMO. This child’s foster care status was not identified in Trails and thus the MMIS database did not pick it up. Peg spoke with Craig Gurule regarding this and a couple of other situations. In this situation, the caseworker needed to recode the child to reflect foster care and send Craig an email to update the MMIS system. Craig will develop several brief protocols for what to do under these kinds of situations. Peg will share that information as soon as it is available.

Rules Update

9.8.06 HSB Meeting - The following rules were adopted in final: TRCCF rates & methodology; Dual Licensure & Child Care Licensing

October HSB board: International Adoption Rules will be finalized

On 9/22 CAFCA will meet with CDHS staff to develop draft rules to implement CAFCA’s 2006 bill that creates a pilot for salaried foster parents. CAFCA would like the pilot to target sibling groups, minority children, reunification plans & treatment foster care.

Strategic Plan Activities for 2006

On 9/20, from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., CAFCA is co-sponsoring a Forum for Nonprofits on campaign activities, GOTV, etc. CAFCA members should have received an e-vite to the event.

Old Business

None.

New Business

None.

The meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m.  Next meeting: October 2, 2006.

Respectfully submitted,

Peg Long