Report Title:

Courts; programs for children

Description:

Requires the District and Family Courts to establish and implement a federal revenue maximization program for all services provided to children in their care that may be eligible for federal financial participation.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2360

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO FEDERAL REVENUE MAXIMIZATION IN THE JUDICIARY.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The state judiciary, through its district and family courts, provides important services to children in Hawaii who have been placed in foster care or are deemed to be at risk of removal from their homes because of:

(1) Abuse or neglect; or

(2) Serious acting-out or delinquent behavior which constitutes harm to themselves or the community.

Many of the activities that court staff engage in are eligible for partial reimbursement under the provisions of title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Public Law No. 96-272, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, title IV-E offers federal financial participation.

The judiciary recently has begun to explore innovative uses of title IV-E moneys by developing student internships for law students and social workers serving these families with the initiative for the internship program coming from the department of human services and the University of Hawaii. This project has received great support from the family court judges and lays the foundation for continued collaboration.

While successful, this internship project represents only a small fraction of the potential for enhanced services available through a fuller utilization of these federal funding streams that have been largely untapped in Hawaii. Currently, the services available through the district and family courts in Hawaii are funded overwhelmingly by state revenues. Through the pursuit and optimal utilization of the available federal funds, the judiciary should be able to increase the moneys available for services to the children under its care and supervision by a factor of 30 to 35 percent.

Title IV-E, in particular, is in imminent danger of being converted to a block grant from its current status as a federal entitlement program. This would eliminate the required federal financial participation contribution by the federal government, instead capping federal funding at the block grant appropriation amount. This means that Hawaii's allocation would be capped based on its current reimbursement levels. It is therefore critical that the State maximize its claims for federal reimbursement before the block grant conversion occurs.

In 2002, the last full year for which complete data is available, Hawaii received $17,045,476 in title IV-E reimbursements. This figure put the State of Hawaii in thirty-eighth place among the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in terms of total reimbursements. Hawaii’s youth population, on the other hand, is increasing faster than the rest of the country. In 1995, Hawaii already ranked twenty-fourth in the nation in the percentage of its population under twenty years of age and it is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to rank sixth in the nation by 2025. A block grant which would freeze allocations at current reimbursement levels would have a devastating impact on the State, particularly in light of the projected rapid increase in the youth population.

It is imperative, therefore, that the State do everything in its power to increase the level of its federal reimbursements as quickly as possible, so as to augment the baseline upon which a future block grant would be based.

The purpose of this Act is to mandate the judiciary to establish and implement, as quickly as possible, a federal revenue maximization program for all services they provide to the children in their care that may be eligible for federal financial participation. Time is of the essence to establish a maximum baseline before the title IV-E program is converted to a block grant by the federal government.

SECTION 2. (a) The judiciary, in collaboration with the department of human services, shall establish a federal revenue maximization program to:

(1) Identify services eligible for federal reimbursement provided through the district and family courts (either directly or indirectly through contracted providers) to children under their care; and

(2) Submit claims for federal reimbursement for such services through the department of human services.

(b) In establishing the federal revenue maximization program, the chief justice of the supreme court and the director of human services shall execute a memorandum of agreement to develop and implement a federal revenue maximization program for services provided by the district and family courts to children in their care that are eligible for federal reimbursement.

(c) The judiciary may contract with a third party to administer this program or elect to participate in the current contract between the department of human services and its federal revenue maximization consultants. The third-party contract shall be established either at no cost to the State or on a contingency-fee basis with no up-front costs to the State, including but not limited to costs to train staff, adapt data collection systems, and comply with the relevant federal regulations.

(d) The federal revenue maximization program shall identify, at a minimum:

(1) The service recipient and the recipient's eligibility for title IV-E or other federal reimbursements;

(2) The service provider (either the staff of the district or family courts or a contracted provider);

(3) The total amount of eligible reimbursements generated by the judiciary that the department of human services can include in its claims to the relevant federal authorities.

(e) The judiciary shall:

(1) Procure and contract for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the federal revenue maximization program, including any required information technology system or interfaces with the judiciary's existing system;

(2) Make the necessary modifications to initial court orders and judicial determinations to ensure the eligibility standards for title IV-E reimbursements are established for all children in the care of the court; and

(3) File retroactive claims for the preceding eight quarters, as permitted by available documentation or other back-up information that can reasonably be obtained.

(f) The department of human services shall provide technical assistance and support to the judiciary in its efforts to obtain federal reimbursements under this Act.

SECTION 3. The judiciary shall submit a report each year to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each of the 2007 to 2010 regular sessions that shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) The amount of federal reimbursements received for federal fiscal years 2004-2005 to 2009-2010;

(2) The amount of additional funding that has been secured;

(3) The amount of claims pending;

(4) The amount of additional federal funding that is projected to be secured over the next five years; and

(5) Plans for the reinvestment of additional federal funds to expand needed services to the State's children.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST