Fiscal Year 2004 Proposed Budget

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DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
DEPARTMENT BUDGET SUMMARY

MISSION STATEMENT: To maintain a healthy, stable, and safe community by focusing on prevention and promoting independence and self-sufficiency. 

The Department of Human Services (DHS) monitors and assesses human needs in the County, facilitates services by the private sector, and provides services directly when appropriate.  DHS serves as a problem identifier and catalyst for community action, working toward greater community collaboration.

FY 2004 PRIORITIES: The FY 2004 priorities of the Department of Human Services are:

• To fund reasonable increases in costs associated with contractual obligations and staffing to ensure effective delivery of approved services.

• To maintain service delivery by the nonprofit human services agencies serving Arlington County.

• To restore critical services negatively impacted by state budget cuts.

• To implement service enhancements and technology improvements funded by Local Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan (LPACAP) funds, including a major new supportive housing effort.

• To complete facility improvements at the Fenwick Center and the Edison Complex.

PRINCIPAL PROGRAMS: The programs of the Department of Human Services are organized into the following organizational units, all of which are linked with state agencies that provide oversight, funding, and various mandates:

• Economic Independence Division (EID)         

• Child and Family Services Division (CFSD)

• Public Health Division (PHD)

• Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD)

• Behavioral Health Care Division (BHCD), formerly the Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services Division

• Director's Office / Planning and Administration (PAD)

In addition to the General Fund programs, DHS also operates the federal Section 8 Housing Program found in the Enterprise, Special Revenue and Internal Service Funds section of the budget.  This is a $13.1 million program with 16.0 FTEs.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET CHANGES: The FY 2004 proposed general fund budget for the Department of Human Services is $80,626,252, a 3% percent increase from the FY 2003 adopted budget. 

The FY 2003 adopted budget does not include ten supplemental appropriations, fully supported with outside revenue, approved during FY 2003.  These supplemental appropriations ($4,185,477 total expense and revenue, and 13.9 FTEs) are highlighted in the program budget narratives.  These grants continue in FY 2004, and are reflected at their projected funding and staffing levels in the FY 2004 proposed budget.

The FY 2004 proposed staffing level is 694.3 FTEs, a net increase of 8.0 FTEs from the FY 2003 adopted budget.  This change reflects an  increase of 15.3 FTEs due to continuing FY 2003 supplemental appropriations (13.9 FTEs); increased staffing for case management for 10 new public school graduates with mental retardation/developmental disabilities (0.3 FTE); and additional School Health staffing for a new elementary school scheduled to come on line in FY 2004 (1.1 FTEs).  A total of 7.3 FTEs are reduced as follows:  1.0 FTE due to elimination of the SABRE grant; 1.0 FTE due to the elimination of the Resource Mothers grant; 3.5 FTEs due to decreasing public assistance revenues; 0.1 FTE due to State reductions, and 1.7 FTEs due to the privatization of the Woodmont Center.

The proposed expenditure budget includes the following significant changes:

• Because of state budget cuts affecting funding for the Department of Human Services, the expenditure budget was reduced by $927,730, fee revenue was increased by $20,000, and 2.9 FTEs were eliminated. Local Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan revenue (LPACAP) was used to restore $708,790 of the reductions and the 2.9 FTEs, in order to maintain critical services for Arlington residents.

• Additional costs for rent at 3033 Wilson Boulevard ($105,507), liability insurance for staff physicians ($44,975), and County vehicles ($18,479).

• Increased funding to nine programs funded by nonprofit and/or contractual agencies to meet reasonable salary increases and operating costs ($131,462).

• Increased funding for rent at the Buckingham Outreach Center ($16,680).

• Increased funding for vocational and transportation services for a net of nine new school graduates with mental retardation/developmental disabilities and associated case management services ($195,728 and 0.3 FTE).

• Additional funding for School Health staffing for the new elementary school scheduled to come on line in FY 2004 ($61,441 and 1.1 FTEs).

• Increased contract costs for mental retardation vocational contracts ($39,799).

• Increase in foster care and adoption expenditures of $291,200, wholly offset by increase in 100% reimbursable funds.

• Additional funding for contractual increases for custodial services ($5,303), and security monitoring services ($6,384).

• Expenditures associated with a contract with the City of Alexandria to provide them with larviciding and mosquito surveillance services ($87,090, offset with $135,522 in revenue).

• Elimination of $170,000 in one-time LPACAP funding approved in FY 2003.

• The Community Care Homes budget includes a $2 per day rate increase for Level III care providers, absorbed within the current budgeted level.

Revenues in FY 2004 represent approximately 42% of the Department's budget.  Projections do not include supplemental state allocations that are routinely received, but at unpredictable levels.  Other changes represent a wide variety of routine fluctuations in multiple sources of state and federal funding.  Specific changes include the following:

• A 23% decrease in Medicaid State Plan Option/Waiver revenues due mostly to the privatization of the Woodmont Center ($205,564), since these revenues will now be collected directly by the vendors.

• Reduction of $637,326 in State Share as a result of  state revenue reductions anticipated to continue into FY 2004.

• Increase in LPACAP revenues of $708,790 to restore  reductions resulting from state cuts already taken in the FY 2003 adopted budget and the additional reductions in the FY 2004 proposed budget.

• A 125% increase in miscellaneous grants due to continued State funding for bioterrorism staffing ($152,589), and grant funding for tuberculosis testing for young children ($44,517).

• Increase in state Social Services funding (State Share) consisting of Administrative Services Pass-Through ($268,978) and Administrative Fee System Day Care Pass-Through  ($165,000).

• Increase in CSA Purchase of Services revenues ($309,000), due to a change in accounting for the Medicaid match.

• Continuation of a number of supplemental FY 2003 appropriations, including the National Emergency Grant ($726,388), the H1-B grant ($315,000), and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment grant ($124,750).

• The Department is currently negotiating a 3-year contract with the City of Alexandria to manage its larviciding and mosquito surveillance programs.  It is projected that the recommended proposal would generate annual revenues of $135,522.

• Increase of $20 in the Food Establishment license application processing fee, raised from the current $40 to a proposed $60. This change is projected to increase fee revenue by $20,000.

• Increase in sliding fee scale of $5/month for meals at Claridge House.  The minimum fee will increase from $35/month to $40/month, and the maximum fee from $100/month to $105/month.

• Increase of $2/day for the minimum fee for Madison Adult Day Health Program, and increase of $1/day for maximum fee (minimum fee goes from $3/day to $5/day, maximum from $68/day to $69/day).

• DHS staff and the Arlington Community Services Board are undergoing a comprehensive review of all mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse service client fees, and will be developing a new fee scale based on current service costs.  The review will be completed by early February.

The following tables provide a summary of the Department of Human Services general fund budget by division.  The Department also administers the Section 8 program as part of the Economic Independence Division; that budget is in its own fund (separate from the general fund) and can be found in Section O of the Proposed Budget.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

• Immunization rate from Kindergarten Retrospective Study.

• Some clients do not complete treatment for TB because they leave Arlington with no forwarding address or refuse treatment.  Completion of treatment is recommended but not required if they do not present an imminent health threat to the community.

• In accordance with Virginia Department of Social Services policy, adults deemed competent may choose to reject the service plan developed for them.

• There are no state or federal standards to measure the level of success in the prevention of child abuse and neglect incidents or recidivism, foster care placement, or achievement of individual service plans and goals.  A 100 percent achievement would be ideal; however, considering the complexity of these cases, the target shown is realistic.

• Baseline data is given for FY 2001 for the survey of 10^th and 12^th grade youth.  The two standardized surveys, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) developed by the Center for Disease Control and The Profiles of Student Life:  Attitude and Behaviors Survey designed The Search Institute are administered every two years to students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12.  Therefore, results are reported every other year.  No data is reported for FY 2002 and FY 2004.

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