SB-0271, As Passed Senate, June 15, 2005
SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 271
A bill to make appropriations for the department of human
services and certain state purposes related to public welfare
services for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006; to provide
for the expenditure of the appropriations; to create funds; to
provide for the imposition of fees; to provide for reports; to
provide for the disposition of fees and other income received by
the state agency; and to provide for the powers and duties of
certain individuals, local governments, and state departments,
agencies, and officers.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
PART 1
LINE-ITEM APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 101. Subject to the conditions set forth in this act, the
amounts listed in this part are appropriated for the department for
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, from the funds indicated
in this part. The following is a summary of the appropriations in
this part:
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
APPROPRIATION SUMMARY:
Full-time equated classified positions....... 10,201.3
Unclassified positions............................ 5.0
Total full-time equated positions............ 10,206.3
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 4,374,452,700
Interdepartmental grant revenues:
Total interdepartmental grants and intradepartmental
transfers............................................ 1,109,800
ADJUSTED GROSS APPROPRIATION........................... $ 4,373,342,900
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 3,173,213,200
Special revenue funds:
Total private revenues................................. 8,904,200
Total local revenues................................... 44,522,600
Total other state restricted revenues.................. 70,394,200
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 1,076,308,700
Sec. 102. EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS
Total full-time equated positions............... 412.2
Full-time equated unclassified positions.......... 5.0
Full-time equated classified positions.......... 407.2
Unclassified salaries--5.0 FTE positions............... $ 537,200
Salaries and wages--300.3 FTE positions................ 15,509,800
Contractual services, supplies, and materials.......... 5,025,200
Demonstration projects--15.0 FTE positions............. 6,919,700
Inspector general salaries and wages--88.0 FTE
positions............................................ 4,592,900
Electronic benefit transfer EBT........................ 7,333,600
Office of professional development--3.9 FTE positions.. 261,800
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 40,180,200
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 24,880,200
Special revenue funds:
Total private revenues................................. 1,219,300
Total local revenues................................... 200,000
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 13,880,700
Sec. 103. STRONG, INDEPENDENT, & SELF-SUFFICIENT
FAMILIES
Full-time equated classified positions.......... 227.0
Teenage parent counseling--2.3 FTE positions........... $ 3,808,400
Marriage initiative.................................... 500,000
Fatherhood initiative.................................. 500,000
Families first......................................... 17,448,100
Strong families/safe children.......................... 13,395,300
Zero to three.......................................... 4,000,000
Family group decision making........................... 2,454,700
Family reunification program........................... 4,062,700
Family preservation and prevention services--12.0
FTE positions........................................ 2,014,500
Black child and family institute....................... 100,000
Family independence program............................ 394,595,100
Child support enforcement operations--207.7 FTE
positions............................................ 20,909,400
Legal support contracts................................ 138,753,600
Child support incentive payments....................... 32,409,600
Child support distribution computer system--5.0 FTE
positions............................................ 13,671,700
Homeless prevention.................................... 100,000
Food for the elderly................................... 100,000
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 648,823,100
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 417,469,800
Special revenue funds:
Total local revenues................................... 340,000
Child support collections - restricted................. 47,710,700
Public assistance recoupment........................... 2,500,000
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 180,802,600
Sec. 104. OPPORTUNITY FOR ADULTS TO LIVE & WORK IN
THE COMMUNITY
Full-time equated classified positions.......... 620.0
Employment and training support services............... $ 16,529,100
Adult services policy and administration--6.0 FTE
positions............................................ 588,700
Income support policy and administration--31.7 FTE
positions............................................ 5,920,500
Wage employment verification reporting................. 1,237,500
Urban and rural empowerment/enterprise zones........... 100
Nutrition education.................................... 8,569,900
Refugee assistance program--2.9 FTE positions.......... 12,683,700
State disability assistance payments................... 34,337,600
Food assistance program benefits....................... 1,218,740,900
State supplementation.................................. 59,835,200
State supplementation administration................... 2,493,200
Low-income home energy assistance program.............. 116,467,700
Food bank funding...................................... 525,000
Homeless shelter contracts............................. 11,646,700
Multicultural assimilation funding..................... 1,715,500
Indigent burial........................................ 5,909,300
Emergency services local office allocations............ 20,772,200
Day care services...................................... 459,352,800
Disability determination operations--545.9 FTE
positions............................................ 76,418,400
Medical consultation program--18.4 FTE positions....... 2,861,100
Retirement disability determination--4.1 FTE positions. 820,800
Bureau of community action and economic
opportunity--11.0 FTE positions...................... 1,208,800
Community services block grant......................... 27,634,600
Weatherization assistance.............................. 18,671,000
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 2,104,940,300
Appropriated from:
Interdepartmental grant revenues:
IDG from DMB - office of retirement systems............ 1,109,800
ADJUSTED GROSS APPROPRIATION........................... $ 2,103,830,500
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 1,805,874,500
Special revenue funds:
Total state restricted revenues........................ 5,104,800
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 293,961,000
Sec. 105. PERMANENCY FOR CHILDREN
Full-time equated classified positions........... 49.5
Salaries and wages--29.7 FTE positions................. $ 1,715,200
Contractual services, supplies, and materials.......... 862,000
Foster care payments................................... 130,694,100
Wayne County foster care payments...................... 67,011,100
Adoption subsidies..................................... 224,778,500
Adoption support services--7.7 FTE positions........... 14,319,800
Youth in transition--2.0 FTE positions................. 13,220,400
Interstate compact..................................... 300,000
Children's benefit fund donations...................... 21,000
Child safety and permanency plan....................... 16,900,700
Children's trust fund administration--4.3 FTE
positions............................................ 505,500
Children's trust fund grants........................... 3,615,000
Attorney general contracts............................. 2,928,000
Prosecuting attorney contracts......................... 1,061,700
Child care fund........................................ 171,337,900
Child care fund administration--5.8 FTE positions...... 822,500
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 650,093,400
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 360,052,400
Special revenue funds:
Private - children's benefit fund donations............ 21,000
Private - collections.................................. 3,840,600
Local funds - county payback........................... 22,214,700
Children's trust fund.................................. 3,314,400
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 260,650,300
Sec. 106. ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Full-time equated classified positions........... 29.8
Executive direction and support--6.0 FTE positions..... $ 482,100
Domestic violence prevention and treatment--5.5 FTE
positions............................................ 14,591,400
Rape prevention and services........................... 2,600,000
Guardian contract...................................... 600,000
Child protection/community partners--18.3 FTE
positions............................................ 5,805,900
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 24,079,400
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 21,804,100
Special revenue funds:
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 2,275,300
Sec. 107. JUVENILE REHABILITATION SERVICES
Full-time equated classified positions.......... 708.7
High security juvenile services--340.0 FTE positions... $ 25,061,000
Medium security juvenile services--215.0 FTE positions. 13,905,500
Low security juvenile services--34.0 FTE positions..... 2,545,600
Juvenile justice day programs--37.0 FTE positions...... 2,664,800
Juvenile justice field staff, administration and
maintenance--60.0 FTE positions...................... 7,807,100
Federally funded activities--13.7 FTE positions........ 1,781,700
W.J. Maxey memorial fund............................... 45,000
Juvenile accountability incentive block grant--3.0
FTE positions........................................ 2,705,600
Committee on juvenile justice administration--4.0
FTE positions........................................ 484,100
Committee on juvenile justice grants................... 5,000,000
County juvenile officers............................... 3,006,900
Community support services--2.0 FTE positions.......... 1,490,400
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 66,497,700
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 12,079,100
Special revenue funds:
Total private revenues................................. 645,000
Local funds - county payback........................... 21,257,700
State general fund/general purpose..................... 32,515,900
Sec. 108. LOCAL OFFICE STAFF AND OPERATIONS
Full-time equated classified positions........ 7,951.1
Field staff, salaries and wages--7,827.8 FTE positions. $ 355,661,900
Contractual services, supplies, and materials.......... 14,976,300
Medical/psychiatric evaluations........................ 4,300,000
County donated funds positions--11.0 FTE positions..... 762,300
Training and program support--33.5 FTE positions....... 5,234,700
Food stamp reinvestment--78.8 FTE positions............ 17,564,400
Wayne County gifts and bequests........................ 100,000
Volunteer services and reimbursement................... 1,293,900
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 399,893,500
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 246,341,100
Special revenue funds:
Local funds - donated funds............................ 205,800
Private funds - donated funds.......................... 148,600
Private funds - hospital contributions................. 2,929,700
Private funds - Wayne County gifts..................... 100,000
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 150,168,300
Sec. 109. CENTRAL SUPPORT ACCOUNTS
Rent................................................... $ 44,016,700
Occupancy charge....................................... 11,431,800
Travel................................................. 4,152,600
Equipment.............................................. 145,300
Worker's compensation.................................. 4,279,000
Advisory commissions................................... 17,900
Human resources optimization user charges.............. 561,000
Payroll taxes and fringe benefits...................... 218,554,800
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 283,159,100
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 182,929,100
Special revenue funds:
Local funds - county payback........................... 304,400
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 99,925,600
Sec. 110. OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND ADULT LICENSING
Full-time equated classified positions.......... 208.0
AFC, children's welfare and day care
licensure--208.0 FTE positions....................... $ 21,839,900
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 21,839,900
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 11,458,000
Special revenue funds:
Restricted - licensing fees............................ 620,900
Restricted - health fees and collections............... 111,200
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 9,649,800
Sec. 111. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information technology services and projects........... $ 80,773,800
Child support automation............................... 54,172,300
GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ 134,946,100
Appropriated from:
Federal revenues:
Total federal revenues................................. 90,324,900
Special revenue funds:
Total other state restricted revenue................... 11,032,200
State general fund/general purpose..................... $ 33,589,000
PART 2
PROVISIONS CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS
GENERAL SECTIONS
Sec. 201. Pursuant to section 30 of article IX of the state
constitution of 1963, total state spending from state resources
under part 1 for fiscal year 2005-2006 is $1,147,488,300.00 and
state spending from state resources to be paid to local units of
government for fiscal year 2005-2006 is $173,786,700.00. The
itemized statement below identifies appropriations from which
spending to local units of government will occur:
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
PERMANENCY FOR CHILDREN
Adoption subsidies..................................... $ 85,048,000
Child care fund........................................ 84,046,500
County juvenile officers............................... 2,616,000
OPPORTUNITY FOR ADULTS TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE COMMUNITY
State disability program............................... 2,076,200
TOTAL.................................................. $ 173,786,700
Sec. 202. The appropriations authorized under this act are
subject to the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1101
to 18.1594.
Sec. 203. As used in this act:
(a) "AFC" means adult foster care.
(b) "Department" means the department of human services.
(c) "FTE" means full-time equated.
(d) "GED" means general educational development.
(e) "Temporary assistance for needy families" or "TANF" or
"title IV-A" means part A of title IV of the social security act,
42 USC 601 to 604, 605 to 608, and 609 to 619.
(f) "Title IV-D" means part D of title IV of the social
security act, 42 USC 651 to 655, and 656 to 669b.
(g) "Title IV-E" means part E of title IV of the social
security act, 42 USC 670 to 673, 673b to 679, and 679b.
Sec. 204. The department of civil service shall bill the
department at the end of the first fiscal quarter for the 1% charge
authorized by section 5 of article XI of the state constitution of
1963. Payments shall be made for the total amount of the billing by
the end of the second fiscal quarter.
Sec. 205. (1) Beginning October 1, a hiring freeze is imposed
on the state classified civil service. State departments and
agencies are prohibited from hiring any new full-time state
classified civil service employees and prohibited from filling any
vacant state classified civil service positions. This hiring freeze
does not apply to internal transfers of classified employees from 1
position to another within a department.
(2) The state budget director shall grant exceptions to this
hiring freeze when the state budget director believes that the
hiring freeze will result in rendering a state department or agency
unable to deliver basic services, cause loss of revenue to the
state, result in the inability of the state to receive federal
funds, or necessitate additional expenditures that exceed any
savings from maintaining a vacancy. The state budget director shall
report monthly to the chairpersons of the senate and house
appropriations committees and the senate and house fiscal agencies
and policy offices on the number of exceptions to the hiring freeze
approved during the previous month and the reasons to justify the
exception.
Sec. 207. At least 60 days before beginning any effort to
privatize services, the department shall submit a complete project
plan to the appropriate senate and house of representatives
appropriations subcommittees and the senate and house fiscal
agencies. The plan shall include the criteria under which the
privatization initiative will be evaluated. Sanctions, suspensions,
conditions for provisional license status, and other penalties
shall not be more stringent for private service providers than for
public entities performing equivalent or similar services. The
evaluation shall be completed and submitted to the appropriate
senate and house of representatives appropriations subcommittees
and the senate and house fiscal agencies within 9 months.
Sec. 208. Unless otherwise specified, the department shall use
the Internet to fulfill the reporting requirements of this act.
This shall include transmission of reports via electronic mail,
including a link to the Internet site, to the recipients identified
for each reporting requirement, or it may include placement of
reports on the Internet or Intranet site. On an annual basis, the
department shall provide a cumulative listing of the reports to the
house and senate appropriations subcommittees and the house and
senate fiscal agencies and policy offices.
Sec. 209. Funds appropriated in part 1 shall not be used for
the purchase of foreign goods or services, or both, if
competitively priced and comparable quality American goods or
services, or both, are available. Preference should be given to
goods or services, or both, manufactured or provided by Michigan
businesses if they are competitively priced and of comparable
value.
Sec. 210. The director shall take all reasonable steps to
ensure businesses in deprived and depressed communities compete for
and perform contracts to provide services or supplies, or both. The
director shall strongly encourage firms with which the department
contracts to subcontract with certified businesses in depressed and
deprived communities for services, supplies, or both.
Sec. 212. In addition to funds appropriated in part 1 for all
programs and services, there is appropriated for write-offs of
accounts receivable, deferrals, and for prior year obligations in
excess of applicable prior year appropriations, an amount equal to
total write-offs and prior year obligations, but not to exceed
amounts available in prior year revenues or current year revenues
that are in excess of the authorized amount.
Sec. 213. (1) The department may retain all of the state's
share of food assistance overissuance collections as an offset to
general fund/general purpose costs. Retained collections shall be
applied against federal funds deductions in all appropriation units
where department costs related to the investigation and recoupment
of food assistance overissuances are incurred. Retained collections
in excess of such costs shall be applied against the federal funds
deducted in the executive operations appropriation unit.
(2) The department shall report to the legislature during the
senate and house budget hearings on the status of the food stamp
error rate. The report shall include at least all of the following:
(a) An update on federal sanctions and federal requirements
for reinvestment due to the food stamp error rate.
(b) Review of the status of training for employees who
administer the food assistance program.
(c) An outline of the past year's monthly status of worker to
food stamp cases and monthly status of worker to food stamp
applications.
(d) Information detailing the effect and change in staffing
due to the early retirement option.
(e) Corrective action through policy, rules, and programming
being taken to reduce the food stamp error rate.
(f) Any other information regarding the food stamp error rate,
including information pertaining to technology and computer
applications used for the food assistance program.
Sec. 214. (1) The department shall submit a report to the
chairpersons of the senate and house appropriations subcommittees
on the department budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and
policy offices, and the state budget director on the details of
allocations within program budgeting line items and within the
salaries and wages line items in all appropriation units. The
report shall include a listing, by account, dollar amount, and fund
source, of salaries and wages; longevity and insurance; retirement;
contractual services, supplies, and materials; equipment; travel;
and grants within each program line item appropriated for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2006.
(2) On a bimonthly basis, the department shall report on the
number of FTEs in pay status by type of staff.
Sec. 215. (1) If a legislative objective of this act or the
social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b, cannot be
implemented without loss of federal financial participation because
implementation would conflict with or violate federal regulations,
the department shall notify the state budget director, the house
and senate appropriations committees, and the house and senate
fiscal agencies and policy offices of that fact.
(2) The department shall provide the senate and house
appropriation subcommittees on the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state budget
director with the citation and a copy of any federal statute,
regulation, policy, or directive that the department determines
presents a conflict as described in subsection (1). The department
shall apply for any available waiver or relief from federal
requirements or sanctions that would allow it to comply with state
law without federal penalty.
Sec. 217. (1) Due to the current budgetary problems in this
state, out-of-state travel for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2006 shall be limited to situations in which 1 or more of the
following conditions apply:
(a) The travel is required by legal mandate or court order or
for law enforcement purposes.
(b) The travel is necessary to protect the health or safety of
Michigan citizens or visitors or to assist other states in similar
circumstances.
(c) The travel is necessary to produce budgetary savings or to
increase state revenues, including protecting existing federal
funds or securing additional federal funds.
(d) The travel is necessary to comply with federal
requirements.
(e) The travel is necessary to secure specialized training for
staff that is not available within this state.
(f) The travel is financed entirely by federal or nonstate
funds.
(2) If out-of-state travel is necessary but does not meet 1 or
more of the conditions in subsection (1), the state budget director
may grant an exception to allow the travel. Any exceptions granted
by the state budget director shall be reported on a monthly basis
to the senate and house standing committees on appropriations.
(3) Not later than January 1 of each year, each department
shall prepare a travel report listing all travel by classified and
unclassified employees outside this state in the immediately
preceding fiscal year that was funded in whole or in part with
funds appropriated in the department's budget. The report shall be
submitted to the chairs and members of the house and senate
appropriations committees, the fiscal agencies, and the state
budget director. The report shall include the following
information:
(a) The name of each person receiving reimbursement for travel
outside this state or whose travel costs were paid by this state.
(b) The destination of each travel occurrence.
(c) The dates of each travel occurrence.
(d) A brief statement of the reason for each travel
occurrence.
(e) The transportation and related costs of each travel
occurrence, including the proportion funded with state general
fund/general purpose revenues, the proportion funded with state
restricted revenues, the proportion funded with federal revenues,
and the proportion funded with other revenues.
(f) A total of all out-of-state travel funded for the
immediately preceding fiscal year.
Sec. 218. (1) The department shall prepare a semiannual report
on the TANF federal block grant. The report shall include projected
expenditures for the current fiscal year, an accounting of any
previous year funds carried forward, and a summary of all
interdepartmental or interagency agreements relating to the use of
TANF funds. The report shall be forwarded to the state budget
director and the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on
the department budget and the house and senate fiscal agencies and
policy offices within 10 days after presentation of the executive
budget and within 10 days after the May consensus revenue
estimating conference.
(2) The state budget director shall give prior written notice
to the members of the house and senate appropriations subcommittees
for the department and to the house and senate fiscal agencies and
policy offices of any proposed changes in utilization or
distribution of TANF funding or the distribution of TANF
maintenance of effort spending relative to the amounts reflected in
the annual appropriations acts of all state agencies where TANF
funding is appropriated. The written notice shall be given not less
than 30 days before any changes being made in the funding
allocations. This prior notice requirement also applies to new
plans submitted in response to federal TANF reauthorization or
replacement by an equivalent federal law.
Sec. 220. (1) In contracting with faith-based organizations
for mentoring or supportive services, and in all contracts for
services, the department shall ensure that no funds provided
directly to institutions or organizations to provide services and
administer programs shall be used or expended for any sectarian
activity, including sectarian worship, instruction, or
proselytization.
(2) If an individual requests the service and has an objection
to the religious character of the institution or organization from
which the individual receives or would receive services or
assistance, the department shall provide the individual within a
reasonable time after the date of the objection with assistance or
services and which are substantially the same as the service the
individual would have received from the organization.
(3) The department shall ensure that faith-based organizations
are able to apply and compete for services, programs, or contracts
that they are qualified and suitable to fulfill. The department
shall not disqualify faith-based organizations solely on the basis
of the religious nature of their organization or their guiding
principles or statements of faith.
(4) The department shall follow guidelines related to faith-
based involvement established in section 104 of title I of the
personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of
1996, 42 USC 604a.
Sec. 221. If the revenue collected by the department from
private and local sources exceeds the amount spent from amounts
appropriated in part 1, the revenue may be carried forward, with
approval from the state budget director, into the subsequent fiscal
year.
Sec. 223. The department shall report on a quarterly basis to
the senate and house appropriations subcommittees overseeing its
budget summary information on the status of Medicaid applications
in each county. This report shall also be posted on the department
website and shall include all of the following:
(a) The number of Medicaid applications filed in each county
during the quarter.
(b) The number of Medicaid applications in each county that,
during the quarter, were approved or denied within 45 days of the
receipt of information necessary to make the determination.
(c) The number of Medicaid applications in each county that,
during the quarter, were not approved or denied within 45 days of
receipt of the information necessary.
Sec. 224. The department shall approve or deny a Medicaid
application for a patient of a nursing home within 45 days after
the receipt of the necessary information. If the department fails
to determine a nursing home patient's Medicaid eligibility in 45
days, the patient shall be presumed eligible for Medicaid services
and payments to the nursing home for Medicaid services shall be
made. If the department determines after 45 days that a recipient
of Medicaid services was not eligible to receive Medicaid services,
the department shall collect payment for services rendered from the
ineligible recipient or the ineligible recipient's family or
guardian.
Sec. 225. The department shall develop a rapid redetermination
process for nursing home residents whose Medicaid stay is greater
than 90 days. This process shall be implemented not later than
January 1, 2006.
Sec. 227. The department, with the approval of the state
budget director, is authorized to realign sources of financing
authorizations in order to maximize temporary assistance for needy
families' maintenance of effort countable expenditures. This
realignment of financing shall not be made until 15 days after
notifying the chairs of the house and senate appropriations
subcommittees on the department budget and house and senate fiscal
agencies, and shall not produce an increase or decrease in any
line-item expenditure authorization.
Sec. 259. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for
information technology, the department shall pay user fees to the
department of information technology for technology-related
services and projects. User fees shall be subject to provisions of
an interagency agreement between the department and the department
of information technology.
(2) During the annual budget presentation, the department
shall report on the interagency agreement with the department of
information technology to the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees for the department budget, house and senate fiscal
agencies, and policy offices. The report shall include the base
service priorities in the agreement including, but not limited to,
the following:
(a) Name and description of base service.
(b) Detail goals and objectives related to each base service.
(c) Cost of each base service.
(d) Time frame for implementation or completion of base
service.
(e) Impact, if any, on caseload management by local office
staff, and on service to individual or family clients in local
offices.
Sec. 260. Amounts appropriated in part 1 for information
technology may be designated as work projects and carried forward
to support technology projects under the direction of the
department of information technology. Funds designated in this
manner are not available for expenditure until approved as work
projects under section 451a of the management and budget act, 1984
PA 431, MCL 18.1451a.
Sec. 261. The department, in conjunction with the county
family independence agency boards of directors and the department
of management and budget, shall develop a plan to restructure and
consolidate zone offices and local offices. This plan shall
include an emphasis on maximization of service while maintaining a
reduction in administrative cost. Duplication of services shall be
identified and solutions to remove the duplication shall be
detailed in the plan. Any plan presented shall ensure that the
department provides a presence and services in every county. The
plan shall be submitted to the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees for the department budget by January 15, 2006 and
shall include an implementation date during the 2005-2006 fiscal
year. Up to 25% of the savings resulting from this plan may be
allocated to the counties generating the savings to fund additional
prevention services. The remaining savings may be retained by the
department to fund local office operations, training and program
support, and travel for case management for child welfare workers.
Sec. 264. The department of human services shall not take
disciplinary action against an employee for communicating with a
member of the legislature or his or her staff.
Sec. 269. If title IV-D-related child support collections are
escheated, the state budget director is authorized to adjust the
sources of financing for the funds appropriated in part 1 for legal
support contracts to reduce federal authorization by 66% of the
escheated amount and increase general fund/general purpose
authorization by the same amount. This budget adjustment is
required to offset the loss of federal revenue due to the escheated
amount being counted as title IV-D program income in accordance
with federal regulations at 45 CFR 304.50.
Sec. 270. (1) The department shall develop a plan to provide
client-centered results-oriented programs and services for each of
the following programs:
(a) Day care assistance.
(b) Family independence program.
(c) Adoption subsidy.
(d) Foster care.
(2) The plan shall include detailed information to be compiled
on an annual basis by the department on the following for each
program listed in subsection (1):
(a) The average cost per recipient served by the program.
(b) Measurable performance indicators for each program.
(c) Desired outcomes or results and goals for each program
that can be measured on an annual basis, or desired results for a
defined number of years.
(d) Monitored results for each program.
(e) Innovations for each program that may include savings or
reductions in administrative costs.
(3) During the annual budget presentation, the department
shall provide the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on
the department budget the information listed in subsection (2).
Sec. 271. (1) The department shall report to the senate and
house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, the
senate and house standing committees on human services, the senate
and house fiscal agencies, the senate and house policy offices, and
the state budget director on the progress of child and family
services reviews (CFSR). The reviews, conducted in the state by the
children's bureau of the United States department of health and
human services, are intended to assess the department's compliance
with the adoption and safe families act of 1997, Public Law 105-89,
111 Stat. 2115, with the ultimate goal of improving the state child
welfare system and the safety, permanency, and child and family
service outcomes to children and families. The report shall be
submitted October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1.
(2) The report required under subsection (1) shall include the
findings and progress of all of the following:
(a) Changes made by the courts with respect to court forms and
court rules to meet the statutory requirement.
(b) Department policy changes within the areas of foster care,
juvenile justice, and adoption to meet the statutory requirements.
(c) Recommendations made by a workgroup composed of department
and other agency stakeholders.
(d) A summary of the 7 systemic factors that determine the
state's compliance with the adoption and safe families act of 1997,
Public Law 105-89, 111 Stat. 2115.
(e) A summary of the 7 data outcome indicators used to
determine the state's compliance with the adoption and safe
families act of 1997, Public Law 105-89, 111 Stat. 2115, including
the length of time required to achieve family reunification for
foster care cases.
(f) Federal recommendations made to the state, including
recommendations to the courts.
(g) Federal penalties assessed against the state for
noncompliance.
(h) Status of the performance improvement plan submitted to
the federal government.
Sec. 272. (1) The department shall report to the senate and
house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, the
senate and house standing committees on human services, the senate
and house fiscal agencies, the senate and house policy offices, and
the state budget director on the result of the title IV-E foster
care eligibility reviews. The reviews, conducted in the state by
the United States department of health and human services, are
intended to assess the department's compliance with the adoption
and safe families act of 1997, Public Law 105-89, 111 Stat. 2115,
ensuring the department's case files and payments records meet
federal regulations, including standards on eligibility for
placement reimbursement and the allowable payment rate. The report
shall be submitted October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1.
(2) The report required under subsection (1) shall include the
findings and progress of all of the following:
(a) Training programs conducted by the department, the child
welfare institute, the Michigan judicial institute, and any private
agencies that have been authorized to provide training.
(b) Changes made by the courts on court forms and rules used
in meeting the statutory requirements.
(c) Department policy changes that impact meeting the
statutory requirements for foster care and adoption, including
juvenile justice programs.
(d) Recommendations made by a department workgroup composed of
representatives from the department and other departments and
agencies.
(e) Federal recommendations submitted to the state, including
recommendations to the courts.
(f) Federal penalties assessed against the state.
Sec. 273. (1) The department shall report no later than
October 1, 2005 on each specific policy change made to implement
enacted legislation to the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees on the department budget, the senate and house
standing committees on human services, and the senate and house
fiscal agencies and policy offices.
(2) On an annual basis, the department shall provide a
cumulative list of all policy changes in the following areas: child
welfare services, child support, work first, work requirements,
adult and child safety, local staff program responsibilities, and
day care. The list shall be distributed to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, the senate
and house standing committees dealing with human services, and the
senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices.
(3) Not later than July 1, 2006, the department shall report
to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on the
department budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and policy
offices, and the state budget director the annual regulatory plan
submitted to the office of regulatory reform pursuant to section 53
of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL
24.253.
Sec. 274. The department shall report to the house and senate
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies, the senate and house policy offices, and
the state budget director as part of the annual budget presentation
on each federal grant this state was eligible to apply for, listing
both grants applied for and not applied for. This report will cover
grants exceeding $100,000.00, related to fatherhood and marriage
initiatives, teen pregnancy prevention, kinship care, before- and
after-school programs, family preservation and prevention, homeless
prevention, and youth in transition.
Sec. 278. (1) The department shall contract with 1 or more
private consulting firms for revenue maximization services for all
caseload services currently provided by the department. A contract
under this section shall specify that the contractor locate waste,
fraud, error, and abuse within the department's services and
programs.
(2) A contractor shall not charge the department a fee for
services provided under subsection (1). However, a contractor shall
receive a negotiated percentage of the savings not to exceed 33.3%
of the gross savings achieved from implementation of a
recommendation made by the contractor under this section.
(3) The department shall retain up to $5,000,000.00 of savings
achieved through the revenue maximization services contract as an
offset to general fund/general purpose costs. Additional savings
shall be allocated within the department for the following
purposes:
(a) Technology programs that help maintain an effective and
efficient computer system for caseworkers.
(b) Additional staff in order to reduce worker-to-case ratios.
(4) The department shall provide a report to the senate and
house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, senate
and house standing committees on human services matters, senate and
house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and state budget director
by December 31, 2005 on the waste, fraud, error, and abuse located
under subsection (1). By April 1, 2006, the department shall
provide a progress report including the specific changes
implemented to achieve savings under this section and the timetable
for implementation of the remaining changes.
Sec. 279. All contracts relating to human services entered
into or renewed by the department on or after October 1, 2005 shall
be performance-based contracts that employ a client-centered
results-oriented process that is based on measurable performance
indicators and desired outcomes and includes the annual assessment
of the quality of services provided. During the annual budget
presentation, the department shall provide the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget with the
measurable performance indicators, desired outcomes, and the
assessment of the quality of services provided for each contract
relating to human services entered into by the department during
fiscal year 2005-2006.
EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS
Sec. 304. From funds appropriated in part 1 for demonstration
projects, the department shall expend up to $78,500.00 in TANF to
fund a school-based crisis intervention demonstration project in
Pontiac.
STRONG, INDEPENDENT, AND SELF-SUFFICIENT FAMILIES
Sec. 403. Not later than September 30 of each year, the
department shall submit for public hearing to the chairpersons of
the house and senate appropriations subcommittees dealing with
appropriations for the department budget the proposed use and
distribution plan for community services block grant funds
appropriated in part 1 for the succeeding fiscal year.
Sec. 404. The department shall develop a plan based on
recommendations from the department of civil rights and from Native
American organizations to assure that the community services block
grant funds are equitably distributed. The plan must be developed
by October 31, 2005, and the plan shall be delivered to the
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget in the senate
and house, the senate and house fiscal agencies, and the state
budget director.
Sec. 414. (1) Of the funds appropriated in part 1 for
community services block grants, $2,350,000.00 represents TANF
funding earmarked for community action agencies.
(2) From the money referred to in subsection (1), the
department shall award up to $500,000.00 in competitive grants to
organizations based on their education and outreach with the earned
income tax credit (EITC). Organizations shall be given preference
based on their emphasis on clients who have never filed for the
EITC, clients with children, and clients for whom receipt of the
EITC will make it easier for them to move off public assistance.
(3) From the money referred to in subsection (1), the
department shall award up to $250,000.00 in competitive grants to
organizations that seek to provide programs combining education on
the EITC with programs building skills for strong marriages,
fatherhood, or parenting.
Sec. 415. (1) In expending money appropriated in part 1 for
the fatherhood initiative, the department may contract with
independent contractors from various counties, including, but not
limited to, faith-based and nonprofit organizations. The
independent contractors shall provide at least 10% in matching
funds, through any combination of local, state, or federal funds or
in-kind or other donations. An independent contractor that cannot
secure matching funds shall not be excluded from consideration for
the fatherhood program.
(2) The department may choose providers that will work with
counties to help eligible fathers under TANF guidelines to acquire
skills that will enable them to increase their responsible behavior
toward their children and the mothers of their children. An
increase of financial support for their children should be a very
high priority as well as emotional support.
(3) A fatherhood initiative program established under this
section shall minimally include at least 3 of the following
components: promoting responsible, caring, and effective parenting
through counseling; mentoring and parental education; enhancing the
abilities and commitment of unemployed or low-income fathers to
provide material support for their families and to avoid or leave
welfare programs by assisting them to take advantage of job search
programs, job training, and education to improve their work habits
and work skills; improving fathers' ability to effectively manage
family business affairs by means such as education, counseling, and
mentoring in household matters; infant care; effective
communication and respect; anger management; children's financial
support; and drug-free lifestyle.
(4) The department is authorized to make allocations of TANF
funds, of not more than 20% per county, under this section only to
agencies that report necessary data to the department for the
purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting requirements.
(5) Upon receipt of the promotion of responsible fatherhood
funds from the United States department of health and human
services, the department shall use the program criteria set forth
in subsection (3) to implement the program with the federal funds.
Sec. 416. (1) In expending money appropriated in part 1 for
the marriage initiative, the department may contract with
independent contractors from various counties, including, but not
limited to, faith-based and nonprofit organizations. The
independent contractors shall provide at least 10% in matching
funds, through any combination of local, state, or federal funds or
in-kind or other donations. An independent contractor that cannot
secure matching funds shall not be excluded from consideration for
a marriage initiative program.
(2) The department may choose providers to work with counties
that will work to support and strengthen marriages of those
eligible under the TANF guidelines. The areas of work may include,
but are not limited to, marital counseling, domestic violence
counseling, family counseling, effective communication, and anger
management as well as parenting skills to improve the family
structure.
(3) A marriage initiative program established under this
section may include, but is not limited to, 1 or more of the
following: public advertising campaigns on the value of marriage
and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health;
education in high schools on the value of marriage, relationship
skills, and budgeting; premarital, marital, family, and domestic
violence counseling; effective communication; marriage mentoring
programs which use married couples as role models and mentors in
at-risk communities; anger management; and parenting skills to
improve the family structure.
(4) The department is authorized to make allocations of TANF
funds, of not more than 20% per county, under this section only to
agencies that report necessary data to the department for the
purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting requirements.
(5) Upon receipt of the healthy marriage promotion grant from
the United States department of health and human services, the
department shall use the program criteria set forth in subsection
(3) to implement the program with the federal funds.
Sec. 418. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for employment
and training support services, the department may expand the
availability of individual development accounts (IDAs) with
$200,000.00 for allocation to qualified IDA programs established
through the Michigan IDA partnership to serve TANF eligible
households in Michigan. The Michigan IDA partnership shall
encourage each TANF eligible household served to claim the federal
earned income tax credit (EITC) and to incorporate all or part of
any tax credit received in the household's IDA savings plan, and
shall provide the household with information concerning available
free tax assistance resources. In addition, the Michigan IDA
partnership and its program sites shall participate in community
EITC coalitions established under the plan to increase the EITC
participation of TANF families referenced in section 666. The same
amount shall be appropriated annually to further expand IDA
opportunities to low-income families to become more financially
self-sufficient through financial education, saving, wise
investment in home ownership, postsecondary education, small
business development, or a combination of those programs.
Sec. 419. The department in collaboration with the Michigan
state university center for urban affairs and its partner
organizations, the Michigan credit union league and the national
federation of community development credit unions, shall further
the work begun in fiscal year 1999-2000 that implemented the
individual development accounts programs in the growing number of
low-income designated credit unions, i.e., community development
credit unions (CDCUs) located in this state's poorest communities.
This further work will extend capacity-building and technical
assistance services to existing and emerging CDCUs serving low-
income populations and will include:
(a) Creation of a Michigan-based support system for the
capacity-building of existing and emerging CDCUs serving low-income
individuals and families, including development and testing of
training, technical assistance, and professional development
initiatives and related materials, and other capacity-building
services to Michigan CDCUs.
(b) Other related support to assist existing and emerging
CDCUs in becoming self-supporting institutions to assist
impoverished Michigan residents in becoming economically
independent.
(c) Training and technical assistance to CDCUs in the
development of support services, such as economic literacy, credit
counseling, budget counseling, and asset management programs for
low-income individuals and families.
Sec. 420. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for employment
and training support services, the department may allocate
$40,000.00 in TANF for welfare to career innovation grants to
replicate the Kent County model with Cascade engineering.
Sec. 421. The department shall allow private nationally
accredited foster care and adoption agencies to conduct their own
staff training, based on current department policies and
procedures. The department shall provide any training materials
requested by the private agencies to facilitate this training. The
intent of the legislature is to reduce training and travel costs
for both the department and the private agencies. The department
shall apply for necessary federal approval or waivers to allow
private agencies to provide appropriate training in compliance with
this state's title IV-E plan.
Sec. 423. (1) From the money appropriated in part 1 for food
for the elderly, the department shall allocate money to assist the
state's elderly population to participate in the food assistance
program. The money may be used as state matching funds to acquire
available United States department of agriculture funding to
provide outreach program activities, such as eligibility screening
and information services, as part of a statewide food stamp
helpline.
(2) The department may accept any private money that may be
donated to the department to support food stamp outreach efforts in
this state. The department shall request a waiver from the United
States department of agriculture to permit the donated private
money to be used as a match to obtain additional federal food stamp
outreach funds from the United States department of agriculture.
The department shall use both the private donated money and any
federal match funds that may be available as a result of the
donated money to contract for additional outreach services as
authorized by the department's United States department of
agriculture-approved food stamp outreach plan.
(3) The department shall make available $25,000.00 for a food
stamp error rate reduction project in Muskegon County and
$25,000.00 for a food stamp error rate reduction project in Kent
County.
PERMANENCY FOR CHILDREN
Sec. 501. The following goal is established by state law.
During fiscal year 2005-2006, not more than 3,000 children
supervised by the department shall remain in foster care longer
than 24 months. The department shall give priority to reducing the
number of children under 1 year of age in foster care. By January
15, 2006, the department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees for the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state budget
director on the number of children supervised by the department and
by private agencies who remain in foster care between 12 and 24
months, and those who remain in foster care longer than 24 months.
Sec. 502. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for foster
care, the department shall provide 50% reimbursement to Indian
tribal governments for foster care expenditures for children who
are under the jurisdiction of Indian tribal courts and who are not
otherwise eligible for federal foster care cost sharing.
Sec. 503. The department shall continue adoption subsidy
payments to families after the eighteenth birthday of an adoptee
who meets the following criteria:
(a) Has not yet graduated from high school or passed a high
school equivalency examination.
(b) Is making progress toward completing high school.
(c) Has not yet reached his or her nineteenth birthday.
(d) Is not eligible for federal supplemental security income
(SSI) payments.
Sec. 504. The department's ability to satisfy appropriation
deducts in part 1 for foster care private collections shall not be
limited to collections and accruals pertaining to services provided
only in the current fiscal year but shall include revenues
collected during the fiscal year in excess of the amount specified
in part 1.
Sec. 508. (1) In addition to the amount appropriated in part 1
for children's trust fund grants, money granted or money received
as gifts or donations to the children's trust fund created by 1982
PA 249, MCL 21.171 to 21.172, is appropriated for expenditure in an
amount not to exceed $800,000.00.
(2) The state child abuse and neglect prevention board may
initiate a joint project with another state agency to the extent
that the project supports the programmatic goals of both the state
child abuse and neglect prevention board and the state agency. The
department may invoice the state agency for shared costs of a joint
project in an amount authorized by the state agency, and the state
child abuse and neglect prevention board may receive and expend
funds for shared costs of a joint project in addition to those
authorized by part 1.
(3) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for children's trust
fund, the department may utilize interest and investment revenue
from the current fiscal year only for programs, administration,
services, or all sanctioned by the child abuse and neglect
prevention board.
Sec. 509. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1, the
department shall not expend funds to preserve or reunite a family,
unless there is a court order requiring the preservation or
reuniting of the family or the court denies the petition, if either
of the following would result:
(a) A child would be living in the same household with a
parent or other adult who has been convicted of criminal sexual
conduct against a child.
(b) A child would be living in the same household with a
parent or other adult against whom there is a substantiated charge
of sexual abuse against a child.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this section shall not
prohibit counseling or other services provided by the department,
if the service is not directed toward influencing the child to
remain in an abusive environment, justifying the actions of the
abuser, or reuniting the family.
Sec. 510. The department shall not be required to put up for
bids contracts with service providers if currently only 1 provider
in the service area exists.
Sec. 513. The department shall not expend funds appropriated
in part 1 to pay for the placement of a child in an out-of-state
facility unless all of the following conditions are met:
(a) There is no appropriate placement available in this state.
(b) The out-of-state facility meets all of the licensing
standards of this state for a comparable facility.
(c) The out-of-state facility meets all of the applicable
licensing standards of the state in which it is located.
(d) The department has done an on-site visit to the out-of-
state facility, reviewed the facility records, and reviewed
licensing records and reports on the facility and believes that the
facility is an appropriate placement for the child.
Sec. 514. The department shall make a comprehensive report
concerning children's protective services (CPS) to the legislature,
including the senate and house policy offices and the state budget
director, by January 1, 2006, that shall include all of the
following:
(a) Statistical information including, at a minimum, all of
the following:
(i) The total number of reports of abuse or neglect
investigated under the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL
722.621 to 722.638, and the number of cases classified under
category I or category II and the number of cases classified under
category III, category IV, or category V.
(ii) Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse or neglect and
the child victims, such as age, relationship, socioeconomic status,
race, and ethnicity and whether the perpetrator exposed the child
victim to criminal drug activity, including the manufacture of
illicit drugs, that exposed the child victim to significant health
and environmental hazards.
(iii) The mandatory reporter category in which the individual
who made the report fits, or other categorization if the individual
is not within a group required to report under the child protection
law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.621 to 722.638.
(b) New policies related to children's protective services
including, but not limited to, major policy changes and court
decisions affecting the children's protective services system
during the immediately preceding 12-month period.
(c) The number of cases in category III closed during the time
period covered by the report categorized as follows:
(i) Transfer to foster care.
(ii) Risk of further child abuse or neglect has been reduced to
an acceptable level.
(d) The department policy, or changes to the department
policy, regarding termination of parental rights or foster
placement for children who have been exposed to the production of
illicit drugs in their dwelling place or a place frequented by the
children.
Sec. 515. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for foster
care payments and Wayne County foster care payments and related
administrative costs, the department shall implement a performance
based managed care approach to contracting for foster care services
with private, nonprofit agencies. The goal of these contracts shall
be to provide incentives for agencies to improve the process of
placing children in permanent placements and reducing the time
children spend in foster care. The department shall report to the
senate and house appropriations subcommittees on the department
budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices,
and the state budget office on this foster care permanency program
and make recommendations for program expansion to all the counties
of this state no later than August 30, 2006. The department shall
develop these recommendations with sufficient detail that
permanency programs may be implemented as soon as possible after
September 30, 2006.
Sec. 517. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1, the
department is authorized to allocate funds to multipurpose
collaborative bodies to address issues raised in the Binsfeld
children's commission report issued in July 1996. Priority for
activities and services will be given to at-risk children and
families and cases classified by the department as category III or
category IV under sections 8 and 8d of the child protection law,
1975 PA 238, MCL 722.628 and 722.628d.
(2) Funds appropriated in part 1 for zero to three may be used
to fund community-based collaborative prevention services designed
to do any of the following:
(a) Foster positive parenting skills especially for parents of
children under 3 years of age.
(b) Improve parent/child interaction.
(c) Promote access to needed community services.
(d) Increase local capacity to serve families at risk.
(e) Improve school readiness.
(f) Support healthy family environments that discourage
alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
(3) The appropriation provided for in subsection (2) is to
fund secondary prevention programs as defined in the children's
trust fund's preapplication materials for fiscal year 2005-2006
direct services grants.
(4) Projects funded through the appropriation provided for in
subsection (2) shall meet all of the following criteria:
(a) Be awarded through a joint request for proposal process
established by the department in conjunction with the children's
trust fund and the state human services directors.
(b) Be secondary prevention initiatives. Funds are not
intended to be expended in cases in which neglect or abuse has been
substantiated.
(c) Demonstrate that the planned services are part of a
community's integrated comprehensive family support strategy
endorsed by the local multipurpose collaborative body.
(d) Provide a 25% local match of which not more than 10% is
in-kind goods or services unless the maximum percentage is waived
by the state human services directors.
(5) As used in this section, "state human services directors"
means the director of the department of community health, the
director of the department of education, and the director of the
department.
Sec. 523. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for youth
in transition, domestic violence prevention and treatment, and
teenage parent counseling, the department is authorized to make
allocations of TANF funds only to the agencies that report
necessary data to the department for the purpose of meeting TANF
eligibility reporting requirements.
(2) The agencies receiving teenage parent counseling TANF
funds shall report to the department on both of the following:
(a) Whether program services have impacted the following issue
areas:
(i) The number of teen participants having fewer repeat
pregnancies.
(ii) The completion rate for high school diplomas or GEDs.
(iii) The teen participants' rate of self-sufficiency.
(iv) The number of father participants.
(b) How many teens participate in the programs and have access
to any or all of the following services:
(i) Adult supervised, supportive living arrangements.
(ii) Pregnancy prevention services or referrals.
(iii) Required completion of high school or receipt of GED,
including child care to assist young mothers to focus on
achievement.
(iv) Support services, including, but not limited to, health
care, transportation, and counseling.
(v) Parenting and life-skills training.
(vi) Education, job training, and employment services.
(vii) Transition services in order to achieve self-sufficiency.
(viii) Instruction on self-protection.
(3) Agencies receiving teenage parent counseling funds shall
provide at least 10% in matching funds, through any combination of
local, state, or federal funds or in-kind or other donations.
Sec. 524. The department shall report on prevention programs
for which funds are appropriated in part 1 to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget during the
annual budget presentation. The report shall contain all of the
following for each program:
(a) The average cost per recipient served.
(b) Measurable performance indicators.
(c) Desired outcomes or results and goals that can be measured
on an annual basis, or desired results for a defined number of
years.
(d) Monitored results.
(e) Innovations that may include savings or reductions in
administrative costs.
Sec. 531. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1, the
department shall make claims for and pay to local units of
government a portion of federal title IV-E revenues earned as a
result of eligible costs incurred by local units of government.
(2) The department shall make payments under subsection (1)
only to local units of government that have entered into formal
agreements with the department. The agreement must include all of
the following:
(a) Provide for the department to retain 50% of the federal
revenues earned.
(b) Provide for department review and approval of the local
unit's plan for allocating costs to title IV-E.
(c) Provide for the local unit of government to submit bills
at times, and in the format, specified by the department.
(d) Specify that the local unit of government is responsible
for meeting all federal title IV-E regulation requirements,
including reporting requirements, with regard to the activities and
costs being billed to title IV-E.
(e) Provide for the local unit of government to pay the state
for the amount of any federal revenues paid to the local unit that
may subsequently be disallowed by the federal government.
(f) Be signed by the director of the department, the chief
executive officer of the local government agency providing the
title IV-E services, the chair of the county board of
commissioners, and the chief executive officer of the county.
Sec. 532. (1) The department, in collaboration with
representatives of private child and family agencies, shall
continue to review policies, practices, and procedures involving
the annual licensing review and the annual contract compliance
review conducted by the department regarding child placing agencies
and child caring institutions. The review shall include efforts to
identify duplication of staff activities and information sought
from child placing agencies and child caring institutions in the
annual review process.
(2) The department shall develop a streamlined licensing
contract compliance review process where possible, including
potential for utilizing deeming status for nationally accredited
agencies. The department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees on the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state budget
director on or before January 15, 2006 on the implementation of the
licensing and contract compliance review process.
Sec. 533. (1) The department shall make payments to private
nonprofit child placing facilities for title IV-E out-of-home care
services within 30 days of receiving all necessary documentation
from those agencies.
(2) The department shall explore various types of automated
payments to private nonprofit child placing facilities to improve
speed and accuracy of payments.
Sec. 536. The department shall not implement a geographically
based assignment system for foster care unless determined to be in
the best interests of the foster children.
Sec. 537. (1) The department shall offer private nonprofit
licensed agencies the first opportunity to provide foster care
services for new foster children entering the system in a county
when the department's direct care caseload for foster care is
greater than 20 cases per foster care worker. This section only
applies if the private nonprofit licensed agency has an available
placement at the time the child needs to be placed, the placement
is not contrary to the best interests of the child or the child's
siblings, and the private nonprofit licensed agency has a direct
care caseload for foster care that is no greater than 20 cases per
foster care caseworker.
(2) The department, in conjunction with private child placing
agencies, shall develop a methodology for measuring goals,
objectives, and performance standards for the delivery of foster
care and adoption services. These goals, objectives, and
performance standards shall apply to both public and private
delivery of child welfare services, and data shall be collected
from both private and public child welfare programs that can be
used to evaluate performance achievements, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(a) Average caseload per foster care worker.
(b) Average cost per case to the department and any other
governmental agency.
(c) Range of services provided.
(d) Program outcomes, including the average length of stay in
residential treatment and foster care.
(3) The department shall submit a quarterly report to the
legislature, beginning December 31, 2005, outlining the progress of
the development of the goals, objectives, and performance
standards, as well as the information collected through the
implementation of the measurement program.
(4) The department, in collaboration with child placing
agencies, shall develop a strategy for implementing the
requirements of MCL 400.115o. As part of the implementation
strategy, the department caseworkers responsible for the
preparation of recommendations to the court for juvenile placements
shall provide, as part of the placement recommendation, information
regarding the requirements.
Sec. 539. The department shall work in collaboration with
representatives from private nonprofit child placing agencies to
ensure appropriate placement for children who have been adjudicated
abused, neglected, or delinquent and for whom residential treatment
is required. The department and the representatives from the
private nonprofit child placing agencies shall focus on statewide
placement criteria to address the best interest of the child in
need of services. The placement criteria shall include a continuum
of care settings and options as appropriate for each child and his
or her needs at specific times, including home placements, relative
placements, shelter placements, and other options.
Sec. 540. Counties shall be subject to 50% charge-back for the
use of alternative regional detention services, if those detention
services do not fall under the basic provision of section 117e of
the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.117e, or if a county
operates those detention services programs primarily with
professional rather than volunteer staff.
Sec. 541. In order to be reimbursed for child care fund
expenditures, counties are required to submit department-developed
reports to enable the department to document potential federally
claimable expenditures. This requirement is in accordance with the
reporting requirements specified in section 117a(7) of the social
welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.117a.
Sec. 542. As a condition of receiving funds appropriated in
part 1 for the child care fund, by February 15, 2006, counties
shall have an approved service spending plan for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2006. Counties must submit the service
spending plan to the department by December 15, 2005 for approval.
Sec. 544. The department shall consider approval of pilot
projects with applications pending for accelerated residential
treatment.
Sec. 545. (1) The department shall implement a new specialized
foster care system based upon the report and recommendations
required in section 545(2) of 2004 PA 344.
(2) The department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees for the department budget on the
number of new specialized foster care programs required under
section 545(3) of 2004 PA 344 not later than January 15, 2006. If
no new specialized foster care programs have been authorized, the
department shall provide an explanation, a list of all applicants
who applied but were denied, and a strategic plan to provide for
new specialized foster care programs.
(3) The department shall use money appropriated in part 1 for
foster care payments and Wayne County foster care payments to
reduce rate disparities between providers of similar services in
different geographic areas and to serve as demonstration projects
for further efforts in reducing these disparities in future years.
Sec. 548. (1) The director of the department shall convene a
task force to study the disproportionate representation of African-
American and other children of color in the child welfare and
juvenile justice systems of this state. The department shall
collaborate with private sector entities to develop a methodology
for the task force to follow in conducting the study and to seek
public or private funding for the task force. At a minimum, the
task force shall examine the level of involvement of African-
American and other children of color at each stage in the systems,
including the points of entry and each point at which a treatment
decision is made and the outcomes for children exiting the systems.
(2) The task force convened under subsection (1) shall consist
of experts in social work, law, child welfare, psychology, or
related fields, and shall be appointed as follows:
(a) Two members appointed by the senate majority leader.
(b) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house.
(c) Three members appointed by the governor, including a
representative of the department.
(3) The task force created under subsection (1) shall report
to the department on the results of the study required by
subsection (1) and make administrative and legislative
recommendations for appropriate program services to reduce existing
disparities and bias in the systems and improve the long-term
outcomes for children of color who are served by the systems.
(4) By December 31, 2006, the department shall report the
results of the study received under subsection (3) to the senate
and house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget,
the senate and house standing committees with jurisdiction over
families and human services issues, the senate and house fiscal
agencies and policy offices, and the state budget office.
Sec. 549. The department shall meet with personnel employed by
the office of the children's ombudsman and the state court
administrative office's foster care review board to investigate
streamlining the oversight process for child welfare services. The
intent of the legislature is to ensure appropriate and adequate
oversight while reducing duplication and redundancy between
government offices.
Sec. 550. (1) The department shall develop, in cooperation
with the department of community health or other appropriate
medical or health experts, materials for distribution to foster
care parents and families on the health risks to children from use
of tobacco and secondhand smoke.
(2) The department, using public and private resources, shall
implement a pilot program to offer foster care parents nicotine
patches or other smoking cessation products to reduce the health
risk to foster children.
(3) The department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees for the department budget on the
results of the pilot program implemented under subsection (2) not
later than September 30, 2006.
Sec. 551. The department shall submit a report not later than
September 30, 2006 to the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees on the department budget that includes the number of
children in foster homes where parents smoke, the subsequent health
costs incurred, and what the impact would be on foster care
recruitment if being a nonsmoker was a requirement for foster
parenting.
Sec. 552. (1) The director of the department shall convene a
task force to be known as the interdepartmental task force on
services to at-risk youth transitioning to adulthood. The task
force shall perform all of the following with respect to services
to at-risk youth:
(a) Assess currently available services.
(b) Determine the extent of coordination and cooperation among
currently available programs and services administered by the
department and by other departments and agencies of this state.
(c) Identify methods to enhance coordination of current
services delivery.
(d) Identify potential available public and private resources
and services.
(e) Develop a plan to ensure that all current public and
private resources and services are effectively organized and
available.
(f) Recommend actions to enhance services.
(2) The director of the department shall seek participation on
the task force created under subsection (1) from all of the
following:
(a) The director of the department of community health or the
director's designee.
(b) The director of the department of labor and economic
growth or the director's designee.
(c) The superintendent of public instruction or the
superintendent's designee.
(d) The state court administrator or his or her designee.
(e) The association for children's mental health.
(f) The children's chapter of the courts of Michigan.
(g) The Michigan probate judges association.
(h) The Michigan community mental health boards.
(i) Fight crime: invest in kids – Michigan.
Senate Bill No. 271 as amended June 15, 2005
(j) The Michigan association of school administrators.
(k) The Michigan association of united ways.
(l) The Michigan council on crime and delinquency.
(m) The Michigan federation for children and families.
(n) The Michigan network for youth and families.
(o) Michigan's children.
(p) The school–community health alliance of Michigan.
(q) The student advocacy center of Michigan.
(r) The Skillman foundation.
(s) The W.K. Kellogg foundation.
(t) The C.S. Mott foundation.
(u) The Frey foundation.
(v) The Annie E. Casey foundation.
(w) Youth and adults who are currently or were formerly served
by 1 or more services provided by the department to at-risk youth.
<<(x) Representatives of faith-based organizations.>>
(3) By June 30, 2006, the task force created under subsection
(1) shall report to the department. The report shall include the
task force findings, assessments, plan, and recommendations under
subsection (2).
(4) By September 30, 2006, the department shall provide to the
senate and house of representatives standing committees with
primary jurisdiction over human service matters, the senate and
house of representatives appropriations subcommittees for the
department budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and policy
offices, and the state budget office the task force's report under
subsection (3) and identify any actions the department has taken or
intends to take as a result of the report.
OPPORTUNITY FOR ADULTS TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE COMMUNITY
Sec. 601. (1) The department may terminate a vendor payment
for shelter upon written notice from the appropriate local unit of
government that a recipient's rental unit is not in compliance with
applicable local housing codes or when the landlord is delinquent
on property tax payments. A landlord shall be considered to be in
compliance with local housing codes when the department receives
from the landlord a signed statement stating that the rental unit
is in compliance with local housing codes and that statement is not
contradicted by the recipient and the local housing authority. The
department shall terminate vendor payments if a taxing authority
notifies the department that taxes are delinquent.
(2) Whenever a client agrees to the release of his or her name
and address to the local housing authority, the department shall
request from the local housing authority information regarding
whether the housing unit for which vendoring has been requested
meets applicable local housing codes. Vendoring shall be terminated
for those units that the local authority indicates in writing do
not meet local housing codes until such time as the local authority
indicates in writing that local housing codes have been met.
(3) In order to participate in the rent vendoring programs of
the department, a landlord shall cooperate in weatherization and
conservation efforts directed by the department or by an energy
provider participating in an agreement with the department when the
landlord's property has been identified as needing services.
Sec. 603. (1) The department, as it determines is appropriate,
shall enter into agreements with energy providers by which cash
assistance recipients and the energy providers agree to permit the
department to make direct payments to the energy providers on
behalf of the recipient. The payments may include heat and electric
payment requirements from recipient grants and amounts in excess of
the payment requirements.
(2) The department shall establish caps for natural gas, wood,
electric heat service, deliverable fuel heat services, and for
electric service based on available federal funds.
(3) The department shall review and adjust the standard
utility allowance for the state food assistance program to ensure
that it reflects current energy costs in the state.
Sec. 604. (1) The department shall operate a state disability
assistance program. Except as provided in subsection (3), persons
eligible for this program shall include needy citizens of the
United States or aliens exempted from the supplemental security
income citizenship requirement who are at least 18 years of age or
emancipated minors meeting 1 or more of the following requirements:
(a) A recipient of supplemental security income, social
security, or medical assistance due to disability or 65 years of
age or older.
(b) A person with a physical or mental impairment which meets
federal supplemental security income disability standards, except
that the minimum duration of the disability shall be 90 days.
Substance abuse alone is not defined as a basis for eligibility.
(c) A resident of an adult foster care facility, a home for
the aged, a county infirmary, or a substance abuse treatment
center.
(d) A person receiving 30-day postresidential substance abuse
treatment.
(e) A person diagnosed as having acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome.
(f) A person receiving special education services through the
local intermediate school district.
(g) A caretaker of a disabled person as defined in subdivision
(a), (b), (e), or (f) above.
(2) Applicants for and recipients of the state disability
assistance program shall be considered needy if they:
(a) Meet the same asset test as is applied to applicants for
the family independence program.
(b) Have a monthly budgetable income that is less than the
payment standards.
(3) Except for a person described in subsection (1)(c) or (d),
a person is not disabled for purposes of this section if his or her
drug addiction or alcoholism is a contributing factor material to
the determination of disability. "Material to the determination of
disability" means that, if the person stopped using drugs or
alcohol, his or her remaining physical or mental limitations would
not be disabling. If his or her remaining physical or mental
limitations would be disabling, then the drug addiction or
alcoholism is not material to the determination of disability and
the person may receive state disability assistance. Such a person
must actively participate in a substance abuse treatment program,
and the assistance must be paid to a third party or through vendor
payments. For purposes of this section, substance abuse treatment
includes receipt of inpatient or outpatient services or
participation in alcoholics anonymous or a similar program.
(4) A refugee or asylee who loses his or her eligibility for
the federal supplemental security income program by virtue of
exceeding the maximum time limit for eligibility as delineated in
section 402 of title IV of the personal responsibility and work
opportunity reconciliation act of 1996, 8 USC 1612, and who
otherwise meets the eligibility criteria under this section shall
be eligible to receive benefits under the state disability
assistance program.
Sec. 605. The level of reimbursement provided to state
disability assistance recipients in licensed adult foster care
facilities shall be the same as the prevailing supplemental
security income rate under the personal care category.
Sec. 606. County family independence agencies shall require
each recipient of state disability assistance who has applied with
the social security administration for supplemental security income
to sign a contract to repay any assistance rendered through the
state disability assistance program upon receipt of retroactive
supplemental security income benefits.
Sec. 607. The department's ability to satisfy appropriation
deductions in part 1 for state disability assistance/supplemental
security income recoveries and public assistance recoupment
revenues shall not be limited to recoveries and accruals pertaining
to state disability assistance, or family independence assistance
grant payments provided only in the current fiscal year, but shall
include all related net recoveries received during the current
fiscal year.
Sec. 608. Adult foster care facilities providing domiciliary
care or personal care to residents receiving supplemental security
income or homes for the aged serving residents receiving
supplemental security income shall not require those residents to
reimburse the home or facility for care at rates in excess of those
legislatively authorized. To the extent permitted by federal law,
adult foster care facilities and homes for the aged serving
residents receiving supplemental security income shall not be
prohibited from accepting third-party payments in addition to
supplemental security income provided that the payments are not for
food, clothing, shelter, or result in a reduction in the
recipient's supplemental security income payment.
Sec. 609. The state supplementation level under the
supplemental security income program for the personal care/adult
foster care and home for the aged categories shall not be reduced
during the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending
September 30, 2006.
Sec. 610. In developing good cause criteria for the state
emergency relief program, the department shall grant exemptions if
the emergency resulted from unexpected expenses related to
maintaining or securing employment.
Sec. 611. (1) The department shall not require providers of
burial services to accept state payment for indigent burials as
payments in full. Each provider shall be permitted to collect
additional payment from relatives or other persons on behalf of the
deceased. The total in additional payments shall not exceed
$2,600.00.
(2) Any additional payment collected pursuant to subsection
(1) shall not increase the maximum charge limit for state payment
as established by law.
Sec. 612. For purposes of determining housing affordability
eligibility for state emergency relief, a group is considered to
have sufficient income to meet ongoing housing expenses if their
total housing obligation does not exceed 75% of their total net
income.
Sec. 613. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for state
emergency relief, the maximum allowable charge limit for indigent
burials shall be $909.00. The funds shall be distributed as
follows: $579.00 for funeral directors; $192.00 for cemeteries or
crematoriums; and $138.00 for the provider of the vault.
Sec. 614. The funds available in part 1 for burial services
shall be available if the deceased was an eligible recipient and an
application for emergency relief funds was made within 10 days of
the burial or cremation of the deceased person. Each provider of
burial services shall be paid directly by the department.
Sec. 615. Except as required by federal law or regulations,
funds appropriated in part 1 shall not be used to provide public
assistance to a person who is an illegal alien. This section shall
not prohibit the department from entering into contracts with food
banks or emergency shelter providers who may, as a normal part of
doing business, provide food or emergency shelter to individuals.
Sec. 616. The appropriation in part 1 for the weatherization
program shall be expended in such a manner that at least 25% of the
households weatherized under the program shall be households of
families receiving 1 or more of the following:
(a) Family independence assistance.
(b) State disability assistance.
(c) Food assistance.
(d) Supplemental security income.
Sec. 617. In operating the family independence program with
funds appropriated in part 1, the department shall not approve as a
minor parent's adult supervised household a living arrangement in
which the minor parent lives with his or her partner as the
supervising adult.
Sec. 618. The department may only reduce, terminate, or
suspend assistance provided under the social welfare act, 1939 PA
280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b, without prior notice in 1 or more of
the following situations:
(a) The only eligible recipient has died.
(b) A recipient member of a program group or family
independence assistance group has died.
(c) A recipient child is removed from his or her family home
by court action.
(d) A recipient requests in writing that his or her assistance
be reduced, terminated, or suspended.
(e) A recipient has been approved to receive assistance in
another state.
(f) A change in either state or federal law that requires
automatic grant adjustments for classes of recipients.
(g) The only eligible recipient in the household has been
incarcerated.
Sec. 619. The department shall exempt from the denial of title
IV-A assistance and food assistance benefits, contained in section
115 of title I of the personal responsibility and work opportunity
reconciliation act of 1996, 21 USC 862a, any individual who has
been convicted of a felony that included the possession, use, or
distribution of a controlled substance, after August 22, 1996,
provided that the individual is not in violation of his or her
probation or parole requirements. Benefits shall be provided to
such individuals as follows:
(a) A third-party payee or vendor shall be required for any
cash benefits provided.
(b) An authorized representative shall be required for food
assistance receipt.
Sec. 621. Funds appropriated in part 1 may be used to support
multicultural assimilation and support services. The department
shall distribute all of the funds described in this section based
on assessed community needs.
Sec. 627. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for day
care services, the department may contract to administer an amount
not to exceed $1,350,000.00 for the "enhance quality improvement
program" (EQUIP) grants. A priority for the expenditure of EQUIP
funds shall be given to providers to expand access to child care,
specifically 24-hour care, care for children of parents working
evening or night shifts, and weekend care. A child care program
shall not be eligible for an EQUIP grant unless 25% or more of its
clients receive day care payments from the department.
(2) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for day care
services, the department may establish an additional fund of at
least $350,000.00 for a grant pool for an "enhance quality
improvement program" (EQUIP) specifically to establish new family
and group home day care providers.
Sec. 631. The department shall maintain policies and
procedures to achieve all of the following:
(a) The identification of individuals on entry into the system
who have a history of domestic violence, while maintaining the
confidentiality of that information.
(b) Referral of persons so identified to counseling and
supportive services.
(c) In accordance with a determination of good cause, the
waiving of certain requirements of family independence programs
where compliance with those requirements would make it more
difficult for the individual to escape domestic violence or would
unfairly penalize individuals who have been victims of domestic
violence or who are at risk of further domestic violence.
Sec. 635. Within 6 business days of receiving all information
necessary to process an application for payments for child day
care, the department shall determine whether the child day care
provider to whom the payments, if approved, would be made, is
listed on the child abuse and neglect central registry. If the
provider is listed on the central registry, the department shall
immediately send written notice denying the applicant's request for
child day care payments.
Sec. 640. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1 for day
care services, the department may continue to provide infant and
toddler incentive payments to child day care providers serving
children from 0 to 2-1/2 years of age who meet licensing or
training requirements.
(2) The use of the funds under this section should not be
considered an ongoing commitment of funding.
Sec. 641. In collaboration with Central Michigan University,
the department shall develop and disseminate read, educate, and
develop youth (R.E.A.D.Y) kits to parents of preschool and
kindergarten children to provide these parents with information
about how they can prepare their children for reading success.
Sec. 643. As a condition of receipt of federal TANF funds,
homeless shelters shall collaborate with the department to obtain
necessary TANF eligibility information on families as soon as
possible after admitting a family to the homeless shelter. From the
funds appropriated in part 1 for homeless shelter contracts, the
department is authorized to make allocations of TANF funds only to
the agencies that report necessary data to the department for the
purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting requirements.
Homeless shelters that do not report necessary data to the
department for the purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting
requirements will not receive reimbursements which exceed the per
diem amount they received in fiscal year 2000. The use of TANF
funds under this section should not be considered an ongoing
commitment of funding.
Sec. 645. An individual or family is considered homeless, for
purposes of eligibility for state emergency relief, if living
temporarily with others in order to escape domestic violence. For
purposes of this section, domestic violence is defined and verified
in the same manner as in the department's policies on good cause
for not cooperating with child support and paternity requirements.
Sec. 648. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for public
assistance, the department may make assistance payments to
recipients beyond the 5-year limit set by the personal
responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996,
Public Law 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105, providing the recipient is
complying with asset, income, and participation standards set as a
condition of eligibility to receive assistance and clearly
demonstrates that he or she is making progress in becoming self-
sufficient.
Sec. 653. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for food
assistance, an individual who is the victim of domestic violence
and does not qualify for any other exemption may be exempt from the
3-month in 36-month limit on receiving food assistance under
section 6(o)(6) of the food stamp act of 1977, 7 USC 2015. This
exemption can be extended an additional 3 months upon demonstration
of continuing need.
Sec. 657. (1) The department shall fund a statewide before- or
after-school program to provide youth with a safe, engaging
environment to motivate and inspire learning outside the
traditional classroom setting. Before- or after-school program
eligibility is limited to geographic areas near school buildings
that do not meet federal no child left behind annual yearly
progress (AYP) requirements and that include the before- or after-
school programs in the AYP plans as a means to improve outcomes.
Before-school programs are limited to elementary school-aged
children. Effective before- or after-school programs combine
academic, enrichment, and recreation activities to guide learning
and inspire children and youth in various activities. The before-
or after-school programs can meet the needs of the communities
served by the programs.
(2) The department shall work in collaboration with
independent contractors to put into practice a program establishing
quality before- or after-school programs for children in
kindergarten to ninth grades. In order for an independent
contractor to receive TANF funds, a child served must be a member
of a family with an income that does not exceed 200% of the federal
poverty guidelines published by the United States department of
health and human services.
(3) The department shall, through a competitive bid process,
provide grants or contracts up to $5,000,000.00 in TANF funds for
the program based on community needs. A county shall receive no
more than 20% of the funds appropriated in part 1 for this program.
From the funds appropriated in part 1 for before- or after-school
programs within day care services, the department is authorized to
make allocations of funds only to the agencies that report
necessary data to the department for the purpose of meeting TANF
and maintenance of effort eligibility reporting requirements. The
use of funds under this section should not be considered an ongoing
commitment of funding.
(4) The before- or after-school programs shall include
academic assistance, including assistance with reading and writing,
and at least 3 of the following topics:
(a) Abstinence-based pregnancy prevention.
(b) Chemical abuse and dependency including nonmedical
services.
(c) Gang violence prevention.
(d) Preparation toward future self-sufficiency.
(e) Leadership development.
(f) Case management or mentoring.
(g) Parental involvement.
(h) Anger management.
(5) The department may enter into grants or contracts with
independent contractors including, but not limited to, faith-based
organizations, boys or girls clubs, schools, or nonprofit
organizations. The department shall grant priority in funding
independent contractors who secure at least 25% in matching funds.
The matching funds may either be fulfilled through local, state, or
federal funds, and/or through in-kind or other donations.
(6) A referral to a program may be made by, but is not limited
to, any of the following: a teacher, counselor, parent, police
officer, judge, or social worker.
(7) By January 30, 2006, the department before- or after-
school program expenditures shall be audited and the department
shall work in collaboration with independent contractors to provide
a report on the before- or after-school program to the senate and
house standing committees dealing with human services, the senate
and house appropriations subcommittees for the department budget,
the senate and house fiscal agencies, and the senate and house
policy offices. The report shall include the number of participants
and the average cost per participant, as well as changes noted in
program participants in any of the following categories:
(a) Juvenile crime.
(b) Aggressive behavior.
(c) Academic achievement.
(d) Development of new skills and interests.
(e) School attendance and dropout rates.
(f) Behavioral changes in school.
Sec. 660. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for food bank
funding, the department is authorized to make allocations of TANF
funds only to the agencies that report necessary data to the
department for the purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting
requirements. The agencies that do not report necessary data to the
department for the purpose of meeting TANF eligibility reporting
requirements will not receive allocations in excess of those
received in fiscal year 2000. The use of TANF funds under this
section should not be considered an ongoing commitment of funding.
Sec. 665. The department shall partner with the department of
transportation to use TANF and other sources of available funding
to support public transportation needs of TANF-eligible
individuals. This partnership shall place a priority on
transportation needs for employment or seeking employment or
medical or health-related transportation.
Sec. 666. The department shall continue efforts to increase
the participation of eligible family independence program
recipients in the federal earned income tax credit. The department
shall report on the efforts to increase participation to the senate
and house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget,
the senate and house standing committees on human services, the
senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state
budget director no later than December 31, 2005.
Sec. 668. (1) In coordination with the Michigan alliance of
boys and girls clubs, the department may expend $250,000.00 in TANF
funds to make allocations for a statewide collaborative project to
develop a community-based program available to children ages 6 to
15.
(2) The department shall make allocations of TANF funds under
this section only to agencies that report necessary data to the
department for the purpose of meeting the TANF eligibility
reporting requirements. The use of TANF funds under this section
should not be considered an ongoing commitment.
(3) The department shall grant priority in funding to programs
that provide at least 10% in matching funds. The matching funds
requirement shall be fulfilled through any combination of local,
state, or federal funds or in-kind or other donations. A program
that cannot meet the matching requirement shall not be excluded
from applying for a contract.
Sec. 669. (1) The department shall distribute cash and food
assistance to recipients electronically by using debit cards.
(2) The department shall allocate up to $7,167,500.00 for the
annual clothing allowance. The allowance shall be granted to all
eligible children as defined by the department.
Sec. 670. The funds appropriated in part 1 for kinship care in
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006 reflect the legislature's
commitment to reduce the benefit discrepancy between kinship care
and a similar family size within the family independence agency
program (FIP). The legislature recognizes the commitment of
relatives to provide family continuity, nurturance, and care for
this special population of children who can no longer remain in
their parents' care due to abuse, neglect, or other social
problems.
Sec. 673. The department shall immediately send notification
to a client participating in the state child day care program and
his or her child day care provider if the client's eligibility is
reduced or eliminated.
Sec. 674. The department shall develop and implement a plan to
reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the child day care program,
including feasibility for expanding wage match and employer
verification, unannounced home call verification at day care sites,
compliance with recommendations of the auditor general in the May
2005 performance audit of the child day care and child welfare
licensing divisions, and other process changes. Beginning December
31, 2005, the department shall report annually to the senate and
house appropriations subcommittees for the department budget, the
senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state
budget director on plan details and implementation status.
Sec. 675. The department shall utilize the most recent market
rate survey to explore potential costs to implement a child day
care rate structure that more accurately reflects the costs of care
by vicinity. By March 1, 2006, the department shall report the
results of the analysis to the senate and house subcommittees on
the department budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and
policy offices, and the state budget office.
Sec. 676. (1) The department shall collaborate with the state
board of education to extend the duration of the Michigan after-
school partnership and oversee its efforts to implement the policy
recommendations and strategic next steps identified in the Michigan
after-school initiative's report of December 15, 2003.
(2) From the funds appropriated in part 1, $25,000.00 may be
used to support the Michigan after-school partnership and shall be
used to leverage other private and public funding to engage the
public and private sectors in building and sustaining high-quality
out-of-school-time programs and resources. The co-chairs shall name
a fiduciary agent and may authorize the fiduciary to expend funds
and hire people to accomplish the work of the Michigan after-school
partnership.
(3) Each year, on or before December 31, the Michigan after-
school partnership shall report its progress in reaching the
recommendations set forth in the Michigan after-school initiative's
report to the senate and house committees on appropriations, the
senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state
budget director.
Sec. 677. The department shall establish a state goal for the
percentage of family independence program (FIP) cases involved in
employment activities. The percentage established shall not be
less than 50%. On a quarterly basis, the department shall report
to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on the
department budget, the senate and house fiscal agencies and policy
offices, and the state budget director on the current percentage of
FIP cases involved in employment activities. If the FIP case
percentage is below the goal for more than 2 consecutive quarters,
the department shall develop a plan to increase the percentage of
FIP cases involved in employment related activities. The
department shall deliver the plan during the next annual budget
presentation to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees
on the department budget.
Sec. 678. The department shall provide the senate and house of
representatives appropriations subcommittees on the department
budget with the cost and revenue implications for the early
childhood investment corporation (ECIC) at least 3 months before a
request for a transfer or supplemental appropriation. Additionally,
all contracts entered into shall be bid out through a statewide
request-for-proposal process, and the department shall report to
the senate and house of representatives appropriations
subcommittees on the department budget on the selection criteria
for establishing contracts with intermediate school districts at
least 30 days prior to the issuance of a request for a proposal.
The department shall report to the senate and house of
representatives appropriations subcommittees on the department
budget by October 1, 2005 at least the following information
related to the status of the ECIC:
(a) The cost.
(b) The implementation plan.
(c) The projected funding sources.
(d) All contracts entered into by the department.
JUVENILE REHABILITATION SERVICES
Sec. 702. Expansion of facilities funded under part 1 for
juvenile justice services shall not be authorized by the joint
capital outlay subcommittee of the appropriations committees until
the department has held a public hearing in the community where the
facility proposed to be expanded is located.
Sec. 705. (1) The department, in conjunction with private
juvenile justice residential programs, shall develop a methodology
for measuring goals, objectives, and performance standards for the
delivery of juvenile justice residential programs. These goals,
objectives, and performance standards shall apply to both public
and private delivery of juvenile justice residential programs, and
data shall be collected from both private and public juvenile
justice residential programs that can be used to evaluate
performance achievements, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(a) Admission and release data and other information related
to demographics of population served.
(b) Program descriptions and information related to treatment,
educational services, and conditions of confinement.
(c) Program outcomes including recidivism rates for youth
served by the facility.
(2) The department during the annual budget presentation shall
outline the progress of the development of the goals, objectives,
and performance standards, as well as the information collected
through the implementation of the performance measurement program.
The presentation shall include all of the following:
(a) Trends in census and population demographics.
(b) Program outcomes.
(c) Staff and resident safety.
(d) Facility profile.
(e) Fiscal information necessary for qualitative understanding
of program operations and comparative costs of public and private
facilities.
Sec. 714. (1) The department shall provide technical
assistance for counties to develop information networks including,
but not limited to, serious habitual offenders comprehensive action
program (SHOCAP), juvenile justice on-line technology (JJOLT), and
juvenile violent reporting system (JVRS).
(2) The department shall assist counties in identifying
funding sources for the networks, including, but not limited to,
the child care fund and the juvenile accountability incentive block
grant.
(3) The local units of government shall report to the
department on expenditures of their juvenile justice information
networks in concert with their requests for reimbursement from the
child care fund.
(4) The department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees for the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state budget
director by January 15, 2006 on department efforts to encourage
county information networks development described in subsection
(1).
Sec. 715. (1) It is the intent of the legislature that the
primary function of the juvenile justice system shall be to promote
the protection of individuals and communities through the reduction
of juvenile crime.
(2) The department shall report to the senate and house
appropriations subcommittees for the department budget, the senate
and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the state budget
director by October 30, 2005 on the status of implementing
recommendations of the 2001 joint house and senate task force on
juvenile justice, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Mentoring programs that focus on improving communication
and collaboration, encourage quality mentoring programs,
recruitment of mentors, and increasing public awareness of and
participation in programs for at-risk youth.
(b) Discussion of programs relating to juvenile information
networks as an Internet-based communication tool that assists with
case management of juvenile offenders in the area.
(c) Discussion of the possibility of implementing a program
modeled after the "Wisconsin citizenship initiative" to collaborate
with the before- or after-school programs offered under the
authority of this act.
(d) Exploration of the option of a summit conducted via the
Internet to discuss measures relating to the prevention and
intervention of at-risk youth.
(e) Discussion of California's "8% early intervention" program
that focuses on aggressive early intervention and treatment of
young, high at-risk juvenile offenders and their families.
(f) Multisystem therapy.
(g) Youth service projects.
(h) Community services projects.
Sec. 719. The department shall notify the legislature at least
30 days before closing or making any change in the status of a
state juvenile justice facility.
Sec. 720. (1) The goal of high security juvenile services
funded in part 1 shall be to protect the general public from
dangerous juvenile offenders while providing rehabilitation
services to those offenders to safely prepare them for entry into
society.
(2) The department shall take into consideration the
recommendations on a methodology for measuring goals, objectives,
and performance standards developed in conjunction with private
providers of juvenile justice residential programs required in
section 705 of 2004 PA 344.
(3) The department shall allocate money to public and private
providers of high security juvenile services based on their ability
to demonstrate results in all of the following:
(a) Lower recidivism rates.
(b) Higher school completion rates or GED completion rates.
(c) Shorter average stays in a residential facility.
(d) Lower average cost per resident.
(e) Availability of appropriate services to residents.
(4) The department shall comply with section 115o of the
social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.115o, regarding placement
of juvenile offenders, and shall refer to that statutory
requirement in making referral recommendations to courts for secure
residential programs.
(5) The department shall require, if possible and practical,
that aftercare services for a juvenile offender be provided by the
same organization or provider that provided residential care for
that juvenile.
Sec. 721. (1) The goal of medium or low security juvenile
services shall be effective treatment of juvenile offenders to
safely prepare them for entry into society.
(2) The department shall allocate money to public and private
providers of medium or low security juvenile services based on
their ability to demonstrate results in all of the following:
(a) Reduced rates of recidivism.
(b) Higher rates of high school or GED completion.
(c) Shorter average stays in a residential facility.
(d) Availability of appropriate services to residents.
(3) The department shall comply with section 115o of the
social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.115o, regarding the
placement of juvenile offenders, and shall refer to that statutory
requirement in making referral recommendations to courts for
residential treatment programs.
(4) The department shall require, if possible and practical,
that aftercare services for a juvenile offender be provided by the
same program or provider that provided treatment for the juvenile
in residential care.
Sec. 722. (1) The goal of juvenile justice day programs shall
be the effective treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders
in appropriate community settings.
(2) The department shall allocate money to public and private
providers of juvenile justice day programs based on their ability
to demonstrate results in all of the following:
(a) Reduced rates of recidivism.
(b) Higher rates of high school or GED completion.
(c) Availability of appropriate services to offenders.
Sec. 723. A provider of juvenile services may receive funding
for services of different security levels if the provider has
appropriate services for each security level and adequate measures
to separate residents of each security level.
LOCAL OFFICE SERVICES
Sec. 750. The department shall maintain out-stationed
eligibility specialists in community-based organizations and
hospitals in the same locations as in fiscal year 2003-2004.
Sec. 751. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1, the
department shall implement school-based family resource centers
based on the following guidelines:
(a) The center is supported by the local school district.
(b) The programs and information provided at the center do not
conflict with sections 1169, 1507, and 1507b of the revised school
code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1169, 380.1507, and 380.1507b.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the center shall provide
information regarding crisis pregnancy centers or adoption service
providers in the area.
(2) The department shall notify the senate and house
subcommittees on the department budget, the senate and house fiscal
agencies and policy offices, and the state budget office of family
resource center expansion efforts and shall provide all of the
following at the beginning of the selection process or no later
than 5 days after eligible schools receive opportunity
notification:
(a) A list of eligible schools.
(b) The selection criteria to be used.
(c) The projected number to be opened.
(d) The financial implications for expansion, including
funding sources.
Sec. 753. The department shall implement the recommendations
of the 2004 public private partnership initiative's training
committee to define, design, and implement a train-the-trainer
program to certify private agency staff to deliver child welfare
staff training, explore the use of e-learning technologies, and
include consumers in the design and implementation of training. The
intent of the legislature is to reduce training and travel costs
for both the department and the private agencies. The department
shall report no later than December 1, 2005 on each specific policy
change made to implement enacted legislation and the plans to
implement the recommendations, including time lines, to the senate
and house appropriations subcommittees on the department budget,
the senate and house standing committees on human services matters,
the senate and house fiscal agencies and policy offices, and the
state budget director.
DISABILITY DETERMINATION SERVICES
Sec. 801. The department disability determination services in
agreement with the department of management and budget office of
retirement systems will develop the medical information and make
recommendations for medical disability retirement for state
employees, state police, judges, and school teachers.
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 901. (1) From the federal money received for child
support incentive payments, up to $15,397,400.00 shall be retained
by the state and expended for legal support contracts and child
support program expenses.
(2) From the amounts retained by the state under subsection
(1), the state shall pay through the legal support contracts with
counties for friend of the court and prosecuting attorney services
the same local match supplement that was paid in fiscal year 2003-
2004.
(3) The aggregate payment to counties shall be not less than
the amount paid in fiscal year 2000-2001. If the payment to the
state from the federal government is less than was paid in fiscal
year 2000-2001, the payment to the counties shall be prorated in a
like percentage amount.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the
amounts appropriated in part 1 for child support automation and
child support automation improvement are designated as work
projects, and any unexpended funds at the conclusion of the fiscal
year shall be carried forward for continuation of improvements.
(5) It is the intention of the legislature that, in addition
to the money required annually for maintenance and operation of the
child support computer system (MiCSES) that an additional
$17,800,000.00 will be provided for use in fiscal year 2005-2006
and fiscal year 2006-2007 to fix and improve the system. The
department, through the office of child support leadership group,
shall provide quarterly reports to the legislature concerning the
money expended and the improvements made as a result of this
subsection.
(6) If collections from the revenue sources identified to fix
and improve the system fall short of money appropriated in this
act, the department shall reduce expenditures to match those
collections.
(7) The department shall consult with the department of
treasury and any outside consultant with collections expertise
under contract with the department of treasury to develop a plan to
maximize the collection of child support for the purposes of this
section.
Sec. 902. The first $1,000,000.00 of child support collections
that otherwise would be escheated to the state general fund shall
be retained by the department and allocated for improvements to
MiCSES. Unexpended money remaining at the end of the fiscal year
shall be carried forward in a work project for expenditure in the
following year for the same purpose.
Sec. 903. Money collected under a department program for
settlement of outstanding child support arrearages due to the state
are allocated for child support enforcement with the first
$5,052,000.00 to be used for improvements to MiCSES. Any amount
collected above $5,052,000.00 shall be allocated in the following
manner: 60% to legal support contracts for friend of the court
services and 40% to the office of child support for central office
operations. The money shall not be expended until the state budget
director has reviewed and approved an allotment schedule submitted
by the department. The 60% allocated for friend of the court
services shall supplement the amount originally allocated for such
services in fiscal year 2004-2005 and shall not be used by counties
to supplant other state or federal funds paid to the county for
such services.
Sec. 904. The department shall facilitate with the department
of community health a program under which the departments
independently or jointly contract with local friend of the court
offices to update and maintain the child support statewide database
with health insurance information in cases in which the court has
ordered a party to the case to maintain health insurance coverage
for the minor child or children involved in the case and to assist
in the recovery of money paid by the state for health care costs
that are otherwise recoverable from a party to the case. The
program shall be entirely funded with state and federal funds from
money first recovered or through costs that are avoided by changing
the insurance coverage for minor children from state programs to
private health insurance.
Sec. 905. The department is prohibited from charging back to
the counties any of the fees paid that are charged by the internal
revenue service or the department of treasury related to the tax
intercept and offset programs. The state share of those fees shall
be paid from money otherwise provided for office of child support
programs.
Sec. 906. In addition to money provided by this act, if child
support payments reimbursed to the state exceed the $47,000,000.00
appropriated to child support collections in part 1, $1,530,767.00
shall be allocated from the excess to the counties for the local
match for friend of the court services legal support contracts.
Sec. 907. From money allocated to the office of child support,
the department shall reimburse the counties for money expended to
clean up the statewide child support enforcement system database.
OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND ADULT LICENSING
Sec. 1001. The department shall assess fees in the licensing
and regulation of child care organizations as defined in 1973 PA
116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128, and adult foster care facilities as
defined in the adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA
218, MCL 400.701 to 400.737. Fees collected by the department shall
be used exclusively for the purpose of licensing and regulating
child care organizations and adult foster care facilities.
Sec. 1002. The department shall furnish the clerk of the
house, the secretary of the senate, the senate and house fiscal
agencies and policy offices, the state budget office, and all
members of the house and senate appropriations committees with a
summary of any evaluation reports and subsequent approvals or
disapprovals of juvenile residential facilities operated by the
department, as required by section 6 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.116.
If no evaluations are conducted during the fiscal year, the
department shall notify the fiscal agencies and all members of the
appropriate subcommittees of the house and senate appropriations
committees.
Sec. 1003. If federal funds become available to support a lead
testing program, the department shall, before issuing a license for
a day care facility and as part of licensing review and facility
inspection, require documentation verifying that the facility has
been inspected for lead hazards and that any lead hazards
identified have been remediated.
Sec. 1005. The department shall develop a plan for a
performance based licensing system. The plan shall include an
approach that emphasizes site visits for new licensees and
licensees with violations or filed complaints and random, but not
required, site visits for licensees who have been in business for 5
years or more with no violations or filed complaints. The plan
shall direct the licensing staff and field consultants to
prioritize resources and site reviews on new licensees and those
with documented complaints. The plan shall include an
implementation date for fiscal year 2005-2006 and be submitted, by
January 31, 2006, to the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees on the department budget, the senate and house fiscal
agencies and policy offices, and the state budget director.