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DCFS Announces $8 Million in Mid-Year Budget Reductions

December 16, 2011

BATON ROUGE -- The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services today announced a reduction of $8 million in state general funds for FY 2012.

"These reductions will not impact our core mission. DCFS has reorganized and become more efficient to better serve citizens," said DCFS Secretary Ruth Johnson. "Our top priority is to preserve our core services to keep children safe, help families become self-sufficient and to provide safe refuge during disasters."

Reductions in state general funds (SGF) identified to cover the mid-year reduction include:

$4 million - This reduction to the Child Care Development Fund will be achieved by utilizing the refundable portion of the School Readiness State Tax Credit rather than state general funds to continue to draw down federal block grant funding.

$1.3 million - Reductions in SGF for adoption recruitment and placements will be replaced with federal incentive funds causing no change in services.

$1.69 million - Reductions in administrative costs will be accomplished by a department-wide hiring freeze, suspension of all non-mandated travel and supply purchases and reduction in information technology contracts and incentive pay.

$600,000 - Reductions in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding, including:

$150,000 - Substance Abuse - Efficiencies recently made in the program will allow for this reduction, without impacting service capacity.
$150,000 - Nurse Family Partnership - Savings will be generated by detailing supervisory and management staff to the grant without impacting current service levels.
$200,000 - Office of Juvenile Justice - Savings have occurred through efficiencies in the residential and mentor tracker program that will offset these reductions.
$100,000 - Administrative cost reduction to Alternatives to Abortion contract.

$250,000 - Reduction in funding associated with United Way 211 phone service contract, which provides citizens information relative to services available in the community. This will not impact 211's role in declared disaster response, as DCFS contracts with United Way during those events to defray the cost of actual increased operations.

$148,187 - Funding for training and support services related to child welfare will be reduced and will be covered in-house and through community and non-profit resources or funded through other means.

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