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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0342
Sen. Zenzinger; Kirkmeyer
Rep. Pugliese; Young
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
January 24, 2024
Senate Health & Human Services
Shukria Maktabi | 303-866-4720
shukria.maktabi@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: KINSHIP FOSTER CARE HOMES
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☒ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill creates measures that support kinship foster care homes, including providing
financial supports to non-certified kinship care homes. The bill increases state and
local expenditures and state revenue on an ongoing basis beginning in FY 2024-25.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation $32.4 million to multiple state
agencies.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill, which was recommended by the Colorado
Child Welfare System Interim Study Committee.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under SB 24-008
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue Cash Funds $70,468 $23,503
Total Revenue $70,468 $23,503
Expenditures General Fund $16,309,953 $15,528,095
Cash Funds $3,168,762 $3,372,350
Federal Funds $12,890,359 $14,888,864
Centrally Appropriated $51,956 $57,949
Total Expenditures $32,421,030 $33,847,258
Total FTE 2.8 FTE 3.1 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts TABOR Refund $50,398 $16,809
General Fund Reserve $2,446,493 $2,329,214 Page 2
January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Summary of Legislation
Beginning September 1, 2024, the bill creates several measures for kinship foster care homes,
including:
requiring permanency planning to not be delayed for purposes of maintaining financial
support for a kinship foster care home or a non-certified kinship care foster home, except
with court approval;
expanding emergency financial assistance for a kinship foster care home to include goods
needed for the child’s basic care and limited rental or housing assistance, with a maximum
subsidy duration of sixty days;
requiring the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) and the Judicial Department
to collect data on the number of children placed with kin through a dependency and neglect
case and make the data available on its website by January 30, 2025;
requiring courts to ensure that relatives and kin are informed about the types of kinship care
and financial supports available before transferring temporary legal custody of the child;
requiring the CDHS to report on the availability of federal funds or other grant funding for
legal services or legal representation of relative and kin caregivers by October 1, 2024; and
requiring the CDHS to work with other state departments to create an interagency resource
guide to assist kinship in the certification process.
The bill also establishes in statute the certification process for a kinship foster care home by a
county department or child placement agency, including the process to obtain a provisional
certification for six months. The bill also allows non-certified kinship care homes to be eligible
for financial assistance at 50 percent of the foster care rate as established by the state, and
requires the CDHS reimburse county departments for 90 percent of the amounts expended for
kinship foster care. The bill also exempts kinship foster care homes from certain certification
standards and requirements and allows the CDHS to develop rules to modify the requirements
for kinship foster care homes, including training topics for kinship foster care certification.
Background
Currently, kinship foster care homes can seek certification, or a provisional certification, and
receive financial payments at the full 100 percent foster care rate established by the CDHS. All
foster care homes, including kinship foster care homes, must meet certain standards to become
certified and receive financial supports, including meeting certain safety standards and
completing background checks, 27 hours of initial training, and 20 hours of ongoing training.
These payments to certified kinship care homes are eligible for federal funding.
Non-certified kinship foster care homes are currently not eligible to receive these payments and
the state currently reimburses counties 80 percent of the rate paid to foster care homes.
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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Assumptions
The fiscal note assumes that exempting kinship foster care homes from previously required
standards will lead to more currently non-certified kinship foster care homes seeking
certification at the 100 percent foster care payment rate. As a result, revenue will increase from
the additional background checks performed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to
complete certification requirements, as well as workload for CDHS from the increase in the
number of federally required case reviews for youth in covered out-of-home placements to
ensure compliance with certification requirements.
Non-certified kinship foster homes becoming certified. Currently, there are an estimated
6,000 non-certified kinship foster homes in the state. The fiscal note assumes that 30%, or 1,784
of current non-certified kinship homes, will undergo certification initially, due to the reduction in
kinship foster care certification requirements, and that an additional 10% or 595 will seek
certification in the following year. The remaining 4,162 non-certified kinship homes are assumed
to opt to seek the new subsidy for non-certified homes at 50% the foster care payment rate.
State Revenue
This bill increases state revenue to the CBI Identification Unit Cash Fund in the DPS by $70,468
in FY 2024-25 and $23,503 in FY 2025-26 from additional fingerprint-based criminal history
background checks from the assumed number of new certified foster homes outlined above.
The current fee for background checks is $39.50, which includes $11.25 for a Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) fingerprint-based check, which is passed on to that federal agency. The
federal portion of this fee is excluded from the state TABOR limit.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures by approximately $32.4 million in FY 2024-25 and
$33.8 million in FY 2025-26 and future year, paid from the General Fund, cash funds, and federal
funding sources. Costs are primarily in the CDHS, as well as in the Department of Public Safety.
Workload will also increase for other state departments. Expenditures are shown in Table 2 and
detailed below.
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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Table 2
Expenditures Under Bill 1
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of Human Services
Personal Services $192,417 $230,900
Operating Expenses $3,375 $4,050
Capital Outlay Costs $20,010 -
Certified Kinship Foster Care Payments $14,374,687 $19,160,878
Non-Certified Kinship Foster Care Payments $16,768,573 $14,374,687
County Reimbursements $955,576 -
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$46,813 $56,176
FTE – Personal Services 2.5 FTE 3.0 FTE
CDHS Subtotal $32,361,451 $33,826,691
Department of Public Safety
Personal Services $18,025 $6,650
Background Check Expenses $16,341 $5,450
FBI Background Check Pass-Through $20,070 $6,694
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$5,143 $1,773
FTE – Personal Services 0.3 FTE 0.1 FTE
DPS Subtotal $59,579 $20,567
Total Cost $32,421,030 $33,847,258
Total FTE 2.8 FTE 3.1 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Department of Human Services. Costs will increase for staff and payments to kinship foster
care homes and county departments.
Staff. The CDHS requires 3.0 FTE for additional reviews of foster home cases and county
departments. The increase in non-certified kinship foster homes seeking certification, as
discussed in the Assumptions section, would increase the number of case reviews that the
CDHS is federally required to perform for any child or youth in covered out-of-home
placements to ensure compliance with the certification requirements. FTE is prorated for a
September start date in FY 2024-25 and is eligible for federal funding.
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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Workload for the CDHS will also increase to confirm relatives and kin were advised about
kinship foster care, to coordinate the development of the resource guide, collect and publish
data, modify the child welfare information system to verify non-certified kinship providers
receiving funding, and report on the availability of federal funds or other grant funding. This
workload can be accomplished within existing resources.
As more certifications are requested, the number of appeals by denied applicants that would
go through the administrative appeals process may also increase, which may require
additional staff and resources. It is assumed these expenses, if incurred, would be addressed
through the annual budget process.
Certified kinship foster care homes payments. Costs will increase by $14.4 million in
FY 2024-25 and $19.2 million in FY 2025-26 and future years for increased payments to
certified kinship foster care homes, based on the assumed number of newly certified kinship
foster homes outlined above. To the extent certification rates vary in future years, exact
costs will be addressed through the annual budget process. Based on these assumptions,
and using the established rates for kinship foster care payments based on age and an
assumed average length of stay of 164 days, the annual payment for each new certified case
is $8,058. These payments are eligible for federal funding.
Non-certified kinship foster care home payments. Payments to non-certified kinship
foster care homes will increase by $16.8 million in FY 2024-25 and $14.4 million in
FY 2025-26 and future years, based on the assumed number of remaining non-certified
kinship foster care outlined in the Assumption section. The annual payment for these cases
would be 50% the established foster care rate, or $4,029, assuming the same average length
of stay referenced above. As with certified homes, costs may vary from these estimates
depending on kinship foster care home participation and use, and will be adjusted through
the budget process as necessary.
County reimbursements. The CDHS expenditures for reimbursements to counties for
amounts expended for kinship foster care will increase by $955,576 for current cases due to
the increase in state reimbursement from 80% to 90% of eligible costs. The additional 10% is
included in calculations for new certifications.
Department of Public Safety. The bill increases cash fund expenditures for fingerprint-based
criminal history background checks by $59,579 in FY 2024-25 and $20,567 in FY 2025-26 from
the CBI Identification Unit Cash fund in DPS. This covers the costs of conducting additional
background checks of the assumed number of newly certified kinship foster care and includes
the pass through costs for the FBI component of the background check.
Judicial Department. Trial court workload may increase from kinship foster care homes
appealing a certification denial; however, this is expected to be minimal.
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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
Other departments. Workload will increase for the Department of Public Health and
Environment, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health Care Policy and
Financing to aid in the development of the resource guide. This workload can be accomplished
within existing resources.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs
associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally
appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These
costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are
shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note,
the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts
shown in Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
TABOR refunds. The bill is expected to increase the amount of state revenue required to be
refunded to taxpayers by the amounts shown Table 1 and discussed in the State Revenue
section above. This estimate assumes the December 2023 LCS revenue forecast. A forecast of
state revenue subject to TABOR is not available beyond FY 2025-26. Because TABOR refunds are
paid from the General Fund, increased cash fund revenue will reduce the amount of General
Fund available to spend or save.
Local Government
The bill will increase county costs to support for kinship foster care homes by an estimated
$3.1 million in FY 2024-25 and $3.3 million in FY 2025-26. This reflects the 10 percent county
match for child welfare expenses. These costs are reflected in the cash fund portion of state
expenditures described above. In addition, workload for county departments will increase to the
extent that additional kinship foster care homes seek certification.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his
signature.
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January 24, 2024 SB 24-008
State Appropriations
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires total appropriations of $32,369,074 to multiple state agencies,
including:
$32,314,638 to the Department of Human Services, of which $16,309,953 is General Fund,
$3,114, 326 is cash funds from county matching funds, and $12,890,359 is federal funds, and
2.5 FTE; and
$54,436 to the Department of Public Safety from the CBI Identification Unit Cash Fund, of
which $20,070 is reappropriated funds passed through to the federal government for
FBI background check costs.
State and Local Government Contacts
Child Welfare Counties Education
Health Care Policy and Financing Human Services Judicial
Public Health and Environment Public Safety
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each fiscal
year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.