Vote: approved

Item Text

74. TITLE IV-E APPROPRIATION ADJUSTMENT Pursuant to A.R.S. § 42-17106(B), approve the following: a. A non recurring fund transfer of $481,747 from the PDS Grant Fund (233) to the General Fund (100). b. Increase the revenue and expenditure authority in the Office of Public Defense Services (D560) Grant Fund (233) Non-Recurring Non-Project (NRNP) in the amount of $1,926,987. c. Increase the revenue authority in the Office of Public Defense Services (D560) General Fund (100) Non-Recurring Non-Project (NRNP) in the amount of $481,747. d. Increase the expenditure authority in the Non Departmental (D470) General Fund (100) Non Recurring Non Project (NRNP) Contingency Line in the amount of $481,747. e. Offsetting revenue and expenditure adjustments for the fund transfer in Eliminations (D980) Eliminations Fund (900) Non-Recurring Non-Project (NRNP). f. Increase the revenue and expenditure authority in the Office of Public Defense Services (D560) Grant Fund (233) Operating (OPER) in the amount of $3,853,974. g. Decrease the expenditure authority in the Office of Public Defense Services (D560) General Fund (100) Operating (OPER) in the amount of $963,494. h. Increase the expenditure authority in the Non Departmental (D470) General Fund (100) Operating (OPER) Public Defense Title IV-E Contingency Line in the amount of $963,494. The application and acceptance of the Title IV-E federal entitlement funds from the Department of Health and Human Services through the Arizona Department of Child Safety was approved in a prior Board agenda. Grant revenues are not local revenues for the purpose of the constitution expenditure limitation, and therefore, expenditure of the funds is not prohibited by the budget law. This budget adjustment does not alter the budget constraining the expenditures of local revenues duly adopted by the Board pursuant to ARS 42-17105. A change in the Child Welfare Policy Manual now allows states to claim federal matching funds through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to reimburse half the cost of attorneys for children who are eligible for Title IV-E foster care benefits and half the cost of attorneys for their parents. This reimbursement can then be used to supplement the dependency system as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding with the Arizona Department of Child Services. The policy change allows the state to claim reimbursement retroactively for actual expenditures in the period January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 and every quarter thereafter. PDS will receive $3,853,974 for the initial retroactive period and up to $1.25 million a quarter thereafter. (C-56-20-002-M-00)