SB 33-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2005 SESSION
05/09
SENATE BILL 33-FN
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill requires the division of the department of health and human services that is responsible for services to children, youth, and families to seek accreditation from the Council on Accreditation or an equivalent national organization.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05-1032
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT requiring the department of health and human services to seek national accreditation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Findings and Purpose. The general court recognizes that the department of health and human services, division of children, youth, and families is the primary state agency responsible for protecting children from abuse and neglect and providing essential services to vulnerable children and families in need of care, treatment, and rehabilitative resources. The division of children, youth, and families has a case load of over 12,000 individuals and an annual budget of over $8,000,000. The general court hereby finds that requiring the department of health and human services to maintain accreditation from the Council on Accreditation or a similar national organization not only will enhance the department’s accountability and responsiveness to the citizens of this state, but also will help to ensure that limited resources are used most effectively to protect and improve the lives of families and children in need.
2 New Section; Department of Health and Human Services; National Accreditation. Amend RSA 170-G by inserting after section 4-a the following new section:
170-G:4-b Accreditation. The department shall achieve and maintain accreditation by the Council on Accreditation or an equivalent organization.
3 Procedure for Accreditation.
I. On or before March 31, 2006, the department of health and human services shall submit an application for accreditation of the division responsible for services to children, youth and families to the Council on Accreditation or an equivalent organization.
II. The department shall complete the self-study required by the Council on Accreditation or an equivalent organization within the time frame established by that organization and shall submit any required corrective action within 90 days of receiving the final report from the organization’s site review team.
III. The department shall notify the chairs of the house and senate committees responsible for health and human services and children and families when it has accomplished each step required in paragraphs I and II.
VI. The self-study completed by the department and all applications, reports, including preliminary accreditation reports, the response to the preliminary accreditation report, the final accreditation report, maintenance of accreditation reports, the Council on Accreditation’s incident self-reporting form, and similar documents related to accreditation submitted by the department or by the Council on Accreditation shall be public documents.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
05-1032
Revised 2/2/05
SB 33 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring the department of health and human services to seek national accreditation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will increase state expenditures and revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2006 and in each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department indicated that a plan to obtain accreditation by the Council on Accreditation (COA) for children and family services was submitted to the Legislature on January 30, 2004, pursuant to Chapter 206, Laws of 2003. The report identified three categories of costs: accreditation costs payable to COA, costs incurred in completing the COA self-study and preparing for the COA site visit, and costs associated with bringing the Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) into compliance with the COA standards. The report assumed an existing employee would serve as the Accreditation Coordinator; however, the Department indicated the position has since been committed to another program. The Department assumed the accreditation costs will be incurred in the first year and paid with general funds. The remaining costs would be paid with 50% general funds and 50% with federal funds. The COA will require a 24-hour on-call central intake system with DCYF staff and police responding to calls. This system would be staffed with a combination of full-time, hourly, on-call, and weekend staff. The Department assumed it would no longer be necessary to maintain the existing helpline contract which would save $40,240 per year. Based on the report, the cost for the Department to achieve accreditation will be as follows:
FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009
Accreditation Costs
(4 year cycle)
Application Fee $ 600
Accreditation Fee 17,200
Site Visit Fees 8,000
Maintenance
of Accreditation 750
COA Self Study and preparation
for site visit 1500
Subtotal Accreditation Costs: $ 28,050
Costs to comply with COA Standards
Accreditation Coordinator LG 26 $ 39,390 $ 41,165 $ 42,998 $ 44,928
Benefits @ 44% of Salary 17,332 18,113 18,919 19,768
Equipment 3,000
Travel 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500
4 Child Protection Services Worker
Coordinators LG 23 138,060 144,144 150,696 157,560
Benefits @ 44% of Salary 60,746 63,423 66,306 69,326
Equipment 12,000
Travel 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
Subtotal Compliance Costs $283,028 $279,345 $291,419 $ 304,082
24-hour Central Intake
Child Protection Services Workers II, LG 19
1st and 2nd shifts
plus benefits at 44%. $190,382 $198,806 $207,118 $ 207,118
2 Weekend Child Protection Services
Worker II, LG 19 first year rate
of $127.13 per day plus benefits
at 44% for 116 days. 42,470 44,349 46,203 46,203
1 On-call Supervisor, LG 23, First
year rate of $20.20 per hour
plus benefits of 7.65% for 1,688
hours per year. 36,714 38,351 40,073 40,073
Assessment
6 Child Protection Services Workers II, LG 19
for first and second shifts with
benefits at 44% . 285,574 298,210 310,677 310,677
3 Weekend Child Protection
Services Worker II, LG 19
first year rate of $127.13 per
day plus benefits at 44%
for 116 days. 62,465 66,524 69,305 69,305
9 On-call Child Protection
Services Worker II, LG 19
. first year rate of $16.95 per
hour plus benefits of 7.65%
for 1,688 hours per year 31,473 32,865 34,239 34,239
1 On-call Supervisor, LG 23,
first year rate of $20.20 per
hour plus benefits at 7.65%
for 1,688 hours per year. 36,714 38,351 40,073 40,073
Subtotal Intake and Assessment
Expenditures: $685,792 $717,456 $747,688 $ 747,688
Helpline Contract Savings (40,240) (40,240) (40,240) (40,240)
Total Expenditures less
Helpline: $956,630 $956,561 $998,867 $1,011,530
Federal Revenue, 50% of
non-accreditation costs $464,290 $478,281 $499,434 $ 505,765
The Department stated this report was not an in depth assessment of the entire DCYF system and, if the Department applies for accreditation, there will be substantially more areas and standards that will need to be addressed. The Department is not able to identify these areas or estimate the additional costs.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have no fiscal impact on county revenue or expenditures.