HB 1662-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2639
05/08
HOUSE BILL 1662-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Hoell, Merr. 27; Rep. Cushman, Hills. 28; Rep. Santonastaso, Ches. 18
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits simultaneous employment with the division for children, youth, and families and child placing agencies.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2639
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Department of Health and Human Services; Restriction on Simultaneous Employment. Amend RSA 126-A:4 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:
VIII. No person shall be simultaneously employed by the department of health and human services, division for children youth and families, and a licensed adoption or child placing agency.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
24-2639
12/10/23
HB 1662-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | $131,000 - $351,000 | $146,000 - $376,000 | $160,000 - $401,000 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Funds, Federal Funds | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill prohibits any person from being simultaneously employed by (1) the Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), and (2) a licensed adoption or child placing agency. The Department states that licensure for these entities falls within RSA 170-E, the same statute that governs the state's foster care program. The Department assumes that an individual serving as a foster parent may be considered an employee of one of the aforementioned agencies. For this reason, the Department assumes the bill will prohibit DCYF employees from also serving as foster parents. Given this interpretation, the Department states that it is unclear whether the bill's prohibition will be considered retroactive, which the Department defines as applying to DCYF employees who are already serving as foster parents at the time of the bill's effective date. In the absence of affirmative retroactive language, the Department assumes the bill's application will be prospective in nature and that current DCYF employees who serve as foster parents will be permitted to continue doing so.
Given the above assumptions, the Department expects the bill will reduce the number of qualified individuals serving as foster parents. The Department reports that as of October 1, 2023, there were 375 children placed in 301 foster homes, with an available pool of 564 qualified individuals/households. Of the qualified individuals/households, 10 are currently DCYF employees, representing approximately 1.8 percent of those available to provide foster care. The Department estimates that in the long-term, the bill will result in the loss of 10 foster homes per year, impacting 13 children and requiring four weeks of shelter and related services per child. Below are the Department's estimated cost projections, which assume that the four weeks of shelter will be split between hotel and residential placements.
| FY25 | FY26 | FY27 | FY25 | FY26 | FY27 |
| Low-End Estimates |
| High-End Estimates |
| ||
Hotelling (Including Food) | $ 45,500 | $ 54,600 | $ 63,700 | $ 63,700 | $ 72,800 | $ 81,900 |
Staffing | $ 28,600 | $ 31,200 | $ 33,800 | $ 33,800 | $ 36,400 | $ 39,000 |
Residential Placement | $ 57,123 | $ 59,979 | $ 62,978 | $ 253,921 | $ 266,617 | $ 279,948 |
Total: | $ 131,223 | $ 145,779 | $ 160,478 | $ 351,421 | $ 375,817 | $ 400,848 |
The Department anticipates that the bill will result in an increase in federal Title IV-E foster care funds, but does not state whether these funds will apply to all of the services above, or what the percentage match will be. It is assumed for the purposes of this fiscal note that the costs will be paid for with some combination of state general funds and federal matching funds.
Finally, if the bill is indeed interpreted to apply to foster parents, the Department anticipates it may result in increased litigation related to the legality of preventing a specific class of individuals from being foster parents on the basis of their employment. The Department anticipates this litigation will come at some indeterminable cost.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services