Funding shifts within HHS and Education budgets; Slight gains in Juvenile Justice April 27, 2011
Greetings!
The House has released its overall budget proposal. It includes shifts in funding among items within the HHS and Education budgets, but no overall changes in funding in either department. Juvenile Justice is cut about $1 million less in this new version of the budget proposal. Please see below for more details.
The House proposal is being debated (and possibly amended) today and tomorrow in the House Appropriations Committee and will be voted on by the full House next Tuesday. The resulting budget will be the final House budget.
Line-by-line comparisons of the new draft of the House budget vs. the subcommittee reports released earlier, from Action for Children. Yellow highlights show the changes from the subcommittee reports:
Budget documents of the new draft of the House budget, from the Legislature. If you have difficulty opening these, please visit www.ncleg.net and look under "News and Information" for "2011 Budget Information" and click on the items: - Money Report: Lists the dollar amounts cut or added to each line-item
- Special Provisions: Changes in statute that go along with the dollar amount changes.
The Special Provisions contain many changes from the previous version of the House budget proposal. More detail on the Special Provisions will be shared on this Friday's conference call and in Friday's Legislative Update.
Highlighted Changes to HHS, Education and Juvenile Justice Budgets K-12 Education The bottom-line K-12 Education budget figure decreased in this new version of the budget, but only because the $65 million transfer of More at Four funds from DPI to DCD was shown in this budget. Otherwise, the base spending number would have been the same.
Cuts to the following line-items were increased in new proposal:
- Textbooks
- Instructional Supplies
- Teaching Fellows Fund
- Connectivity
Cuts to the following line-items were reduced an equal amount:
- Funds for intellectually gifted students
- Principals/Assistant Principals: no "guaranteed principal" positions are to be cut under the new proposal
- Instructional Support
- Geographically Isolated School Allotment
- Center for the Advancement of Teaching
In addition, Communities In Schools and Teach for America are NOT cut in this new version.The Science Olympiad was given back funding for the upcoming year, and a new investment was made in the PTA Parent Involvement Initiative.
Finally, DPI was given a management flexibility cut instead of several other specific cuts (like Tech Services, Curriculum, Communications, etc), which will allow the Department to take the funding where it finds it most appropriate/least painful.
Health and Human Services The bottom-line HHS budget figure increased in this new version of the budget, but only because the $65 million transfer of More at Four funds from DPI to DCD was shown in this budget. Otherwise, the base spending number would have been the same.
Cuts to the following line-items were increased in new proposal:
- DMA: Behavioral Health Waiver
- DMA: Community Cares for NC Savings
- DMA: new cut to increase rates of generic drugs
Cuts to the following line-items were reduced an equal amount:
- DPH: Early Intervention
- DSS: NO cuts to special adoption vendor payments or child welfare education collaborative funds
- DMA: Targeted rate adjustments and Adjust provider rates
- DMA: Modify pharmacy services
- DMH: NO cut to LME Administration
Juvenile Justice The bottom-line Juvenile Justice budget figure increased by about $1 million. Many funding shifts were made within the JJ budget. Highlights below. Cuts to the following line-items were increased in the new proposal: - Administrative Efficiencies
- A list of new cuts were made to "more accurately reflect actual expenditures," in equipment, computer services, utility repair services, etc.
- Vacant positions (3) were eliminated
Cuts to the following line-items were reduced: - NO cuts to Superintendent, teacher ratios, Education Directors and Chaplains
- Staff Development
Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office The new version of the House budget proposal cuts the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, an advocate and two administrative positions from the Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office. This is an improvement over the previous version in that two advocates are retained, but without an Executive Director, the Office has no leadership.
Sincerely, Action for Children North Carolina |
