DHS budget cuts lead to reduced foster payouts and senior meals

Budget cuts have prompted the Department of Human Services to slash more than $29 million from programs and services that support children, the elderly and adults requiring in-home support.

DHS announced Tuesday it will reduce the payment to families who foster and adopt children by 5 percent, or about $1 a day. Oklahoma has increased foster payments in recent years in response to a child welfare reform plan adopted to resolve a federal lawsuit. The agency said that with these cuts, families will still receive about $4 more per day than they would have five years ago.

About 30 contracted senior meal sites across the state may have to close. An agency estimate shows there will be 277,000 fewer meals over the next year at a reduction of $1.7 million.

Despite an extra $18 million from the Legislature this year, DHS Director Ed Lake said this round of cuts is necessary to mitigate the cumulative effects of previous cuts, the

need to cover additional services and the reality of Oklahoma contributing a greater share to Medicaid programs.

Over the past two years, DHS has lost $80 million from its operating budget and responded by reducing administrative costs.

“While there was no way to reduce this large of an amount from our budget without impacting direct services to clients, we have approached these reductions with extreme caution, working diligently to minimize the harm to the most vulnerable people being served,” Lake said in a news release.

Other cuts and freezes

The agency also will implement a six-month new enrollment freeze in the child care subsidy that helps low-income families afford day care. Child care homes that predominantly serve those families could be at risk, according to an internal analysis.

DHS authorizes child care subsidy payments for about 850 new applicants per month, and an estimated 1,000 children per month will be affected.

Clients who use the Medicaid ADvantage Waiver for in-home care and assistance rather than living in a nursing home could lose time with their caregivers. Tuesday’s announcement requires providers to bill fewer hours per week for clients who have been using more than the average.

For example, a person who gets 20 hours of inhome care per week could see their visits drop to 15 hours, the agency said.

Another waiver for developmentally disabled children and adults will be cut. The cap on in-home support will be reduced to $14,000 per year for adults, meaning more than 1,200 clients will lose about seven hours a week of support.

Children in the program will lose more than 4 hours of in-home support.

DHS said it also will eliminate local funding for SmartStart, which prepares young children for school. The statewide program will continue.

To accommodate the remaining budget reductions, DHS said it would ask Temporary Assistance for Needy Families work contractors to absorb $400,000 in cuts without affecting services.

The agency also will implement $3.4 million worth of administrative cutbacks by closing some offices and having employees either work remotely or move to another office. Some positions will be cut, along with information technology services, contracts and training.

Those office closures, and another $2.9 million in reductions elsewhere, will be announced at a later time.