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FY13 ENACTED STATE BUDGET SUMMARY

 

On March 30, 2012, the New York State legislature passed the final pieces of the fiscal year 2012-13 (FY13) budget for the year that began April 1, 2012.  The budget totaled $132.6 billion, in keeping with the Governor’s promise to keep overall state spending growth below two percent. Both education and Medicaid spending were allowed four percent increases as agreed to last year.

 

The State’s improved financial situation is due in large part to the work invested by HSC and partners across the state to reform the Personal Income Tax this past fall and winter, which provided $1.9 billion in additional funding to begin to make restorations and avoid further devastating cuts. The projected deficit for FY14 is only $1 billion, a significant improvement compared to previous recent outyear deficits. 

 

Overall, the FY13 budget had mixed results for human services. While we enjoyed some important restorations, we have to put this in context of the nearly one billion in direct service cuts and an estimated 27,000 jobs lost in the last two years, as well as how human services faired in comparison to new investments in infrastructure and economic development and restorations in education which both saw about $1 billion in this budget compared to the approximately $150 million in human service restorations. Nonprofit providers were also put on the defensive against the threat of COLA elimination and executive compensation and administrative rate caps.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES

 

COLA

Among the restorations, HSC successfully lobbied against the elimination of the human services cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Although delayed to FY14, the multi-year deal will be continued without the inclusion of language regarding meeting new performance standards. This is a significant victory that protects the availability of the COLA in the future and does not tie earned salary adjustments to outcomes for this deserving workforce which hasn’t seen a COLA in what will now be four years as other operational costs such as health insurance, rents and utilities continue to rise.

 

Executive Compensation & Administrative Overhead Caps

Executive Compensation and Administrative Overhead regulations are not part of the final budget; the Governor will implement changes through his January 18^th, Executive Order. The Governor’s Executive Order places a $199,000 cap on State reimbursement of executive compensation, and also limits administrative overhead reimbursement to 25% in FY13, decreasing to 20% in FY14, and 15% in FY15 and beyond. State agencies are responsible for promulgating regulations to meet the requirements of the Executive Order.

 

Proposed regulations are expected to be issued on April 18 (this date was set by the Executive Order), and will appear in the Federal Register a few weeks following submission. At that time, there will be a public comment period and then the final regulations will be issued. Currently, they expect the regulations to be in place for January 2013.

 

HSC leadership met with Jeremy Creelan, Counsel to the Governor, who is heading up the effort early this week, and will continue to provide updates to our membership as the regulations move forward.

 

Efficiencies

The Governor and legislature reached a compromise to allow the administration flexibility to expedite government consolidation and streamlining. The “interchangeability” provisions give the state the authority to move certain funds between state agencies that will save money in back office functions such as business services, information technology and call centers. This will allow the state to move functions from one state agency to another to improve efficiency, ensure better performance, and reduce costs. The transfers will not be used to alter or shift programmatic functions of the agencies. Additionally, local governments and not-for-profits will be able to participate in the new centralized contracting process for goods and services through the Office of General Services.

 

The Legislature also accepted the Governor’s proposal to facilitate the integration of physical and behavioral health services “by enabling two or more of the Commissioners of Department of Health, Office of Mental Health, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and OPWDD to waive duplicative regulatory requirements.”

 

HSC continues to work with the administration to give the provider perspective on these reforms and had lobbied the legislature to support initiatives that will create efficiencies in the contracting process such as the single statewide application, a single statewide contract, and the Statewide Grants Management Portal; providing not-for-profits and state agencies a single web-based platform. 

 

OTHER GENERAL AREAS OF INTEREST

 

Member Items

Unfortunately, the return of new legislative member item funding was not included in the FY13 budget after early support from Speaker Silver. Last provided in FY10, many nonprofits across the state had relied on this funding to provide vital services to communities when other sources of funding were not available. However, news reports continue regarding old, unspent discretionary funds being provided on limited bases over the past couple years. HSC plans to continue advocacy for the return of new member items next year, with an improved transparency process, to support neighborhood initiatives that assist those most in need.

 

2-1-1

The 2-1-1 statewide information and referral service saves state and local government money by helping people navigate the complex world of public and private human service agencies.  A well-trained staff working with a comprehensive data base of regional services helps people find the right agency to call the first time, allowing state and local government staff to spend more of their time assisting callers who are eligible for their services. Though advocates asked for $3.28 million in state support for 2-1-1, which is partially supported by United Ways, local governments, and other private sources, $1 million was provided in the final budget.

 

PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS

 

Below are programs which have been restored, seen increases, or in rare cases, reductions, in the FY13 Enacted Budget. Programs not mentioned below, are level funded at the same amount from FY12 or had not been proposed for modification.

 

 

OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES (OCFS)

 

Close to Home

The FY13 budget includes the Governor’s new Close to Home Initiative that intends to reduce crime, improve outcomes for youth and their communities, and increase the efficiency of the juvenile justice facility system. Close to Home allows New York City (NYC) to take responsibility for the care of lower risk youth who come from the City. While youth committed to secure level juvenile justice facilities will continue to be in State custody and facilities, NYC youth currently in State non-secure and limited secure facilities will be transferred to City-administered programs and facilities. Youth from NYC needing this level of care going forward will be in the custody of NYC and served in settings that are appropriate for their educational, mental health, substance abuse and other service needs. NYC will take over this responsibility from the State with regard to youth in non-secure placements no sooner than September 1, 2012, and for youth in limited secure placements no earlier than April 1, 2013, following the approval by the State of comprehensive implementation plans for each level of care.

 

The OCFS State-operated juvenile justice system capacity will be reduced by approximately 320 beds and after care slots over the next two years (140 beds in FY13 and 180 beds in FY14) to reflect the impact of the initiative to place NYC youth in NYC-administered programs nearer to their homes. The associated savings to the state are estimated to be $4.5 million in FY13 and $27 million in FY14.

 

Child Welfare Funding

The enacted budget maintains the state reimbursement rate for preventive services at 65% in statute, even though the actual reimbursement rate will remain at 62% for FY13.  While largely symbolic, this language allows the state to return to 65% as the economy improves.

 

Child Care Subsidies

The Executive budget had proposed using $93 million in state funds to offset the loss of federal dollars to child care subsidies in FY13. The legislature added $2 million in TANF funds to the final budget. The final funding break down is $208.05 million in OCFS general funds and $324.28 million in TANF funds for a total of $532.3 million in child care subsidies. 

 

OCFS Programs (in millions)	FY11 Total Budget Amount	FY12 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Add/Cut
2-1-1	$0.000	$0.000	$0.750	$0.750
Caseworker Caseload Ratios Funding*	$1.510	$0.757	$0.757	$0.000
Center for Alt. Sentencing & Employment**	$0.000	$0.000	$2.000	$2.000
Child Advocacy Centers	$5.230	$5.229	$5.979	$0.750
Community Reinvestment	$0.000	$4.000	$1.750	-$2.250
NYS Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs**	$0.000	$0.000	$0.750	$0.750
Runaway and Homeless Youth	$2.210	$2.360	$2.575	$0.215
Safe Harbour	$3.000	$0.000	$1.500	$1.500
Settlement Houses*	$0.900	$0.450	$0.450	$0.000
Youth Dev. & Delinquency Prev. /Special Del. Prevention (YDDP/SDPP)	$28.240	$14.100	$15.400	$1.300
Total				$5.015

*Caseload Ratios and Settlement House funding had been recommended for elimination in the Executive proposal. In addition to the $450,000 in OCFS funding for Settlement Houses, $1M is added in TANF funding.

**New Funding in FY13.                        

 

 

OFFICE OF TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE (OTDA)

 

Takeover of Administration of the SSI Supplementation Program

The FY13 Budget accepts the State takeover of the administration of the State Supplemental Security Income (SSI) supplementation program, which was administered by the Federal Social Security Administration at significant cost to the State. The state plans to investment in new IT systems and staff and expects to save over $90 million annually after full implementation.

 

OTDA Programs (in millions)	FY11 Total Budget Amount	FY12 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Cut/Add
ESL/Adult Basic Education Class*				$0.250
NYS Supportive Housing Program**	$20.160	$19.730	$20.080	$1.500
NYS Solutions to End Homelessness**	$8.175	$7.520	$7.870	$1.500
Disability Advocacy Program***	$0.483	$0.098	$0.348	$0.250
Total				$3.500

*State Education Department Adult Literacy Education (ALE) and Employment Preparation Education (EPE) funds typically support ESL/ABE programs. The final budget also increases ALE by $1 million for a total of $5.293 million in FY13.

** In prior years, many individual supportive housing and homeless service programs have been combined to become NYSSHP and STEHP. Therefore, FY11 figures shown are an estimate of the former programs.

***DAP was funded with TANF dollars in FY11 and FY12.

 

See Department of Health section for additional supportive housing investments.

TEMPORARY AID TO NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)

 

Public Assistance Grant Increase

The enacted budget provides the final 10 percent increase in the public assistance grant in full, rather than split over FY13 and FY14, as proposed in the Executive budget. The last of a three part phase in will be provided in two installments in FY13 on July 1, 2012 and October 1, 2012, for a total of $16 million that will include $12 million in TANF funding and $4 million in general funds.

 

TANF Programs (in millions)	FY11 Total Budget Amount	FY12 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Add/Cut
ACCESS- Welfare to Careers	$0.250	$0.250	$0.800	$0.550
Adv. Tech Training & Info Networking (ATTAIN)	$7.000	$0.000	$3.000	$3.000
Advantage Afterschool	$11.213	$0.500	$0.500	$0.000
Bridge	$1.000	$0.102	$0.102	$0.000
Career Pathways	$5.000	$0.000	$0.750	$0.750
Caretaker Relative/Kinship	$0.250	$0.000	$0.051	$0.051
Centro of Oneida	$0.000	$0.025	$0.025	$0.000
Child Care Facilitated Enrollment	$0.000	$0.000	$1.265	$1.265
Child Care SUNY/CUNY	$1.643	$0.334	$0.334	$0.000
Community Reinvestment/Alternatives to Det.	$0.000	$0.000	$1.950	$1.950
Community Solutions for Transportation	$0.000	$0.112	$0.112	$0.000
Displaced Homemakers Program	$1.605	$0.546	$0.546	$0.000
Educational Resources	$1.250	$0.000	$0.250	$0.250
Emergency Homeless Needs	$0.125	$0.176	$0.500	$0.324
Food Pantry Initiative			$0.250	$0.250
Non-Residential Domestic Violence	$1.449	$0.510	$1.210	$0.700
Nurse Family Partnership*	$2.000	$0.000	$2.000	$2.000
Preventive Services	$6.000	$0.610	$0.610	$0.000
Public Assistance Grant				$12.000
Refugee Resettlement**	$0.500	$0.102	$0.102	$0.000
Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority	$0.500	$0.082	$0.082	$0.000
Settlement Houses	$1.000	$0.500	$1.000	$0.500
Strengthening Families through Stronger Fathers	$0.000	$0.200	$0.200	$0.000
Wage Subsidy Program	$0.409	$0.950	$0.950	$0.000
Wheels for Work	$0.000	$0.144	$0.144	$0.000
Total				$25.590

*Nurse Family Partnership is funded with $2 million in TANF funds and $.5 million in DOH funding.

** Refugee Resettlement funding is transferred to the new Office of New Americans in the State Dept.

***Public Assistance Grant increase total for FY13 is $16 million ($12 million TANF and $4 million general funds).

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH)

Health Insurance Exchange

The Health Insurance Exchange that New York State is required to set up under federal health care reforms to expand coverage did not make it into the final budget agreement.  The Governor will now have to issue an Executive Order to create an Exchange or face having the federal government develop a plan for New York.

 

MRT Supportive Housing Development Program

The budget establishes and funds a new Supportive Housing Development Program, recommended by the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) that will provide service funding, rent subsidies and capital dollars to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients. The new fund will be supported with $60 million in State general funds this year, and $75 million State general funds in each of the following two years, with funding originating in the NYS Department of Health, to be distributed to HCR, OTDA, OMH, OASAS, OPWDD and the DOH AIDS Institute. To read more about this important new investment see the Supportive Housing Network’s summary at: http://shnny.org/budget-policy/state/

 

State Relief for Local Medicaid Expenses

The budget approves a state takeover of growth in the local share of Medicaid costs and implements a phased takeover of local government Medicaid administration expenses. In 2013-14, local government Medicaid growth will be reduced to two percent, and then reduced by an additional one percent annually over the subsequent two years so that in 2015-16, counties and New York City will no longer have to contribute toward the growth of Medicaid expenses. The takeover of the three percent Medicaid growth factor is expected to save counties and New York City $1.2 billion over five state fiscal years.

 

Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC)

The budget restores $30.6 million to EPIC for drugs on a participant's Part D formulary during the initial coverage and catastrophic phases of Medicare Part D. Participants, instead of paying the Part D co-payment which is a percentage of a drug's cost, will only be responsible for the EPIC co-payment that will be no higher than $20.

 

Early Intervention

The final budget rejects proposed Child Health Plus insurance coverage for the Early Intervention program and eliminates a $1.2 million appropriation for this purpose. The FY13 budget also streamlines the Early Intervention program with administrative functions, including paying claims and contract authority, assumed by the Department of Health to provide additional mandate relief to counties. It also eliminates the proposal to reduce payments by two percent. To read more, see the Assembly Majority's Conference Committee Summary for the 2012-2013 budget (PDF p 65 of 110):

http://assembly.state.ny.us/Reports/WAM/2012conf_comm/2012conf_comte_summary.pdf

 

Additional Medicaid Redesign Changes

To see more about the many Medicaid Redesign proposals that have been included in the FY13 budget, please go to:

 

DOH’s 2012-13 Enacted Budget Webinar Presentation - “2012-13 Enacted Budget MRT Phase II Proposals” at: http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/

 

Additional Medicaid Redesign information can be found in the Assembly Majority's Conference Committee Summary for the 2012-2013 budget (PDF page 67-72 of 110):

http://assembly.state.ny.us/Reports/WAM/2012conf_comm/2012conf_comte_summary.pdf

 

 

OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH (OMH)

 

The FY13 budget includes the following mental health service adjustments under OMH:

 

·         $3.9 million in restorations to reflect the rejection of several Article VII actions pertaining to the Sex Offender Management Treatment Act (SOMTA).

 

·         $1.1 million added to reject an Executive proposal to include local correctional facilities as appropriate institutions for incapacitated individuals awaiting trial.

 

·         $800,000 added for veteran’s peer-to-peer pilot programs and $500,000 for Veteran’s Health Services.

 

·         $800,000 added for demonstration programs for counties impacted by facility closures in FY12.

 

·         The budget restores “Prescriber Prevails;” requiring managed care plans to automatically approve prescribers’ and patients’ medication preferences for anti‐psychotic medications, even if they are not on plan formularies.

 

·         The budget allows the Behavioral Health Advisory Council to have joint oversight of behavioral health services when there are duplicative requirements from OMH and OASAS.

 

 

OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (OPWDD)

 

The FY13 budget includes the following developmental disability service adjustments under OPWDD:

 

·         $250,000 for Statewide Regional Centers for Autism Spectrum Disorders, and provides $50,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York.

 

·         The enacted budget rejects the proposal to allow OPWDD to establish Medicaid waiver pilot programs without a competitive process.

 

 

 

 STATE OFFICE FOR THE AGING (SOFA)

 

SOFA Programs (in millions)	FY11 Total Budget Amount	FY12 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Total Budget Amount	FY13 Cut/Add
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood NORCs*	$4.054	$4.054	$4.054	$0.000
Community Services for the Elderly (CSE)**	$15.312	$15.312	$15.368	$0.056
Expanded In-home Services for the Elderly (EISEP)**	$46.035	$46.035	$46.845	$0.809
Regional Caregiver Centers of Excellence	$0.230	$0.115	$0.000	-$0.115
Total				$0.750

*NORCs and NNORCs each received restorations of $2.027M. The Governor had proposed to reduce funding by $229,000 each.                                                                    

 **Funding was added to both CSE and EISEP to make up for funding losses due to census population changes.                                                                                

 

 

Division of Veteran’s Affairs (DVA)

 

The Legislature provided $150,000 in additional support under the Veterans Counseling Services Program to restore support for the following programs:

 

 

 

Division of Housing and Community Renewal

 

Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs

The enacted budget restored and increased funding for the Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) and the Rural Preservation Program (RPP), from $8.48 million to $10 million and from $3.54 million to $4.2 million, respectively. NPP and RPP promote and preserve housing for low- and moderate- income individuals by providing planning and administrative funds to community-based nonprofit corporations known as Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies.

 

 

Office of New Americans

The FY13 budget establishes an Office of New Americans within the Department of State to support efforts to assist legal permanent residents to better participate in the state's economy and civic life. The Office of New Americans will focus on expanding access to English language education services, promoting U.S. citizenship and civic involvement, and expanding business opportunities for new American business owners.

 

 

DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES (DCJS)

 

The FY13 budget includes the following justice service adjustments under DCJS:

 

·         More flexibility for funding alternatives to incarceration and re-entry programs by allowing a $3.1 million appropriation allocated for Re-entry Task Forces to also be available for any program that helps to reduce the risk of re-offending.

 

·         $1.2 million increase for alternatives to incarceration programs.

 

·         Restoration of support for civil and criminal legal services programs, including domestic violence legal services, in the amount of $3.9 million with receipts from the Legal Services Assistance Fund and $1.218 million from the Criminal Justice Improvement Account.

 

·         $450,000 for legal services for immigrant students and families.

 

·         $200,000 in funding to support not-for-profit programs that provide postsecondary educational programs in prison.

 

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

 

Foreclosure Relief Unit

The budget provides $9 million for the continuation of mortgage foreclosure counseling services through Homes and Community Renewal, with additional services financed with proceeds of the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement Agreement. In addition, the Department of Financial Services will establish a new Foreclosure Relief Unit to provide counseling and mediation services to help New Yorkers stay in their homes.

Thanks to Chris Winward for this analysis.