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Department of Social and Health Services - Economic Services Administration

  Annual FTEs General Fund State Other Funds Total Funds
  (Dollars in Thousands)
Estimated Expenditures 4,150.8 718,410 1,499,140 2,217,550
2021-23 Maintenance Level 4,077.2 798,316 1,462,121 2,260,437
Difference from 2019-21 (73.6) 79,906 (37,019) 42,887
% Change from 2019-21 (1.8%) 11.1% (2.5%) 1.9%

2021-23 Policy Other Changes

SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation 1.3 0 384 384
Administrative Reduction (58.0) (14,370) (8,311) (22,681)
Utilize Unspent TANF Funding 0.0 (17,413) 17,413 0
Citrix and VPN Charges 0.0 338 140 478
Personal Protective Equipment 0.0 64 42 106
Extension of Certification Reviews 0.0 672 863 1,535
DSHS Program Expansion Study 0.50 77 0 77
Transitional Food Assistance 0.70 989 0 989
Expand TANF Time Limit 0.0 1,202 22,841 24,043
Universal Basic Income Study 0.50 77 0 77
Facility One-time Costs 0.0 455 288 743
2021-23 Policy Other Changes Total (55.0) (27,909) 33,660 5,751

2021-23 Policy Comp Changes

Pension Adjustments, nonrate 0.0 344 225 569
State Employee Benefits 0.0 (133) (85) (218)
WFSE General Government 0.0 (15,252) (9,934) (25,186)
Temporary Layoffs and Other Savings 0.0 (3,512) (2,229) (5,741)
Rep Employee Health Benefits 0.0 (790) (503) (1,293)
Non-Rep General Wage Increase 0.0 (2,846) (1,454) (4,300)
2021-23 Policy Comp Changes Total 0.0 (22,189) (13,980) (36,169)
Total Policy Changes (55.0) (50,098) 19,680 (30,418)
2021-23 Policy Level 4,022.2 748,218 1,481,801 2,230,019
Difference from 2019-21 (128.6) 29,808 (17,339) 12,469
% Change from 2019-21 (3.1%) 4.1% (1.2%) 0.56%

Policy Changes

SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation

One-time federal funding is awarded to the Economic Services Administration to create an automated fraud prevention dashboard and database system to detect criminal fraud or other fraudulent activities in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (General Fund - Federal)

Administrative Reduction

Funding and FTE staff are reduced to reflect anticipated administrative savings due to the equipment, contracts, and hiring freeze directed by the governor. (General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Cash, other funds)

Utilize Unspent TANF Funding

Unspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding is reallocated to other TANF services and poverty reduction items. (General Fund - State, General Fund - Federal Dedicated, General Fund - Temporary Assist for Needy Families)

Citrix and VPN Charges

Funding is provided to cover the Department of Social and Health Services' increased costs for Citrix and virtual private network (VPN) charges due to the rise in the number of staff working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (General Fund - State, General Fund - Federal, General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, other funds)

Personal Protective Equipment

Funding is provided to cover the increased need for personal protective equipment (PPE) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - State, General Fund - Cash, other funds)

Extension of Certification Reviews

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and per the federal Continuing Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 8337, Sec. 4603), the Department of Social and Health Services has opted to suspend the mid-certification reviews and extend eligibility reviews temporarily between November 2020 and June 2021 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the state's Food Assistance Program (FAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF), the State Family Assistance Program (SFA), and the Aged, Blind or Disabled Program (ABD). This option allows the department to smooth out the spike in the certification review workload and ensure eligible households maintain access to assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. (General Fund - Temporary Assist for Needy Families, General Fund - State, General Fund - Federal Dedicated)

DSHS Program Expansion Study

Funding is provided to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of expanding existing social net programs to undocumented Washingtonians, including the cost, operational impacts, and recommendations. (General Fund - State)

Transitional Food Assistance

Funding is provided for the Economic Services Administration to create and implement a state cash benefit program and transitional food assistance program for households with children that are recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Food Assistance Program (FAP) but are not recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The transitional food program will offer a one-time cash benefit and extend food benefits for up to five months after an eligible household is terminated from SNAP or FAP due to voluntary closure or for being over income. (General Fund - State)

Expand TANF Time Limit

Funding is provided to expand the 60-month time limit in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program through the 2021-23 biennium to households experiencing a hardship. (General Fund - Federal Dedicated, General Fund - State, General Fund - Temporary Assist for Needy Families)

Universal Basic Income Study

Funding is provided to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of implementing a universal basic income pilot program, including research, costs, operational impacts, and recommendations. (General Fund - State)

Facility One-time Costs

Funding is provided for one-time relocation and project costs to support the Department of Social and Health Services' leased facilities strategic plan. (General Fund - State, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Federal, other funds)

Pension Adjustments, nonrate

This funds the potential impact of Department of Retirement Systems request legislation on pension service credit and benefit calculation. It will prevent budget reductions such as temporary layoffs from negatively affecting employee retirement benefits. (General Fund - State, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Federal, other funds)

State Employee Benefits

Health insurance funding is provided for state employees who are not represented by a union, who are covered by a bargaining agreement that is not subject to financial feasibility determination, or who are not part of the coalition of unions for health benefits. The insurance funding rate is $988 per employee per month for fiscal year 2022 and $1,018 per employee per month for fiscal year 2023. (General Fund - Cash, General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, other funds)

WFSE General Government

This adjustment reflects the impact of the 2021-23 collective bargaining agreement. (General Fund - Cash, General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, other funds)

Temporary Layoffs and Other Savings

This item reflects savings achieved from temporary layoffs or similar actions. (General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Cash, General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, other funds)

Rep Employee Health Benefits

This provides health insurance funding for the master agreement for employee benefits as part of a coalition of unions. The insurance funding rate is $988 per employee per month for fiscal year 2022 and $1,018 per employee per month for fiscal year 2023. (General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Cash, other funds)

Non-Rep General Wage Increase

This reflects savings from the cancellation of the July 1, 2020 general wage increase for some non-represented, non-classified employees. (General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - Cash, General Fund - Local CRC Oregon, other funds)