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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session |
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HB 2955: human services; 2025-2026
Sponsor: Representative Livingston (with permission of committee on Rules), LD 28
Committee on Appropriations
Overview
Contains session law provisions relating to human services needed to implement the FY 2026 budget.
History
Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Service Model
The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) oversees the extended foster care program (EFC program) for qualified young adults. To participate in the EFC program, a qualified young adult must meet certain eligibility requirements. DCS must provide a progress report every six months to the Young Adult Administrative Review Panel (Panel) for each participating young adult. The Panel must review the qualified young adult's voluntary extended foster care case plan at least once every six months. This includes reviewing the services and supports provided and needed to assist the young adult in their successful transition to adulthood.
DCS must develop and coordinate educational case management plans for participating young adults to assist them in accomplishing the following: 1) graduating from high school; 2) passing the statewide assessment to measure pupil achievement; 3) applying for postsecondary education and financial assistance; and 4) completing postsecondary education classes (A.R.S. § 8-521.02).
Laws 2023, Chapter 141, established as session law, required DCS to prepare a scope of work for an EFC Model that includes supportive services and required case management provided by contracted community providers for young adults who are between 17.5 and 21 years old and participating in the EFC program. The legislation also created the Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Model Fund (EFC Model Fund) to be administered by DCS and consisting of legislative appropriations. According to DCS's EFC Model Quarterly Report, as of March 22, 2025, there were 1,278 young adults in the EFC program (DCS March 2025 Quarterly Report).
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP is a federal program that provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget and help a family afford nutritious food. To be eligible for SNAP benefits, an applicant must meet specific age, household, employment and income requirements (USDA). The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) receives and reviews applications of eligible recipients for SNAP benefits.
Applicants may need to meet general work requirements to qualify for SNAP. Specifically, for applicants between 16 and 59 years old requirements include: 1) registering for work; 2) participating in SNAP Employment and Training or workfare, if assigned by DES; 3) accepting a suitable job if offered; and 4) not voluntarily quitting a job or reducing work hours below 30 hours a week without a good reason. To be exempt from these requirements, an applicant must be: 1) already working at least 30 hours a week or earning wages at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours; 2) meeting work requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the unemployment compensation program; 3) taking care of a child under six years old or an incapacitated person; 4) unable to work due to a physical or mental limitation; 5) participating regularly in an alcohol or drug treatment program; or 6) studying in a school or training program at least part-time. An applicant between 18 and 54 years old that can work and has no dependents may need to meet the additional able-bodied adult without dependents work requirement in addition to the general work requirements (USDA).
An electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card transaction means the use of a credit or debit card service, automated teller machine or point-of-sale terminal or access to an online system for the withdrawal of cash assistance provided or for the processing of a payment for merchandise or a service from cash assistance provided (A.R.S. § 46-297).
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
The TANF Block Grant is used to: 1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in homes of relatives; 2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage; 3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and 4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families (42 U.S.C. § 601). DES utilizes TANF funding to provide temporary financial assistance to dependent children in their own homes or in the homes of responsible caretaker individuals.
According to the FY 2025 Appropriations Report, produced by the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), the FY 2025 budget continued the provision that allows DES to drug test TANF recipients if there is a reasonable suspicion that they are using illegal drugs (Laws 2024, Chapter 217).
Provisions
Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Service Model (EFC Service Model)
1. Codifies the EFC Service Model as permanent law. (Sec. 1)
2. Directs DCS to prepare a scope of work for an EFC Service Model that includes supportive services and required case management provided by contracted community providers for young adults who participate in the EFC program within 10 days after the effective date of this legislation.
3. Requires the scope of work for the EFC Service Model to include:
a) weekly engagement with each young adult;
b) life skills training;
c) mental and physical health and well-being;
d) relational permanency;
e) education and enrollment assistance;
f) assistance with accessing safe housing attainment and stability for young adults;
g) career and employment planning and readiness;
h) assistance with accessing transportation services for young adults; and
i) flexible funding to support the unique needs of the young adult, including educational services and job training or workforce development.
4. Specifies that the EFC Service Model must include an extended foster care success coaching program for young adults in the EFC program. (Sec. 1)
5. Limits the caseload for EFC success coaches to no more than 20 young adults. (Sec. 1)
Extended Foster Care Success Coaching Program (EFC Success Coaching Program)
6. Requires the EFC Success Coaching Program to be based on a practice that is youth driven to:
a) promote permanent connections;
b) support the development of an educational foundation and skill set that enables young adults to gain and maintain employment to support their financial needs;
c) assist young adults to reside in safe, stable and secure housing;
d) link young adults to appropriate services that address physical and behavioral health needs;
e) build skills for developing personal agency; and
f) ensure that young adults have the cognitive and social-emotional competencies essential to survival.
7. Requires the EFC Success Coaching Program to:
a) operate from an evidence-based framework;
b) ensure that the young adults served are aware of their rights to normalcy;
c) assist young adults to advocate with caregivers to experience activities and opportunities that meet individual interests;
d) support caregivers in identifying root causes of behaviors that present barriers to transition and provide opportunities that assist young adults in healing and addressing underlying trauma;
e) develop feedback that allows young adults to communicate their needs and satisfaction with provided services; and
f) deliver interventions that are tailored to each young adult's strengths and experiences. (Sec. 1)
8. Directs each EFC success coach to:
a) successfully complete a DCS-administered foster care success coach training program;
b) possess a bachelor's or associate degree or have equivalent credits equal to an associate's degree;
c) have experience working with youth or young adults; and
d) exhibit the belief that all young adults have the capacity to be successful in life. (Sec. 1)
9. Permits an EFC success coach to possess skills acquired through alternative routes such as relevant job training, community college attendance, military service or an apprenticeship in lieu of a degree or credits. (Sec. 1)
10. Requires DCS to supervise and monitor the success of the EFC Success Coaching Program. (Sec. 1)
11. Directs DCS to solicit agencies to administer the EFC Service Model within 30 days and select an agency within 90 days after the effective date of this legislation. (Sec. 1)
12. Requires DCS to implement the EFC Service Model within 150 days after the effective date of this legislation. (Sec. 1)
13.
Repeals the Extended Foster Care
Comprehensive Service Model Fund on July 1, 2025, and directs any unexpended
and unencumbered monies remaining in the fund to be deposited into the state
General Fund (state GF). (Sec. 1)
Extended Foster Care Quality Review Committee (EFC Review Committee)
14. Directs DCS to establish an EFC Review Committee within DCS consisting of DCS staff members. (Sec. 1)
15. Tasks the EFC Review Committee with confirming that a young adult who participates in extended foster care:
a) meets the eligibility criteria;
b) has connections to supportive adults who are actively involved in the young adult's life;
c) has a person-centered case and transition plan that supports the young adult's identified goals and future planning; and
d) is acquiring individualized skills to develop the tools that are needed to thrive outside of the EFC program. (Sec. 1)
16. Instructs DCS, annually on November 1, to submit a report on the EFC Service Model to JLBC, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee or its successor committees. (Sec. 1)
17. Requires the EFC report to include data and statistics on:
a) the support and services to be offered by the EFC Service Model;
b) EFC's program's eligibility requirements;
c) the young adult's program responsibilities;
d) case and transition planning opportunities;
e) health insurance coverage for young adults in the EFC program;
f) educational opportunities for young adults in the EFC program;
g) opportunities for mentors through the EFC program;
h) transportation services for young adults in the EFC program, including obtaining a driver-license; and
i) housing, including semi-supervised living arrangements if such arrangements best meet the young adult's needs. (Sec. 1)
18. Requires DCS to provide to JLBC a quarterly report that includes:
a) the number of young adults served in the EFC Service Model;
b) the young adult's participation in regular reviews with EFC staff; and
c) other performance measures as updated by the EFC Review Committee and as determined by the chairperson of JLBC. (Sec. 1)
19. Makes the EFC Model Fund a permanent fund that consists of legislative appropriations, to be administered by DCS for the purposes of implementing the EFC Service Model and the EFC Success Coaching Program. (Sec. 1)
20. Specifies that the EFC Model Fund monies are continuously appropriated and exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 1)
21. Defines Department and young adult. (Sec. 1)
SNAP Eligibility Evaluations
22. Directs DES, to determine or evaluate SNAP eligibility, to:
a) enter into a data matching agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue (DOR) to identify households with lottery or gambling winnings of $3,000 or more;
b) treat the data obtained as verified on receipt, to the extent permissible under federal law; and
c) refer those households with lottery or gambling winnings that are equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly or disabled households as defined under federal law to DES for further investigation if the DOR data cannot be verified on receipt. (Sec. 6)
24. Requires DES to review its own information to identify individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility, including an individual’s change in unemployment benefits, employment status or wages on a quarterly basis. (Sec. 6)
25. Directs DES to review its own information that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility, including potential changes in residency as identified by out-of-state EBT card transactions on a monthly basis. (Sec. 6)
26. Instructs DES to review information provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility on a monthly basis. (Sec. 6)
27. Requires DES to review information provided by DOR that identifies households that have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility, including potential changes in income, wages or residency as identified by tax records. (Sec. 6)
28. Requires DES, on at least a quarterly basis, to post on its own public website the following aggregated amounts that were obtained from noncompliance and fraud investigations related to SNAP, excluding confidential and personally identifiable information:
a) the number of SNAP cases that were investigated for intentional violations or fraud;
b) the number of SNAP cases that were referred to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution;
c) the amount of improper payments and expenditures;
d) the amount of monies recovered;
e) the amount of monies spent for improper payments and ineligible recipients as a percentage of cases that were investigated and reviewed; and
f) the amount of monies spent by EBT card transactions that occurred outside of Arizona, categorized by state. (Sec. 6)
29. Directs DHS and DES, on at least a monthly basis, to review the following information from federal sources to assess a recipient's continued eligibility for SNAP:
a) earned income information, death register information, incarceration records, supplemental security income information, beneficiary records, earnings information and pension information that is maintained by the United States (U.S.) Social Security Administration;
b) income and employment information that is maintained by the National Directory of New Hires database and child support enforcement data that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
c) payment and earnings information that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
d) national fleeing felon information that is maintained by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Sec. 6)
30. Directs DES to review an individual's case that is enrolled in SNAP if DES receives information that indicates a change in circumstances that may affect the individual's SNAP eligibility. (Sec. 6)
SNAP Mandatory Employment and Training
31. Instructs DES to require able-bodied adults who are under 60 years of age and are receiving SNAP to participate in the mandatory employment and training program, unless the recipient meets the exempt criteria. (Sec. 6)
32. Outlines the criteria that a SNAP recipient must meet to be exempted from the mandatory employment and training program:
a) be in compliance with the work registration requirements under Title IV of the Social Security Act or the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation System;
b) be a parent or other member of a household who is responsible for the care of an incapacitated person or a dependent child who is under the age of six;
c) be a bona fide student who is enrolled at least half time in any recognized school, training program or institution of higher education unless the recipient is ineligible to participate in the mandatory employment and training program;
d) be a regular participant in a drug addiction or an alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program;
e) be employed a minimum of 30 hours per week or receiving weekly earnings that equal the minimum hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, multiplied by 30 hours; or
f) be 16-18 years of age and not the head of a household, attend school or be enrolled in an employment training program on at least a half-time basis. (Sec. 6)
33. Prohibits DES from seeking, applying, accepting or renewing any waiver of work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents unless it is required by federal law or authorized by state law. (Sec. 6)
34. Forbids DES from exercising the state's option to provide any exemptions from the federal work requirement unless authorized by state law. (Sec. 6)
EBT Card Transactions
35. Requires DES, on a monthly basis, to use the data from an EBT card to identify any individual who has made purchases exclusively out-of-state over a 90-day period. (Sec. 7)
36. Directs DES to contact the individual who is identified within 30 days to determine whether that individual resides in Arizona. (Sec. 7)
37. Instructs DES to remove the individual within 30 days after contact if the individual does not reside in Arizona. (Sec. 7)
38. Requires DES to refer the individual to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district where the individual claims to reside within 15 days after the removal. (Sec. 7)
TANF
39. Establishes the TANF Fund to be administered by DES to deposit federal grant monies into the fund before expenditure. (Sec. 5)
40. Specifies that TANF Fund monies are to be continuously appropriated. (Sec. 5)
41. Continues, as session law, DES to screen and test each adult recipient who is eligible for TANF cash benefits and who DES has reasonable cause to believe engages in the illegal use of controlled substances. (Sec. 8)
42. Deems, as session law, a TANF recipient who tests positive for the use of a controlled substance that was not prescribed for the recipient by a licensed health care provider ineligible for TANF benefits for one year. (Sec. 8)
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
43. Establishes CCDF to be administered by DES to deposit federal grant monies into the fund before expenditure. (Sec. 5)
44. Specifies that monies in CCDF are to be continuously appropriated. (Sec. 5)
Work Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Fund
45. Establishes the WIOA Fund to be administered by DES to deposit federal grant monies into the fund before expenditure. (Sec. 5)
46. Specifies that monies in the WIOA Fund are to be continuously appropriated. (Sec. 5)
Miscellaneous
47. Removes DCS from the list of agencies that are excluded from participating in the state motor vehicle fleet. (Sec. 2)
48. Permits 15% of the Veterans Donation Funding ending balance to be transferred to the State Home for Veterans Trust Fund at the beginning of each fiscal year. (Sec. 3-4)
49. Defines terms. (Sec. 6)
50. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 2-4)
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54. HB 2955
55. Initials AG Page 0 Appropriations
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