Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

This is the FY 2023 original appropriation bill for the Department of Health and Welfare for the Divisions of Child Welfare, Services for the Developmentally Disabled, and Service Integration. It appropriates a total of $139,406,100 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 773.51. For benefit costs, the bill increases the appropriated amount for health insurance by $850 to $12,500 per eligible full time FTP, includes a one-year holiday of unemployment insurance, and adjusts workers compensation amounts. The bill also provides funding for permanent employees for the equivalent of a 3% salary structure shift and provides $1.25 per hour per eligible employee to be distributed based on merit for change in employee compensation. The bill funds five line items, which provide additional funds for additional in home case workers, a targeted change in employee compensation for child welfare workers; an increase in the foster care rate paid to foster families; targeted change in employee compensation for Southwest Idaho Treatment Center (SWITC) employees; and additional funding for crisis bed staffing at SWITC. Also included in this bill are three onetime FY 2022 supplemental appropriations, which provide a foster care rate increase for the remaining months of fiscal year 2022; funding for a remodel of SWITC; and funding for a change in employee compensation for employees at SWITC. DISCLAIMER: This statement of purpose and