Arlington County Board
Arlington County, Virginia
#1 Courthouse Plaza, Suite 300
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201

Honorable Chris Zimmerman, Chairman

Subject: LPACAP Funding Process

Dear Chairman Zimmerman:

We, the undersigned Arlington County civic and community organizations, are concerned about the likelihood of significant cuts to the Department of Human Services budget due to the loss of LPACAP funding. We are also very concerned that the current County plan is to enact these cuts without sufficient community input into the decision-making process. Therefore, we are writing to urge the Arlington County Board to ensure that a timely and open community debate � leading to a decision by the County Board � is provided to afford the issues due consideration.

As you know, the Department of Human Services is facing an immediate $5.5 million reduction due to the loss of LPACAP funding. This amount equates to over five percent (5%) of the total Fiscal Year 2007 DHS budget. We are particularly concerned that this matter is being dealt with internally without the opportunity for County-wide community input. From a civic perspective, abruptly cutting off programs that are core human services to individuals, without public discourse, is not the "Arlington Way."

We would greatly appreciate a response to our request before the next scheduled County Board meeting on Saturday, September 16, 2006. As Arlington's civic and community partners, we stand ready to work with you to ensure that the process is open and those affected have the opportunity for public comment.

Sincerely,

Arlington County Civic Federation, Lawrence R. Mayer, President

Arlington Interfaith Council, Fred Jones, Vice President

Community Services Board, Patrick Hope, Chair

Concerned Parents for Arlington Adult Services (CPAAS), Rusty and Judi Garth Co-Chairs

Friends of Clarendon House, Jane Adams, Chairman

NAMI-Arlington, Betsy Greer, President


...and others to follow

And the County Board's Response

Mr. Lawrence R. Mayer, President
Arlington County Civic Federation
larrymayer@civfed.org

Dear Mr. Mayer:

On behalf of the County Board, thank you for sharing with us the thoughts of the Arlington County Civic Federation relating to the cuts to the Local Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan (LPACAP) funding. Let me assure you that we are taking this matter very seriously.

Ms. Favola and I have met with Congressmen Jim Moran and Tom Davis to discuss the matter. In addition, Ms. Favola and I will be meeting with Governor Tim Kaine tomorrow (Friday, September 15th) to talk about the State�s obligation in this matter. We are hoping the Governor will act as our liaison with the Federal Government on this issue as needed. Pleased be assured that the Board is actively pursuing every opportunity to recover the lost funding that is badly needed to serve our most vulnerable citizens.

The County Manager is expected to forward to the Board next week the figures showing the true impact of the cuts to Arlington. The Board has every intention of making this information available to the public for comment, which is how we do things in Arlington. The issue of these drastic cuts deserves the full attention and expertise of the community.

There were questions about the use of LPACAP funds by the County. Let me be clear up front that Arlington did not misuse federal funds (nor did our neighboring Fairfax County). The federal government has never faulted Arlington for spending LPACAP funds on social service programs. The problems stem primarily from a difference in interpretation between the State and federal governments over which children were eligible for the Title IV-E Pre-Placement Prevention Program, which is designed to prevent children from entering foster care or being placed outside the home. For example, the State would serve children who have evidence of court proceedings which may result in their removal from home or who have defined case plans which clearly indicate that, absent effective preventive services, foster care is the planned arrangement for the child. (This interpretation allows for a wider range of prevention services for children prior to foster care placement.) The federal government, however, says that it includes only children who are at serious risk of removal from the home because the State is either pursuing that removal or attempting to prevent it. (This interpretation requires that the child is on the verge of foster care placement.)

After finding that Virginia was overly broad in its interpretation of the eligibility criteria, the federal government disallowed tens of millions of dollars across the State of expenditures for which the State requested and received reimbursement. The federal government now has imposed much stricter criteria as to who qualifies for the Title IV-E program. The Virginia Department of Social Services notified Arlington that it will suspend existing LPACAP as part of a legal settlement between the State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services resulting from disallowances of over $50 million from improper claims for reimbursement of Title IV-E funds. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2003, Arlington County has received more than $23 million in LPACAP funds. The adopted FY 2007 budget includes $5,499,583 of LPACAP funded services and supports 30.1 full-time employees.

Although the current state and local plans have been suspended, the State intends to develop and submit a new State cost allocation plan sometime in the fall; however, it will be significantly more restrictive and it is unknown if we will recover the former level of LPACAP reimbursements. In addition, the Department of Human Services has contracted with a consultant, the Public Consultant Group, to determine the feasibility of other revenue sources to make up for the loss of LPACAP funding.

Again, thank you for sharing the Civic Federation�s comments with the Board.

Sincerely,

Christopher Zimmerman
Chairman

This page was last revised on: September 23, 2006.