FY2023-2024 Budget Investments Expand Access to Community Services and Supports
Governor Ron DeSantis today announced the Framework for Freedom Budget with $4.4 billion in funding for the Department of Children and Families (Department) to continue to support strong and resilient families. This funding includes investments in enhancing prevention services, increases access and availability of behavioral health services, and supports updates to the Department’s systems to increase efficiencies and program effectiveness.
“Thanks to the Governor’s leadership, our Department has consistently had the support and the resources it needs in place to most effectively and efficiently serve Florida’s families,” said Secretary Shevaun Harris. “The Framework for Freedom Budget further invests in our system improvements and enhances the services that are available to help Floridians. The budget will continue to support the transformative work underway at the Department and we are so appreciative his ongoing support.”
The DeSantis Administration has been focused on creating enhanced access to critical services within our behavioral health systems. With an additional $78 million in funding for our state mental health treatment facilities, the Department will expand capacity by 1,270 beds to enable us to serve those with serious and persistent mental illness.
The Framework for Freedom Budget includes $258 million in funding to support prevention, treatment, and recovery services to fight the opioid epidemic through the State Opioid Response Grant and the State Opioid Settlement.
The Framework for Freedom Budget includes $19 million that will provide housing supports for individuals and families experiencing homelessness or those at risk of homelessness. This funding will provide rapid rehousing services and support more than 4,000 families. Additionally, this investment will also create further supports for emergency shelters, street outreach, and transitional housing to support more than 500 households.
Across the board, 5% pay raises for all state employees are included in the Framework for Freedom budget. The Governor also recommends additional targeted pay raises for “hard to hire positions” at the Department.
Last year, Secretary Harris announced the creation of the Family Navigation initiative to enhance the safety and well-being of Florida children after a report of potential child abuse or neglect. Family Navigators work alongside Child Protective Investigators (CPIs) and families to quickly help assess, locate, and provide pivotal services in our highest risk child welfare cases. The Framework for Freedom Budget makes an investment of $1.1 million that will go towards onboarding an additional 10 Family Navigators, who will join a team that has already served more than 1,100 families since the launch.
Additionally, the Framework for Freedom Budget has a focus on modernizing the Department’s critical technology systems. The Framework for Freedom Budget includes more than $35 million in investments to update the systems that support public assistance benefit eligibility determinations (ACCESS) and child welfare management (Florida Safe Families Network). Both systems were created more than 20 years ago; through these technology updates, the Department’s work will be streamlined and more efficient, and the client experience improved.
Additional items in the Framework for Freedom Budget include:
- $156 million for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health block grant budget authority request to support a comprehensive array of behavioral services through the standard and supplemental block grants for uninsured/underinsured individuals with substance abuse disorders, serious mental illness, and serious emotional disorders.
- $4.5 million for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) education continuation funding which will provide tools and methods to educate participants to make healthy and cost-effective food choices within a limited budget to improve the quality of diets, change behavior, and reduce chronic disease and obesity.
- $1.5 million in additional supports for survivors of human trafficking.
- Nearly $22 million to fund local prevention grant programs to improve outcomes for children and families served by the Department.
