Transcript Highlights:

• because that can also be a factor in the foster experience. ...be a factor in the foster experience,
• Is there a need for more foster homes?
• And so, if a child is struggling and they're in foster care, so for youth in foster care, we have support
• And if you could talk a little bit about the DESE-DDS placement prevention program, a residential placement
• And if you could talk a little bit about the DESE-DDS placement prevention program, a residential placement

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing was a FY27 budget session on Health and Human Services held in Mattapan, hosted by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Opening remarks from Senator Lydia Edwards, Representative Brandy Fluker-Reed, Representative Russell Holmes, and Boston Public Library President David Leonard emphasized the significance of holding the first Ways and Means hearing in Mattapan, the importance of community access, and the role of libraries as human services institutions. Committee members and attendees introduced themselves before agency testimony began. MassAbility testified first, describing its mission to support people with disabilities through employment, independent living, and disability determination services. The agency highlighted federal funding uncertainty, a modest FY27 budget reduction, and a proposed reworking of its home care program, which it said is outdated and should better target those most in need. Members questioned the home care cut, staffing reductions, and federal coordination. MassAbility also shared a participant story about recovery and community support to illustrate the impact of its services. The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing then presented its FY27 request, focusing on interpreter and captioning access, workforce development, emergency communication, aging-related hearing loss, and transition services for deaf and hard-of-hearing youth. Members asked about interpreter shortages, after-hours emergency coverage, ASL education, and community training; the commission said it is expanding mentorship and referral systems but still faces staffing and vendor challenges. The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind followed with a $30.8 million request, describing services for nearly 9,000 consumers, peer support groups, vocational rehabilitation, and Turning 22 services, while noting federal funding uncertainty and a 7% budget cut. Members raised concerns about maintaining services with fewer resources, and the commissioner said the agency had trimmed overhead and could manage the proposal. The Office for Refugees and Immigrants closed the segment, outlining expanded legal, housing, workforce, citizenship, and financial literacy supports for immigrants and refugees, including Know Your Rights trainings, legal defense initiatives, and the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative. Members discussed the effects of federal policy changes, the loss of refugee resettlement funding, and the need for state support to fill gaps. No votes were taken in the portion provided; the hearing consisted of agency presentations and committee questioning.

Transcript Highlights:

• With regard to increased acuity and placement array, in recent years there has been a decrease in the
• This bill requires DCF to create a treatment foster care pilot program that will increase family-like
• placements for children with high-acuity behavioral needs.
• Treatment foster care, also known as professional foster care, places the child in a family-like setting
• However, unlike traditional foster homes, treatment foster parents receive specialized training to care

Summary: The Committee on Fiscal Policy met and first considered CS/SB 7012 on child welfare, presented by Senator Graal. The bill addressed three areas: child welfare workforce shortages, higher-acuity children in out-of-home care, and services/data for commercially sexually exploited children. It would create a CPI and case manager recruitment program aimed at former public safety and service workers, convene a workforce work group, establish a four-year treatment foster care pilot in two judicial circuits identified by DCF based on removal and placement data, and require more detailed, extractable child-level data on commercially sexually exploited children along with a bed capacity study and service gap analysis. Two amendments were adopted: one clarified record retention for redacted assessments, and another attached the appropriation. The committee then heard CS/SB 110 on rural communities from Senator Simon. The bill proposed a broad rural development package, including a state office of rural prosperity, a Renaissance grant program for counties with declining populations, increased housing support, major rural road funding, school consortium funding, and additional health care resources for rural facilities and training. A delete-all amendment was adopted that expanded and refined several provisions, including local sales tax trust fund distributions, county connectivity projects, agritourism marketing support, disaster-impacted rural infrastructure eligibility, insurance and provider eligibility changes, and increased funding for critical access hospitals and rural medical education reimbursement. Both bills drew broad support from local government, education, health care, housing, and rural advocacy representatives. Supporters said the rural bill was especially comprehensive and would help small counties, schools, roads, housing, and health care, while one witness cautioned that road expansion should be balanced with protection of agricultural and natural lands. Senator Bradley and Senator Simon emphasized local control and the importance of strengthening rural Florida without imposing mandates. CS/SB 7012 and CS/SB 110 were both reported favorably, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I am a foster parent and I recently went through an adoption.
• We don't have enough foster homes.
• The state incurs a much higher cost when children are placed in foster care versus kinship placements
• Traditional foster care, you know, type court system.
• But, um, we'll end up paying more money in foster care. That's right.

Transcript Highlights:

• But what's that going to do to the number of foster families and foster homes? Mr.
• We have had one go to a treatment foster care home.
• And that is also Foster Care Plus.
• How can we wrap around services around that child and that placement to ensure the stability of the placement
• Because cycling them from placement to placement doesn't work. And I know...

Bills: SB48, SB64, SB100

Keywords: State Fairgrounds District, fairgrounds bonds, public financing, bond authorization, gross receipts tax, gaming tax, tax-backed bonds, infrastructure funding, Albuquerque fairgrounds, State Fair Tid, economic development, municipal bonds, revenue pledge, capital projects, New Mexico finance, special education, office of special education, deputy secretary, public education department, IEP

Transcript Highlights:

• That was not something that was typically provided for a foster parent at her level of foster care.
• <00:54:25.839> It like it could be a foster parent. It like it could be a foster parent.
• children and one of her who had fostered children and one of her foster<00:54:55.520> children
• /c><01:35:42.480> home place their first placement out of home place their first placement out
• Um some youth placements through DCYF. Um some youth placements through DCYF.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: House Finance Division 3 met in work session and opened with procedural remarks from the chair about the committee’s schedule, deadlines, and recommendation options, noting the meeting was advisory and no votes were expected. The first bill discussed, House Bill 1569, concerned repealing the directive to sell the Anna Philbrook Center for Children property in Concord. Testimony from DHHS and New Hampshire Hospital focused on whether the property could be subdivided, the relationship to Senate Bill 572, the status of the city of Concord’s first right of refusal, and the practical effects of a sale. Witnesses said the $5 million sale estimate was a budget assumption, that moving staff and equipment would create some relocation costs, and that the center had required significant recent maintenance and renovation spending. Members also discussed the number of transitional housing beds at the site, the temporary nature of those beds, and whether the property should remain available given hospital workforce and service needs. The committee then turned to House Bill 661, which had been recommitted for further review after new information emerged. The chair summarized federal developments, including a December 2025 ACF letter and a related executive order, as well as a federal HHS press release about states diverting foster youths’ Social Security survivor benefits. Representative Walner explained that amendment 3055H had been drafted to move the bill forward in smaller steps, with a fiscal note requested on the amendment because the original bill was viewed as too large and expensive. Members discussed whether the committee had received copies of the amendment and whether federal guidance or funding had changed the policy landscape. The discussion also included broader questions about foster youth benefits and whether federal action would support state implementation. One member cited ACF language stating that only 11 states had enacted policies to stop interception of survivor benefits and that technical assistance would be available to the remaining states. The meeting remained in work-session mode throughout, with no votes taken and no final recommendations made during the portion provided. The chair indicated the committee could return to the bills later in the month.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're placed with a foster family.
• The RFA was largely designed for licensing foster parents in traditional foster homes and does not fully
• The RFA was largely designed for licensing foster parents in traditional foster homes and does not fully
• Jeremiah remained in foster care and ended up aging out.
• Well, luckily, mine are all foster care, so you won't vote against the foster children. Oh, sick.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is for education and training for the DCFS family services staff, foster parents, and students.
• It's for therapeutic foster care. 109 is with CET of Arkansas, also therapeutic foster care. 110 is with
• They're qualified residential treatment, licensed placement agencies, and therapeutic foster care. 116
• licensed placement agency. 128 is The Answer Foster Care, a private licensed placement agency. 129 is
• Same with 132, and 133 is for therapeutic foster care.

Summary: The committee met to review a supplemental agenda, procurement rule revisions, methods of finance, discretionary grants, contracts, and a member disclosure. The Office of State Procurement presented rule changes tied to 2025 legislative changes, including Act 782, with updates to sole-source definitions, unrealistic bids, protest requirements, debarment procedures, and recodification references; the committee voted to accept the supplemental agenda and approve the rules. Members also approved eight methods of finance covering university repairs, equipment replacement, property purchase, and capital projects, along with a large slate of discretionary grants for courts, health, DHS, historic preservation, and tobacco prevention programs. The committee then reviewed RFQs and six ratifications. The ratifications included a Workforce Connections payment to ACT WorkKeys, Department of Health costs from an ice-storm-related water leak, a large Department of Public Safety ratification for Motorola’s Arkansas Wireless Information Network upgrade, Veterans Affairs HVAC and medical-service payments, and a UA Little Rock painting contract. The Department of Public Safety ratification drew extended questioning about why the expired Motorola contract had not been renewed sooner and why the issue took months to reach the committee; agency officials said the project was bond-funded, had not been tracked in ASIS, and involved ongoing negotiations and system updates. Despite concerns, the committee approved the ratifications. Members also reviewed a long list of construction, intergovernmental, out-of-state, and in-state contracts, including numerous university, DHS, health, corrections, and state agency agreements. Several contracts were discussed in more detail, including an SAU custodial contract question about sales tax and transparency reporting, and Department of Corrections aerial application contracts for Tucker and Cummins farms, which officials said served separate facilities in different parts of the state. The committee approved the contract lists, reviewed reports, and accepted a disclosure from Representative Andrew Collins regarding his investment interest in a company leasing property to Arkansas Rehabilitation Services before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• The federal legislation known as Fostering Connections established the extended foster care program.
• , kinship foster homes, and other specialized placements based on their needs.
• The process starts when the youth turns 14 and is in foster care.
• Starting at age 14, like if we have a youth in foster care, and a foster care youth enters a system at
• With the Title IV-E extended foster care program, a youth can opt in.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our long-term approach also fosters housing stability and employment access and empowers families to
• families and foster parents with deaf children.
• families and those foster parents with deaf children.
• , and we were able to make referrals to a residential placement.
• The other 20%, which is about 6,500 children, are in some alternative placement like foster care or some

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing was an informational and oversight session of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, with chairs and members hearing agency updates from several commissioners. The Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition described its maternal and child health work, including home visiting, early intervention, WIC, newborn hearing screening, and cross-agency efforts on prenatal substance exposure, respite care, children’s vision, and maternal health initiatives. DPH emphasized that federal grant cuts, layoffs, and the loss of data systems such as PRAMS would weaken services and planning, and members asked about Title V funding and the impact of federal uncertainty. The Massachusetts Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing highlighted communication access services, interpreter and CART referrals, emergency after-hours support, family navigation, and independent living services. Commissioners and members discussed the shortage of ASL interpreters and the need to expand training pipelines, including partnerships with colleges and possible ASL programming for younger students. The Department of Developmental Services reported serving nearly 50,000 people and focused on youth and adult services, transition-age supports, autism services, self-direction, respite, and new high-acuity residential models. Members asked about respite availability, self-direction outcomes, and workforce shortages; DDS said it was expanding clinical capacity and provider rates while monitoring possible federal Medicaid, SNAP, and immigration-related impacts. The Commission for the Blind described services for about 28,000 legally blind residents, most of whom are older adults, including social rehabilitation, orientation and mobility training, children’s services, assistive technology, vocational rehabilitation, and Turning 22 supports. The commissioner discussed a UMass-based effort to build the workforce pipeline for blindness services and said the agency was watching federal restructuring but had not yet seen direct cuts. MassAbility’s leadership then warned about major federal changes affecting Social Security disability determinations, including staff restructuring, office closures, and a new overpayment repayment policy, and said the agency was preparing for possible increases in claims and uncertainty around reallotment dollars that help fund services. The Disabled Persons Protection Commission closed the hearing with an update on its abuse investigations and protective services for adults with disabilities. DPPC reported rising hotline calls and investigations, a growing caseload, its sexual assault response team, the abuser registry, and a new interagency protective services integration system funded by ARPA dollars through 2027. The agency also flagged new federal rules that could affect funding eligibility and said it may need statutory changes to comply. Members asked about funding, reporting pathways, and how complaints reach DPPC, and the commissioner said the agency uses both mandated reporting and proactive outreach to identify and respond to abuse.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then 30% are in a licensed foster home.
• So we have a health plan in DCS for children in foster care.
• In DCS for children in foster care.
• hours every two years of ongoing foster care training.
• Nationally, the number of children in foster care has gone down.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So sometimes they choose not to enter extended foster care. To enter extended foster care.
• aging out of foster care.
• in foster care are decreasing.
• This is a population that has often aged out of foster care and grown up in foster care.
• But placement was not guaranteed.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In Oklahoma, about 20% of the children in their foster care population are benefiting from Foster Care
• , retention, and Foster Care Plus.
• foster parents are receiving an additional $400 per month to participate in Foster Care Plus.
• our whole placement array.
• I believe 300 over 300 relative foster parents.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of over 60,000 kids in California's foster care system.
• The department has been very closely engaged with both foster family insurance agency or foster family
• The out-of-state placement. Yeah.
• foster care.
• foster care system.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 14 to 26 who have experienced foster 14 to 26 who have experienced foster care,<00:40:37.400>
• foster care and shelter-based services. foster care and shelter-based services.
• placement including emergency shelters, placement including emergency shelters, placement stabilization
• Foster care. And that's great.
• Foster<01:17:37.360> care.<01:17:37.640> It Foster care. It Foster care.

Bills: HB1518, HB1699, HB1747, HB1705, HB1565, HB1801, HB1645, HB2115, HB2114

Keywords: HB1518, Hawaii SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, food stamps, Department of Human Services, DHS, pre-release SNAP, pre-release application process, incarcerated individuals, prisoner reentry, reentry services, formerly incarcerated, jail release, prison release, recidivism, food security, benefits eligibility, controlled substance felony, drug felony, drug conviction

Summary: The committee opened its first meeting of the 2020 session and heard testimony on several measures, beginning with HB 1518, which would allow people incarcerated and nearing release to apply for SNAP benefits before release. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Human Services said they support the bill and are already piloting a pre-release application process at two facilities, with plans to expand it. The Attorney General’s Office supported the intent but noted a technical issue: one section of the bill appears to affect TANF as well as SNAP, while the title refers only to SNAP. A wide range of advocates, including Catholic Charities, the Hawaii Public Health Institute, Hawaii Hunger Action Network, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, ACLU of Hawaii, and others, testified in strong support, emphasizing food insecurity after release, reentry stability, and reduced recidivism. The committee did not take a vote during the hearing. The committee then heard HB 1747, which would direct the Department of Human Services to seek federal waivers or extensions related to restricting certain SNAP purchases, including sugary drinks. DHS said it had already been approved for a narrow demonstration waiver and was working with retailers on implementation, with a target date of August 1. Supporters of the measure argued it would promote healthier choices, while opponents, including Hawaii Appleseed, the Hawaii Public Health Institute, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, and the Hawaii Food Industry Association, said such restrictions are ineffective, stigmatize low-income residents, create burdens for retailers and DHS, and may be difficult to implement. Members asked DHS to clarify the scope of the waiver and confirmed it applies to sugary drinks and beverages containing more than 10 grams of sugar. Finally, the committee took up HB 1705, which would allow licensed mental health counselors to serve as child custody evaluators, but there was no testimony from the relevant agencies and the item was quickly set aside. The committee also heard HB 1565, which would establish a judiciary working group to improve family court processes and legal representation for youth in the child welfare system. The Attorney General’s Office offered minor technical amendments, and supporters from the Office of Wellness and Resilience, High Hopes Hawaii, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, and a social work student described the need for legal representation, citing better reunification and stability outcomes and the importance of youth voice in court proceedings. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• If my individuals are in residential school placements, I also see them there.
• , sitting in foster homes.
• , sitting in foster homes.
• Sometimes we do sit in apartments with these kids because we don't have placement for them.
• placements.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several retirement and workforce-related bills. House Bill 2980 would place county correctional nurses and certain medical staff into Group 4 retirement. Representative Trino, Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, and nurse manager Leanne Cameron argued that correctional nurses work in dangerous, high-stress settings with frequent contact with incarcerated people, high rates of mental illness and substance use in the jail population, and significant workplace violence, and that the change would help recruitment and retention with limited statewide fiscal impact. The committee also heard Senate Bill 210, which would create a commission to study additional regular compensation and annual expenses for members of the General Court. Senator John Keenan said Massachusetts has high leadership stipends compared with other states and argued the current structure can affect independence and public trust. Representative O'Day testified on House Bill 2928 to extend Group 2 retirement to additional Department of Children and Families social workers, and SEIU 509 witnesses described frequent transport of children, crisis response, threats, assaults, and other high-risk duties that they said match Group 2 work. Additional testimony supported House Bill 2943 for DDS service coordinators and supervisors, with witnesses describing home visits in unsafe conditions, transport of vulnerable individuals, direct care during staffing crises, and exposure to violence. House Bill 2899 drew support from the Association of Social Work Boards for social work field placement grants, incentives for supervisors, and expanded retirement benefits for DCF social workers. The committee also heard Senate Bill 2613, a local retirement bill for Salem police officer Kathleen Roachville, who described a severe line-of-duty injury during an arrest involving a combative person in a mental health crisis. Finally, Susan Smith Campbell testified for reclassifying certain DYS administrative officers into Group 2 because of their direct involvement in restraints, assaults, and crisis management. After testimony concluded, the committee adjourned without taking any votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've met a couple foster families. I'm not one.
• I talked to children who had aged out of the foster system and what helped them in their life.
• We contract with local community-based care lead agencies to deliver a number of services: foster care
• They include things like group care, foster care, relative placement, in-home adoption services, independent
• You know, older kids are typically more expensive than younger kids from a foster or group care placement

Summary: The Human Services Subcommittee met with a quorum present and took up a presentation from the Department of Children and Families on HB 7089, which revises how Florida’s community-based care (CBC) lead agencies for child welfare are funded. Representative McFarland described the bill’s background, arguing that the prior formula relied too heavily on outdated, static factors and produced inequities among CBCs. She emphasized that the new approach is intended to provide a more stable, transparent, and statute-based funding method that better supports prevention, case management, and family services while reducing year-to-year political uncertainty. DCF Chief of Staff Casey Penn explained that HB 7089 required an actuarially sound, reimbursement-based formula developed with CBC and provider input. The new model uses a cost-based structure with three tiers: Tier 1 for operational and administrative costs, Tier 2 for per-child/per-month service costs, and a possible Tier 3 incentive component for performance measures if the Legislature chooses to fund it. The model includes regional growth factors, inflation adjustments, a 2% risk corridor for Tier 2, a hold-harmless provision for agencies that would otherwise receive less than prior funding, and the ability for CBCs to retain some state general revenue savings. DCF said the model produced a total budget need of about $1.392 billion, roughly $28.6 million above the prior year after offsets, and that the department is also updating its child welfare case management system to improve data quality and future modeling. Members asked about whether prevention spending is captured, how Tier 3 incentives would work and how much they might cost, how the formula accounts for insurance, hurricanes, child acuity, and staffing costs, and whether CBC executives’ compensation is capped. DCF said prevention is included in the model but is not yet separately broken out due to data limitations, Tier 3 is optional and not yet costed, and the formula can incorporate additional growth factors if needed. On executive pay, DCF explained that compensation is limited by statute for CBC contracts, but multiple contracts and non-state funding sources can affect total compensation; staff later clarified that CBC CEOs with multiple contracts had been reviewed for compliance. The meeting ended after questions, and Representative Miller moved to adjourn; the subcommittee adjourned without any vote on the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• WITH REGARD TO INCREASED ACUITY AND PLACEMENT ARRAY IN RECENT YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A DECREASE IN THE
• UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH PLACEMENTS.
• PLACEMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH HIGH ACUITY BEHAVIORAL NEEDS.
• THE TREATMENT FOSTER CARE ALSO KNOWN AS RATIONAL FOSTER CARE PLACES THE CHILD IN A FAMILY LIKE SETTING
• HOWEVER, UNLIKE TRADITIONAL FOSTER HOMES TREATMENT FOSTER PARENTS RECEIVE SPECIALIZED TRAINING TO CARE

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it also updates the continuing education hours for foster families within that rule.
• On page 12, I just want to point out the placement types for children...
• On page 12, I just want to point out the placement types for children.
• in foster care being placed with relatives, and then secondary to that is in foster homes.
• At the bottom of page 15, re-entries into foster care, 4.5%.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children, and Youth first approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. The rule changes were described as largely terminology and compliance updates to align with new laws, an executive order, and current practice, including moving internal procedures out of the public manual and into DCFS’s internal procedure manual. Members asked whether the changes altered practice or just wording, and Wright said they were mainly procedural and vernacular updates, such as changing terms like “protection plan” to “immediate safety plan” and “safety factor” to “safety threat.” The committee then reviewed and accepted the rule without objection. Wright also presented DCFS performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026, including hotline reports, investigations, foster care, in-home services, permanency, and adoption measures. She noted staffing shortages in some counties, lower timeliness in completing maltreatment reports, and efforts to support those areas with central office staff and daily calls. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation categories, behavioral issues, and workforce recruitment and retention. Wright said DCFS is expanding hiring support, outreach, retention efforts, trauma support through UAMS, and a new staff training model beginning July 1. She also presented the biannual overturned investigations report, which tracks hotline calls, true findings, appeals, and reversals by county, and answered questions about comparing it with prior years. Major Jeff Drew of the Crimes Against Children Division presented the 2025 annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls and 37,986 were accepted for investigation, with 6,539 CACD investigations assigned and a 28% substantiation rate. He described hotline operator training, including a four-week program with policy review, scenarios, recorded calls, live call monitoring, and evidence-chain and decision-making instruction. He said the starting salary for hotline operators is $43,888 plus benefits and would check on comparisons with other states. Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the state’s 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings. Members asked about funding, and she said state funding is the same for each center at roughly $70,000 to $75,000, supplemented by federal and community support, with work underway on Arkansas-specific best practices. The meeting ended after a brief unrelated question about Meals on Wheels and a Project Zero adoption event announcement.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's for therapeutic foster care.
• Contract 109 is with CET of Arkansas, also therapeutic foster care.
• They are qualified residential treatment, licensed placement agencies, and therapeutic foster care.
• Contract 128 is with The Answer, a foster care private licensed placement agency.
• This provides therapeutic foster care for DCFS clients.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• placement facilities until they are placed in a more permanent home.
• . ...while awaiting placement with a foster family, provides that a virtual charter school will be used
• It also provides a plan that will provide the information to the new school district and to the foster
• the child is eventually placed in a foster home.
• , and that the Department of Education will provide the training for the foster parent and child and

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Summary: The Select Committee on School Choice met, established quorum, and approved the minutes from its February 25, 2026 meeting. The committee then took up House Bill 4588, which was explained as a measure to align with Senate Bill 644 and require the Secretary of Commerce to participate in the federal tax credit scholarship program under Public Law No. 119-20 and 119-21, with the change intended to place administration under Commerce rather than the Economic Development Authority. The committee adopted the amendment and reported HB 4588 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass as amended. The committee next considered House Bill 5048, which would create new code to ensure foster students in temporary placement facilities receive virtual instruction until placed in a permanent home. Counsel explained that if a county lacks a virtual program, a virtual charter school could be used, and the West Virginia Department of Education would provide free training for those responsible for the child, along with a plan to transfer information to the new school district and foster family. The committee adopted the proposed amendment, noting it had been worked out with the House, and then reported HB 5048 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass as amended. At the end of the meeting, the chair thanked the committee and staff for their work during the session. The committee then adjourned by motion and unanimous voice vote.