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Home My WebLink About710497.tiff ,.f c2 rl � Lttp � iTc� :i rli �Iu it. a • DEPARTMENT OF LAW DUKE W. DUNBAR OFFICE OE THE AT7CRNCY GENCRAL JOHN P. MOORE G ATTORNEY GENERAL 104 STATE CAPITOL DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. DENVER, COLORADO 80203 May 26, 1971 Mr. Con E. Shea • Executive Director • Department of Social Services 1575 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Dear Mr. Shea: This opinion is written in reply to your letter request for my opinion as to what aetieu the Board and Department of Social Ser- vices may take to remedy the situation described in your above letter. In summary, the facts are that the Weld County Board of Com- missioners has appropriated funds insufficient for the payment of the county's twenty percent of the costs of welfare in Weld County for the entire county fiscal year, which is the calendar year from January 1, 1971, to December 31, 1971, and that Weld County will exhaust county funds available for the Weld County ADC program and other Weld County welfare funds before the end of the present fiscal year. QUESTION 1 Can the Department and Board of Social Services under State law refuse to reimburse Weld County for its ADC expenditures? CONCLUSION I have previously advised in my December 13, 1962 Opinion, No. 62-3675, and my October 10, 1963 Opinion, No. 63-3749, that should a county not comply with the State Department rules, the Board of Social Services has the power and discretion to withhold reimbursement of ad- ministrative expenses, and also the power to withhold reimbursement of all welfare expenditures by the county. 710497 Mr. Con V. Shea May 26, 1971 Page 2 • The Board of Social Servieus may refuse to reimburse Weld County for ADC expenditures if after a hearing before the Board it is deter- mined (1) that the Weld County Commissioners knowingly made a welfare levy insufficient to meet Weld County's twenty percent share of the cost of ADC, and (2) they did so with knowledge that they could apply to the State tax commission for a levy at a reasonable rate in excess of the applicable limit in 119-3-6, C.R.S. 1963, and (3) that thecounty had ,. e for a sufficient levy. the Board makes adequate resources available such a determination, the Board can legally take necessary action to ter- minate reimbursement of administrative expenses of the Weld County Depart- ment of Public Welfare and to terminate all reimbursement of welfare assistance to that county, with the result that the county will be required to pay 100% of the ADC costs in Weld County. ANALYSIS 119-1-5(1) (b) , C.R.S. 1963, provides that the State Department of Social Services shall have the power "to require as a condition for receiving grants-in-aid, that the county shall bear the proportion of the total expense of furnishing aid, as is fixed by law relating to such assistance." If Weld County prior to the end of the county fiscal year exhausts county welfare funds and if it did not request authority for a levy in excess of the rate set in 119-3-6, C.R.S. 1963, then said county is not bearing its proportion of the total expense of furnishing aid. The various State laws provide for a reimbursement to counties of eighty percent of the expenses of the various programs if administered by the county in accordance with the Department of Social Services rules which require the counties to provide twenty percent of the expense of such programs. If the program is not administered in accordance With the Department rules the law does not provide for reimbursement to the county from the State Department. 119-3-6(1) (a) , C.R.S. 1963, authorizes the board of county com- missioners to make a welfare levy at a rate within the limitations set out therein to provide the necessary money to be appropriated by the • county commissioners as provided by the final budget prepared in accord- • ance with 119-3-5, C.Z.S. 1963, as approved by the county welfare board. 119-3-6(4) , C.R.S. 1963, provides that the State tax commission for good cause may authorize a county levy at a reasonable rate in excess of the limits set out. 119-1-15(1) , C.R.S. 1963 (1969 Perm. Supp.) , authorizes the board of county commissioners to make appropriations to defray the ; cost of necessary welfare services within the county. 119-3-12, C.R.S. 1963 (1969 Perm. Supp.) , creates a county con- tingency fund from which under certain conditions the State Board of Social Mx. Con F. Shea May 26, 1971 Page 3 Services may provide a degree of assistance to any county which has levied a property tax in the fiscal year previous to the request for funds equal to or in excess of the maximum property tax levy permitted by statute for the county welfare fund, but also requires a determina- tion that the resources available to the county to meet its welfare needs are inadequate. Under the authority of 119-3-12 and 119-3-6, C.R.S. 1963, should the Board of Social Services find that resources could have been made available in the form of a levy in excess of that presently made under - . 119-3-6, and that there are now sufficient county resources, the county would then not be eligible for any degree of assistance from the depart- • ment's county contingency fund. QUESTION 2 Does the Department and Board of Social Services have a duty to refuse to reimburse Weld County for all welfare programs if they discon- tinue their Aid to Dependent Children program? • CONCLUSION The Department and Board only have authority to reimburse the various counties for welfare program expenditures made in accordance with the State law and Department regulations applicable to a particular welfare program. The Department and Board of Social Services have the power to terminate such reimbursement if the counties do not comply with the applicable laws and regulations. ANALYSIS 119-1-15(2) (a) , C.R.S. 1963, authorizes the State Department to reimburse the county for administrative expenses if the county depart- ment is administered in accordance with State Department rules and regu- lations. The Colorado statutes relating to reimbursement for welfare program expenditures, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, provide for reimbursement to the county of eighty percent of the expen- ditures under that program and all other similar programs upon compliance with the condition precedent that the program is administered in accord- ance with State Department rules and regulations and the applicable State law, Chapter 11 9 Article 9, C.R.S. 1963, as amended. The Board and Department have no authority in the situation where the county is not complying with the Department rules to reimburse that county for eighty percent of its administrative or program expenses. This would not relieve the county department from its duty under the State law to provide ser- vices and pay assistance to those eligible and the cost for such services • Mr. Con 1. Shea • May 26, 1971 Page 4 • and assistance become totally a county burden witY. no State reimburse- ment g.)ing to the county until they once again prcvide the services and assistance in accordance with the Department rules and regulations. 119-1-5(1) (a) and (c) , C.R.S. 1933, provide: "Grants-in-aid. In administering any funds appropriated or made available to the state department for welfare purposes, the state department shall have the power . . . to terminate any grants-in-aid to any county if the laws providing such grant-in-aid and the minimum standards prescribed by the state department thereunder are not complied with." QUESTION 3 What other steps may or must the Department and Board of Social Services take to secure compliance by Weld County with the Aid to Depend- ent Children program requirements? • CONCLUSION The State Department of Social Services has the power to require the county to bear its proportionate expense of the various programs. Determine The Board of Social Services may take the following action: Deter the relevant facts existing through a hearing before the board of Social Services, or by facts in existence by other sufficient evidence, enter an agency order based upon those facts coapeiling the county commissioners to take all action necessary co bear its proportionate cost of all public assistance programs, and i1 necessary, secure the enforcement of the Board's order by a court of competent jurisdiction under 3-16-5(3) , C.R.S. 1963, as amended, through a mandamus action under Rule 106 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure compelling the Weld County Commissioners to carry out their statutory duties as detailed above; The Board of County Commissioners of the County of Dolores, et al. , v. John A. Love, et al. , 4i0 P.2d 861. In the Memorandum Opinion. and Order entered in the case of Rodriguez v. Shea, Civil Action No. C-1843, by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the court observed that the county departments have no voice in the making of regulations and they are bound to follow those set by the State Department. It would therefore appear to be perfectly clear that Weld County must comply with the State Depart- ment regulations, and should it not comply the court could order compli- ance by the county. Very truly yours, • DL.:E W. DUNLA2 Attorney General DWD:DDD:ss Hello