[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6622439,"mediaKeyId","2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf","parentId",2784381,"title","Union and veteran staffer ask House panel to restore eliminated Health Department FTE","audioSeconds",192,"startMs",4104070,"endMs",4296290,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf&start=4104&end=4296","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf/thumbnail_4104070.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6622439/Rhode-Island/Union-and-veteran-staffer-ask-House-panel-to-restore-eliminated-Health-Department-FTE","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622439-bedd2ed58dde9f86136ce6115d352aa9/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173516&Signature=kIsnW-nGIcltEGbr9jh8InoBD6HSlBivQNVbSx-3z4~1IUdW-c8jeekLbU-QR5rGSe5hUgCGr7MFI2hM2AzGDk2vh-weNzbIy13bwyrEfdyd9B4YLiP2bcf4tG0sY0kUPWS6mnXqjHUjLM7~hpCM11I1xBj8dZYYV5NOeUYpf0ehiKo1dgWcWs5rbaGihmwwlwJoCNELoKMg3HUONclXg-ymU7RnvWnAz6NHGIRq5Pv~xTLeOGIdJjdNmBhXLiHTzwRr~EFoMcG8UvbEx~7yy8keZzIkz11ulblJd6DAyK4YDcu6v4zxr~2usMSGSw4DhKtcdWMApxGWSGFUJWAOpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","State of Rhode Island","date","2025-03-25T00:00:00Z","article","Union leaders and the employee whose position was eliminated urged the House Finance subcommittee to restore a Department of Health senior research technician post that was cut from the department’s proposed budget.

Jim Sanarini of Rhode Island Council 94 (AFSCME Council 94) told the committee the position elimination is \"quizzical\" and that the senior research technician, Paula Polano, has more than 33 years with the Department of Health and 40 years of state service. Sanarini said the position appears to have been cut without a clear reorganization plan to absorb the duties and that cutting the post likely will produce no savings given the employee’s statutory status and reemployment protections.

Polano described her duties as the point of contact in the Office of Health Systems Development, responding to inquiries related to certificate-of-need changes and other planning work. She asked the committee to restore the FTE so she can continue that work. Union witnesses noted there was no public evidence that the duties would be reassigned, transferred or eliminated and said the cut could amount to an internal realignment between agencies rather than a bona fide reduction in services.

Why it matters: committee members were not presented with a published plan outlining where the work would go if the position were eliminated. Union testimony said the employee’s seniority and statutory status mean she could be placed elsewhere in state service with the same pay grade, producing little or no budgetary savings. The union requested the subcommittee restore the FTE in the department’s budget.

Sources and evidence: testimony from Rhode Island Council 94 representative Jim Sanarini, senior research technician Paula Polano, and union president Stephanie Ponce.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee on Finance - Subcommittee: 3-25-2025","oneSentenceSummary","A union and the senior research technician whose job was removed from the Department of Health’s budget asked the House Finance subcommittee to restore the position, arguing the elimination occurred without a clear plan to reassign duties and may yield no net savings because of the worker’s seniority protections.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature RI, Rhode Island","taxId",77689,"location","Rhode Island","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6622444,"Home visiting advocates urge $355k–$365k state match to preserve federal funds for Rhode Island families",378,3695220,4073730,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf&start=3695&end=4073","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf/thumbnail_3695220.jpg","/articles/6622444/Rhode-Island/Home-visiting-advocates-urge-355k365k-state-match-to-preserve-federal-funds-for-Rhode-Island-families","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622444-84dea71955489239d13894df106597f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173516&Signature=bapuToCxpVyujCbIIQJa2YBMo9zOYW7h7YscusPiUpaagAufwtDg6VL65sZuxlzr1ArADIxQlY7jI58pH4M6P5FyTaDilv2swV0383Or2dwwICAbnv60Qccvf2pz8OGjLtqjsPeE2hVFsPX7AjrCDu6YPCDqV3nC~AVWBIMVhohCa-DeRZbIIg2shbnUmdyfnDMFpcvmVu8qwxHwxp4X58~RSW4ADg7Z8EjVbcDk~ImFlhYa1-2cj~R7WYL23dO6LwOCxz7QUSOzLVXa3omiGlFUWX8WHTLCyjPezJaqmP3bkbEtagMdXg-hg~H41Hq2qBmvqDbiXTr~ftjOz7M6vg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Three witnesses representing home visiting and early-childhood programs asked the House Finance subcommittee to add state matching funds so Rhode Island can draw down federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) dollars.

\"If Rhode Island invests just $365,000 in the state funding, we can secure over a million dollars in total funding to support, and keep these essential programs running,\" Swanette Salazar, a community health worker with the First Connections program at Family Service Rhode Island, said in testimony.

Why it matters: witnesses said the requested state match would stabilize evidence-based programs that provide in‑home visits, developmental screening, parenting support and referrals for families with newborns and young children. One witness, Fiona (director of a Healthy Families America program at Family Service Rhode Island), asked the subcommittee to secure a $355,000 state match to draw down approximately $1.6 million in federal MIECHV funds for her program. Another witness, Michelle Sherman, nursing supervisor for First Connections, urged approval of roughly $356,000 cited in budget materials to sustain the program's staff and services.

Witnesses described concrete impacts: First Connections reported more than 4,000 referrals in 2024 and said the loss of state match funding would force program reductions or closures. Swanette said the nurse-family partnership program is closing at the end of the month because of lack of funding. Michelle Sherman told the committee that the program serves as a lifeline for families in crisis, connecting them to developmental screening, lead-mitigation education, pediatric care and behavioral-health referrals.

Program leaders asked the committee to include specific state-match amounts in the final budget so local agencies can keep staff and continue services. They framed the request as a high-return investment: modest state dollars would unlock multiple times that amount in federal funding and sustain services shown to reduce child abuse and improve birth outcomes.

Sources and evidence: testimony from Swanette Salazar (First Connections), Fiona (Healthy Families America director), and Michelle Sherman (First Connections nursing supervisor).","Community health workers and program directors told the House Finance subcommittee that modest state funding would unlock significantly larger federal MIECHV awards that support home visiting programs for new parents and at-risk infants; witnesses gave specific match amounts and warned that programs were closing without state support.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6622449,"Rollout of Rhode Island lead registry draws criticism over accuracy, inspector capacity",1535,1518500,3054430,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf&start=1518&end=3054","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf/thumbnail_1518500.jpg","/articles/6622449/Rhode-Island/Rollout-of-Rhode-Island-lead-registry-draws-criticism-over-accuracy-inspector-capacity","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622449-46fbab5f1f788e9d2eceb1b8b2cf0593/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173516&Signature=Mb2ExdgJPx7J~~wY5o5NkAG9S6ibHPL6LKdz1ALwO4wFNGjbBOCx8OWvBjxfvyeFqsNXKHXga00BgzGi9UhtaENiPwi0VszEEFd8Rkyc3RO8yOmZlWrie0beyzyp2A9RAiydNnbSEJiE~fN9JBiSgYNzzR6ei3-6JkXYeSXjS8bDVGf-aiuyTxSYqx1b6wV-1bwB0r5LLlXnJOpuYYuduevwU1wyaEVQS1rF7U7RGynXQICN9TRFrOusmcO8PKmeLsANMgF5TEp2lSEY4Chs63wHhxc5afFCwLWFR07doEROKAKQgzX5Ffu7FYUt6XkQ4MdnV~S0WqUUMQqD-3M7~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","State health officials told the House Finance Subcommittee that the lead-rental registry launched in October after funding became available July 1 and that early iterations pulled publicly available property and tax records to identify potential rental units — a method that inadvertently listed some properties whose owners are not landlords.

\"When we built that database, you need it you need to make it rather comprehensive. So it needs to be more sensitive. It needs to pull in everybody that could potentially, and that was sort of where the rub was,\" the department director said, describing why the registry initially identified many properties that then had to be corrected.

Why it matters: the 2023 law requires landlords of pre-1978 housing to register and to hold a lead-safe or lead-free certificate. Department officials told lawmakers the registry must be publicly facing under that law, so property listings that are not corrected by owners will be published unless owners update the registry. Officials said they plan targeted outreach by letter and public communications to notify suspected landlords; letters will tell recipients how to correct false listings and warn that landlords who do not register may face fines.

Officials described the implementation timeline and technical constraints. The registry went online in October after rapid development; the department paused public listing when it realized false positives were being identified and notified stakeholders while building a more sophisticated \"phase 2\" registry. The director said there is no single public database of renters or a centralized city–town tax-assessor feed that cleanly identifies rental property status and construction year, so the team used multiple public sources (tax records, real-estate transaction records) to assemble an initial denominator.

Inspector capacity, costs and timelines drew sustained questions from lawmakers. The department said it has certified 32 additional inspectors — many already licensed in Massachusetts — increasing the pool so that, when last checked during the hearing, there are 74 licensed lead inspectors available statewide. Wait times vary by inspector; some were booked for months while others had availability within two to four weeks. Department staff reported typical inspection fees of roughly $200 to $450.

On enforcement and remediation: the law requires pre-1978 rental units to obtain either a lead-free certificate (permanent) or a lead-safe certificate (maintained after remediation). The director explained that landlords must obtain the appropriate certificate before completing registry steps and that, if lead is found, remediation may require licensed remediation work and a follow-up inspection to verify compliance. The department also warned that landlords who attempt to evict tenants for nonpayment while lacking an appropriate certificate may face legal limits: the law prevents eviction for nonpayment where valid lead certification is not in place.

Lawmakers raised equity concerns: representatives asked the department to ensure multilingual outreach and to consider financial supports for landlords who cannot afford mitigation. The department said limited mitigation funds exist at municipal levels and through Rhode Island Housing on an income-based basis and that building a comprehensive property database with high confidence would be costly (hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars).

Officials urged landlords who believe they have been incorrectly identified to use the registry correction process, and urged tenants and community members to understand that the registry is intended as a public-protection tool for families and renters.

Sources and evidence: hearing testimony by the Department of Health, including the director and budget staff, and legislators Representative Finkelman, Representative Diaz and Representative Nardone.","Lawmakers and the Department of Health discussed rollout problems with the new statewide lead-rental registry: incomplete source data led to false landlord listings, the state is notifying suspected landlords by letter, inspectors have been added but wait times and costs remain a concern.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6622454,"Rhode Island health department warns $31.2M federal grant recapture could cut staff, programs",1083,39360,1123080,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf&start=39&end=1123","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784381-0c16d6aa80d7cd80adbebe63ef9f71bf/thumbnail_39360.jpg","/articles/6622454/Rhode-Island/Rhode-Island-health-department-warns-312M-federal-grant-recapture-could-cut-staff-programs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622454-e95217fe6984d53d9cc0a819c634bd10/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173516&Signature=gNdB9zkkkcUD1A4eJ0QsQzwwXtZz0DhYbu~EI8EyF9onZtkMgRIOAJYv0S0egy3dB~qF0KlBrvy4v6I27NnGGO7BJoTS2cy3-N9N03hyWIJ4vBHCOuONf3c0~OJb449XE4Jc58OT1ASxvfV17tr2x9tbsIJTy0fBtTjRFh3C7CJt3P-fBHlwhDPXe-Ln7bmsESyzwgHzKN9hO2pCUVOqwDObXNM~yMxNIY88ShhAjLcPNS8uAMEtwEtqb5cmZCzpOAs3GfuXakfpViLsFDpyJn8v~fykp9MSR4Iv9l~SUFrUFmYJPJ0mX1po4AgH0gNaUBS9RNbcm6Sjqgb1I2bMqg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Department of Health told the House Finance Subcommittee on Human Services on Wednesday that the governor’s recommended FY2026 budget of about $292 million relies on federal grants for roughly 52% of its funding and that federal authorities have notified the state this morning about the potential recapture of roughly $31.2 million in pandemic-era grant funds.

The recapture notice, department officials said, would affect line items in the current fiscal year and is likely to reduce staffing, contractor work and community contracts tied to COVID-related federal awards. \"The department was notified today that remaining COVID-nineteen grant funds are targeted for federal recapture,\" the department’s budget presenter Chantal said during the briefing. Later the department director described the notification as planning by the federal government and said the funds were intended to help prepare for future pandemics.

Why it matters: the department told lawmakers the FY26 recommendation of $292 million is $64 million less than enacted budgeted spending partly because one-time construction costs for a new health laboratory drop out of the base. But officials warned that an unexpected federal recapture would shrink resources that now support laboratory capacity, immunizations and community health efforts and could reduce about 43 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and impact dozens of contractors and community partners.

The department walked the subcommittee through the governor’s revised FY25 and FY26 figures. Chantal said the governor’s revised FY25 recommendation is about $32 million higher than enacted, including $500,000 more from general revenues and roughly $43 million more in federal spending largely tied to unspent federal grants from FY24. For FY26 the department presented $292 million in total recommended spending, with federal funds supporting 52 percent of recommended expenses and salaries and benefits accounting for about 32 percent of the FY26 recommendation.

Officials outlined several buckets that would be affected if the recapture proceeds. The department listed about $15.6 million under the federal-enhancing laboratory capacity awards (ELC) and roughly $13 million that had been slated to support immunization activities among the larger affected subawards, totaling roughly $31.2 million when combined with smaller programs and community health worker funding. Chantal told the committee the department has received about $410 million in CDC grant funds since the pandemic began and estimated roughly $300 million–$350 million of that has already been used.

The department emphasized that some FY25 amounts are one-time capital investments (including the new medical examiner facility in Cumberland with a project cost the department estimated at about $98 million) that do not recur in FY26, and explained how federal indirect cost recovery supports restricted receipts and positions (the department presented 572 authorized positions with 19 vacancies as of late February).

Committee members asked what the recapture would mean in practical terms. Department leadership said the immediate impacts would include potential reductions to roughly 43 FTEs (affecting about 57 individuals in total when contractors are counted), cuts to contractor agreements and community partner contracts, and a probable decline in immunization outreach and laboratory surge capacity. Director Jerome Larkin (identified later in testimony) characterized the recapture as related to federal grant planning for future pandemic preparedness and urged coordination with the governor’s office, the attorney general, OMB and the congressional delegation to seek reversal or mitigation.

Lawmakers pressed for specifics and for a list of community contracts and staffing that would be affected. The department said it is still analyzing details and working with state leaders and its federal contacts to clarify the size and timing of any recapture. \"It is not really related to COVID in terms of a direct response to the pandemic. It is related to COVID because we are preparing for the next pandemic with this money,\" the director said, urging lawmakers to consider the longer-term preparedness implications.

Looking ahead: the department asked the committee to consider the FY26 baseline cuts separately from the newly disclosed federal recapture. Officials said they will provide the committee with more granular lists of affected contracts and positions once the federal notices are fully interpreted and internal analyses are complete.

Sources and evidence: the department’s budget presentation and subsequent Q&A with committee members, including Chantal (budget presenter), department director Jerome Larkin and CFO Alicia Colella.","Department of Health budget presentation to the House Finance subcommittee highlighted a governor’s FY26 recommendation, heavy reliance on federal funds, and a newly disclosed federal plan to recapture roughly $31.2 million in pandemic-era grant money that officials say would affect staffing, labs and immunizations.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Union and veteran staffer ask House panel to restore eliminated Health Department FTE

Home visiting advocates urge $355k–$365k state match to preserve federal funds for Rhode Island families

Rollout of Rhode Island lead registry draws criticism over accuracy, inspector capacity

Rhode Island health department warns $31.2M federal grant recapture could cut staff, programs