Budgeters push permanent merger of health, family services

The Joint Appropriations Committee voted last week to sponsor a bill making permanent a temporary merger of the Wyoming Department of Health and the Department of Family Services.

The Department of Family Services was placed under the control of Department of Health director Tom Forslund in June, when the DFS director resigned. At the time, Forslund told the Casper Star-Tribune he would look at whether a permanent merger of the two made sense. His staff has decided it does, he told lawmakers on the JAC on Jan. 10.

The merger would create opportunities for savings and efficiencies by melding the support staff behind the two agencies. There was no discussion of whether jobs would be reduced through the merger. Nor is there any current estimate of how much taxpayer money could be saved, House Appropriations Chairman Bob Nicholas told WyoFile.

Forslund also said he believed the two agencies’ clients would benefit. Many people who are served by one agency are also served by the other, Forslund said. He estimated the overlap in clients at more than 80 percent, as both agencies frequently focus on assisting low-income Wyoming residents. For example, someone receiving services from DFS is probably also a Medicaid client, Forslund said.

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