Requires the children and families services program of the department of social and health services and of the department of children, youth, and families, as applicable, to facilitate a stakeholder work group in a collaborative effort to design a behavioral rehabilitation services rate payment methodology that is based on actual provider costs of care.

Provides a December 31, 2018, expiration date for the work group.

Requires the office of innovation, alignment, and accountability to develop a single validated tool to assess the care needs of foster children, and once the validated tool is available for use on a statewide basis, the department of children, youth, and families must use the tool for assessing the care needs of foster children, including whether the department should provide foster children with behavioral rehabilitation services, and notify the caseload forecast council, the office of financial management, and the legislature when it begins statewide use of the validated tool.

Requires the caseload forecast council to forecast the number of youth expected to receive behavioral rehabilitation services while involved in the foster care system and the number of screened-in reports of child abuse or neglect.

Requires certain expenditures for foster care, adoption support and related services, and child protective services to be forecasted and budgeted as maintenance level costs.

Requires the department of children, youth, and families, as part of its budget request submittal for the 2019-2021 biennial operating budget, to conduct a review of the most recent caseload forecast of children in foster care and the availability and capacity of licensed foster homes.

Provides an October 1, 2018, expiration date for the review.

"AN ACT Relating to the budgeting process for core state services for children."