#2. Families First and Welfare Reform Reauthoriza

Meredith Bellson 29 posts Aug 17, 2007 2:44 PM

#2. Families First and Welfare Reform Reauthorization 2003-2004 NOTE: POST A MESSAGE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS! WHEREAS, in May, 1996 Tennessee enacted state legislation (Public Chapter 950) to replace the traditional public assistance program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), under which families were entitled to basic maintenance as long as they fit within specific categories and conditions of eligibility, with a new program known as Families First in Tennessee, which provides time-limited assistance contingent on the recipient's assumption of personal responsibility for using education, training, supportive services, and job opportunities to achieve the highest possible level of self-sufficiency; and WHEREAS, following approval of TN's Families First eleven-year waiver (exp. 2007) by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in July 1996, new federal welfare reform legislation was signed into law on August 22, 1996, which is known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Act (P.L. 104-193) with a scheduled expiration of September 30, 2002; and WHEREAS, TCSW and many other advocates are studying and monitoring various federal proposals for reauthorizing TANF and have great concerns about the loss of state flexibility contained in most proposals including those of the President, as well as proposals for more stringent work requirements that do not have accompanying adequate funding for child care to levels that will enable states to serve children whose parents may be required to work longer hours; and WHEREAS, in the early 1990s TCSW convened a group of advocates to meet regularly with the TDHS management staff and since 1996 the group has focused on the Families First Program to offer support and assist in identifying and pursuing needed improvements and program expansions; and WHEREAS, although TCSW had many concerns about the TN Families First program at the outset, we now commend TDHS on the following achievements: • A blended approach to welfare reform that combines work with education and training; • Personal Responsibility Plans (PRPs) prescribing a broad range of work activities totaling 40 hours for most participants, but 20 hours for those testing below the 9th grade level in reading or math who commit to adult education; • Partnerships with a large number and variety of TN large and small employers who hire and train Families First participants; • An array of support services necessary for participants, including First Wheels that is now a self- sustaining program and offers no-interest loans on dependable used cars for participants in need of transportation; • Despite time limited assistance - 5 years lifetime, and 18 months consecutively, participants under certain circumstances may receive extensions, or have their monthly counts interrupted; • Development of a Customer Service Review process to protect the cash support of low-income children when the family is willing to comply with program requirements but may have had unavoidable circumstances that without the review could have caused an interruption of cash support; • Family Services Counseling (FSC) for participants facing unique barriers to self-sufficiency including mental health problems, domestic violence, substance abuse, children's health and behavioral issues. FSC provides comprehensive screening and assessment, counseling, intensive case management, referrals, and advocacy utilizing experienced, master-level social workers through contracts with community agencies; • Creation of differential grants that are paid to four categories of exempt individuals who were most at- risk due to the very low grant levels in TN (average grant in April 2003 was $171 for a family of 2.6 people); • Home visits from a Department of Health nurse for cases that are terminated for a reason that is not considered a successful transition from welfare. The home visits are for the purpose of monitoring and protecting the safety and well-being of the children within such families; and WHEREAS, formal evaluations conducted by the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee College of Social Work have produced data regarding the overall effectiveness of Families First; and WHEREAS, many of the achievements cited above were program expansions that were directly related to surplus TANF funds available because of the dramatic decline in TN's Families First caseload during the first four years of the program: August 1996 there were 91,499 cases down to the lowest point in June 2000 of 55,933 cases; as of June 2003 the Families First caseload has risen to 71,051 cases reflecting the very tight job market in TN as well as the general economic recession experienced nationally, although the caseload is still about 22 percent below the August 1996 figure; and WHEREAS, as TN made state budget cuts, over $5.5 million in state funds for fiscal year 2003-2004 were cut from the Families First program, along with the other TDHS budget cuts; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that TCSW continue to support and monitor the Families First Program at the state and local levels, and participate actively in the partnership with the TDHS and its customers by providing constructive input toward preserving and improving the program; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW monitor the progress of federal TANF Reauthorization and provide education and advocacy with special emphasis on the following areas: • Advocate for federal child care funding increases that will be at least $5.5 billion additional for the Child Care Development Block Grant, and that these additional funds should be mandatory and made available to states without a matching requirement. More than 22,000 low-income Tennessee families who are working and need child care are on a waiting list because of the lack of funding, so families leaving welfare for work will lose all child care assistance unless federal funding is increased. • Advocate that any new federal welfare reauthorization law be designed to allow TN to continue successful Families First education, training and barrier removal programs. TN has been able to provide an effective array of such programs due to the waiver. Unless the new federal law gives TN credit with respect to federal work participation requirements for these programs, the state may be forced in 2007 to dismantle effective programs that move families from welfare to work simply because they do not satisfy federal requirements. Specifically, the new law should: 1. Give TN credit with respect to federal core work requirements for barrier removal programs such as Family Services Counseling and Renewal House that have been nationally recognized for their excellence. TN should receive credit for such programs for a longer period than three months, which is the time-limit contained in the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. 2. Give TN credit with respect to federal core work requirements for Adult Basic Education and Post-Secondary Education programs that have proven to be successful. 3. Give TN credit with respect to federal core work requirements for the Employment Career Services program, which has helped Tennesseans prepare for and obtain jobs (such as Licensed Practical Nurses), that provide a real chance to achieve self-sufficiency. • Advocate that TN be allowed to continue Transitional Medicaid benefits for 18 months after a Families First case is closed. The federal waiver that allows TN to do this will expire in 2007 and current federal law only allows for 12 months of Transitional Medicaid benefits. • Advocate that TN be allowed to use federal TANF funds to provide services to documented immigrants who are not citizens. TN currently uses state funding to provide Families First program services for documented immigrants because the current federal welfare law does not permit the use of federal TANF funds; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW support the continued operation of the TDHS as the family support agency including focusing on maintaining family unity and avoiding state custody for children in Tennessee; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW continue support for the observance of due process in the reduction or termination of benefits for participants; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW continue to examine proposed Families First program cuts that were necessitated by TN's dire fiscal situation coupled with the depletion of surplus TANF funds and will impact the TDHS Families First Program for 2003-2004 for a total of at least $27.6 million in reductions; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW continue to educate and advocate for the Families First consumers, with over 113,000 low-income, vulnerable Tennessee children, to assure that the general public, legislators, administration officials, and the Governor recognize the urgency and priority of restoring the $5.5 million in state funds for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, along with the necessity for providing more adequate levels of assistance and services to promote the self-sufficiency of this very important population.

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