| November 30, 2001 Dear Secretary Horn, Thank you for the taking the
time to meet with state representatives to discuss TANF Reauthorization.
We appreciate this opportunity to reiterate in writing some of the verbal
comments made by our state representatives at the forum in San Francisco
on October 25th. By all accounts welfare reform has been a success across
the nation. We believe many of the existing features of TANF are
responsible for that success and should be continued. 1) Maintain
flexibility. One of the main keys to the success of welfare reform has
been the broad flexibility granted the states to design and manage the
program. We strongly support continuation of the flexibility provided in
the broad goals outlined in the law. In Washington State, this flexibility
allowed the state to reduce our welfare caseloads by 45% since 1997. It
enabled the state to devise and implement innovative programs such as the
nationally acclaimed Child Care Career Wage Ladder and the Community Jobs
programs which represent the type of creativity that state and county
officials can generate when given the opportunity to respond to
locally-driven needs. We strongly urge the Administration and Congress to
avoid special earmarking of funds, which will restrict state flexibility
and could result in substantial cuts in needed services such as child care
and job training.. As our TANF funding currently is over obligated, any
earmarking of funds would necessitate reductions in other needed services.
2) Funding levels should be maintained at their current levels, indexed to
inflation. In Washington state, we face a general fund budget shortfall of
$1.2 billion for this upcoming year. Current funding levels for TANF must
be maintained or increased in order to continue successfully transitioning
recipients into the workforce as we will be unable to dedicate state
resources in our current budget situation. Furthermore, since 1996, the
reliability of a stable funding source has been critical to our success by
allowing the state to be innovative and responsive to the changing demands
of the caseload. We urge your support for a continued long term commitment
to funding stability for TANF. We also support allowing carry-over funds
to be used for all TANF purposes. Current restrictions result in resources
being spent on complex accounting and administration, rather than on
needed services. 3) Poverty reduction should be included as a TANF goal.
The primary goal of TANF has been getting people into jobs. However, long
term poverty reduction is critical to breaking the cycle of dependency
among families on the welfare caseload. In Washington State, nearly 70% of
our adult TANF population has previously received assistance. States
should be encouraged and rewarded for helping families earn their way out
of poverty. 4) An holistic approach to TANF with regard to other federal
social service programs is critical. As you are aware, Congress is set to
reauthorize not only TANF in the coming months, but the federal Food Stamp
program, the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the Promoting
Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Act, and the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA). Washington uses TANF, SSBG and CCDF grants together
to support TANF recipients and low-income working families. If one of
these grants is reduced or if flexibility is diminished, families may lose
services critical to their successful transition to work. The relationship
between the TANF program and child welfare needs critical examination. In
addition, greater regulatory streamlining between TANF and the Food Stamp
program around common eligibility requirements, definitions and income
calculations would enable local caseworkers to spend more time with
clients and less time dealing with paperwork. 5) State flexibility
regarding time limits should be maintained. Like many other states, we are
now beginning to grapple with the impact of the federal 60-month lifetime
time limits on our welfare caseload. In an uncertain economic climate,
flexibility should be granted states which experience severe economic
hardship to modify the 60 month time limit during periods of exceptionally
high unemployment. 6) The definition of “work” should be broadened to
allow short-term participation in services needed to transition an
individual into employment. Current federal law allows a limited range of
activities to count as "work." In recognition of changing caseload
characteristics and local economic conditions, states should have more
flexibility to define work activities for federal "participation"
purposes. Activities such as short term mental health or substance abuse
treatment and interventions to resolve family violence situations should
be included. Opportunities for stand-alone education and training to
promote literacy and boost skill levels should be expanded. States should
be given the option of extending the 12-month limit on vocational
education to 24 months for high demand, high wage jobs. 7) Federal welfare
benefits to legal immigrants should be fully restored. Congress should
follow the 1998 partial restoration of Food Stamp benefits to immigrants
with increased restoration of TANF benefits next year. Thank you again for
inviting state perspectives on welfare reform implementation. We look
forward to working with you and your regional representatives as
reauthorization moves forward. Sincerely, Frank Chopp, Speaker Washington
State House of Representatives |
