| November 30, 2001 TANF Reauthorization Ideas Office of Family
Assistance 5th Floor East, Aerospace Building 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
Washington, DC 20447 Many poor families have left the welfare rolls since
the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. The nation now faces the challenge of
ensuring that these families, along with those that remain on the welfare
rolls, have the opportunity to move out of poverty and attain
self-sufficiency. This challenge gains new importance as the nation enters
an economic downturn, which will increase the financial demands on states
and localities to provide support and assistance to an increasing number
of vulnerable families. The upcoming debate over the reauthorization of
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant provides
the nation with an opportunity to reflect on the changes brought about by
welfare reform and to make needed adjustments. The California Budget
Project, through its work conducting independent fiscal and policy
analysis and public education, has identified four issues of critical
importance: · The amount of the TANF block grant should be increased
annually to reflect the loss of purchasing power due to inflation; ·
States should continue to have flexibility to design programs that meet
the varying needs of their citizens; · Time limits should be moderated for
those that are complying with program requirements and in areas of high
unemployment or when there is a significant increase in unemployment; and
· The range of activities that count toward work participation
requirements should be broadened to include more intensive education and
training programs. FUNDING Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of
the TANF Block Grant by 13.5 percent over the last five years. While the
erosion has been moderated by the decline in TANF caseloads, welfare
reform has also increased the financial demands on states for supportive
services such as child care, job search and job training, and more
intensive efforts to assist recipients with barriers to employment.
Welfare reform has also increased the complexity of program
administration, due to the wider array of programs and services needed to
transition families from cash assistance to employment. This demand for
resources has been moderated for several years by the availability of
unspent funds from the initial years of TANF when welfare agencies were
ramping up programs. However, California has spent all available TANF and
state matching funds and now faces a deficit in TANF and MOE-supported
programs in the range of $500 million during the upcoming fiscal year. To
ensure that current service levels are maintained, the amount of TANF
funding must be increased annually to account for inflation. STATE
FLEXIBILITY One of the hallmarks of welfare reform was the devolution of
decision-making to the states. This flexibility has enabled states like
California to develop programs and services that meet the varying needs of
diverse populations. These services include child care, transportation,
education, vocational training, English as a Second Language, mental
health, substance abuse counseling, etc. Without these services, many
former welfare recipients would not be able to obtain or retain
employment. States need this high degree of flexibility so they can
continue existing programs and create new ones that meet the needs of
welfare recipients in their state. TIME LIMITS Many view strict time
limits as a critical factor in getting welfare recipients to work.
However, there is an unintended downside to this strategy. Welfare
recipients who comply with TANF work requirements, but continue to receive
cash assistance, are exhausting their time on TANF. Approximately 38
percent of the adults enrolled in California’s CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work
program are employed. Imposing time limits on families who have complied
with the mandates of welfare reform will eliminate the safety net in the
event of a loss of employment, limit access to basic services and training
that are essential for families to make the transition to
self-sufficiency, and reduce families’ resources to the point where they
may not be available to afford the basic necessities, such as food and
shelter. WORK REQUIREMENTS TANF’s "work first" approach limits the ability
of poor families to obtain the skills needed to obtain jobs that provide
sufficient income to support a family and access to advancement. In
particular, the current law prevents welfare recipients from pursuing
post-secondary education, which is a minimum qualification for most higher
paid employment. Post-secondary education is particularly critical in
California's technology-based economy. In order to provide recipients with
the opportunity to attain economic self-sufficiency, TANF's definition of
allowable work activities should be expanded to include post-secondary and
vocational education. CONCLUSION The evolution from AFDC to TANF has given
many welfare recipients the help they need to move from welfare to work.
After five years, the country now must renew its commitment to helping
families make the transition from poverty to self-sufficiency. We
encourage you to adopt the changes outlined above so that states will have
the resources and ability to achieve this goal. Sincerely, Jean Ross
Executive Director |
