Current Federal Policies | Analysis of Policy Proposals | Workforce Research Analysis of Policy Proposals Senators Carper and Bayh Revise TANF Reauthorization Plan While holding to their proposed increases in the work requirement and in the work participation rate, Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Tom Carper (D-DE) announced several revisions to their TANF reauthorization plan on May 2nd. The changes prompted Senators Graham (D-FL), Clinton (D-NY), and Lieberman (D-CT) to join other centrist Democrats already on the bill (Miller-GA, Carnahan-MO, Nelson-NE, Nelson-FL) as original co-sponsors of the "Work and Family Act". The plan still mirrors House Republican and President Bush's plan to increase work requirements to 40 hours and the work participation rate to 70 percent. However, in terms of work, education and training, the plan: Requires recipients to work 40 hours, with 20 hours in direct work and an additional 20 hours in approved work-related activities. The increased work requirements are contingent upon the availability of adequate child care funding. Provides limited expansion of vocational training and education by allowing states to count up to half of the individuals participating in vocational education and training for 24 months, but retains the current 30 percent cap on the number of recipients who can be engaged in education and training activities and count towards a state's work participation rate. Provides funding for Pathway Grants to states to improve coordination of support programs. States would be required to conduct assessments of their regional labor markets and identify industries or occupations that need workers, and compare job seeker needs with the states' job training infrastructure. Replaces the caseload reduction credit with a series of full and partial credits, capped at no more than 15 percent of the entire caseload. These credits to states would include: an employment credit for recipients who leave TANF for employment, partial credit for placing non-custodial parents in work and collecting child support, bonus credit for placing recipients in higher paying jobs; additional credit for recipients who engage in 24 hours per week of direct work, partial credit for recipients who work 24 hours a week but engage in less than 20 hours per week of work-related activities, and credit for increasing child support collection. Creates competitive grants for public/private partnerships for educational opportunities. Employers who provide access to community college continuing education will be eligible for competitive grants. Funds subsidized transitional jobs to provide work experience and help participants overcome barriers to employment and transition into unsubsidized jobs. Asking states to examine local labor markets and their job training infrastructures, and rewarding states for moving TANF recipients into high-growth and better paying jobs are key elements of the Workforce Alliance's TANF reauthorization platform. For more information on other provisions of the proposal, visit http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=250444&kaid=103&subid=111.