SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 3575 words

COMMITTEE: HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE: HUMAN RESOURCE

HEADLINE: WELFARE OVERHAUL PROPOSALS

TESTIMONY-BY: PAUL MARCHAND,, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

AFFILIATION: POLICY AND ADVOCACY, ARC

BODY:
Statement of

Paul Marchand, Assistant Executive Director, Policy and Advocacy, Arc, and Co-Chair, TANF Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House

Committee on Ways and Means

Hearing on Welfare Reform Reauthorization Proposals

April 11, 2002

Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, I am Paul Marchand, the Assistant Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy at The Arc, and co-chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities' TANF Task Force. I am accompanied today by Laurel Stine, the Director of Federal Relations at the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and co-chair of the CCD TANF Task Force.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is a coalition of approximately 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, DC. We work together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. The CCD advocates on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families through organized Task Forces on such issues as housing, health care, education, and welfare reform. The CCD TANF Task Force seeks to ensure that families that include persons with disabilities are afforded equal opportunities and appropriate accommodations under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant. Included in my written statement is the governing document for our task force. Principles Guiding the Reauthorization of TANF spells out the key principles that we believe should underlie improvements in TANF reauthorization from a disability perspective. The recommendations included in my statement also appear in a second governing document for the task force; these recommendations describe the steps we believe are needed to implement those principles in ways that will help parents with disabilities and parents caring for children with disabilities to be able to maximize their potential through the TANF program.

We start from the premise that all people with disabilities must have the opportunity to maximize their potential -including to be able to work -and that it is the legal obligation of the government - federal, state and local -to ensure that people with disabilities have equal and meaningful access to all programs receiving federal funds. This is the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, both of which Congress specifically incorporated into the TANF statute in 1996 at Section 408(c), 42 U.S.C. S608(c).

It is still common for policymakers not to realize that many people with disabilities are in the families being served by TANF programs. Early in the process of welfare reform, the thinking among many state level policymakers was, if the person was really disabled then she would be receiving Supplemental Security Income. And, for some parents and children on TANF, it is true that they should be receiving SSI and may need their state's help in securing these benefits. But, the SSI eligibility criteria require a severe disability and we are finding that there are many who do not meet the SSI test but who clearly are disabled for TANF purposes. The studies now show that many parents on TANF have disabilities and other health conditions that inhibit their ability to work, but who with appropriate supports and services, could be working. Last fall, the General Accounting Office found that 44 percent of parents receiving TANF had at least one physical or mental health impairment, three times higher than the rate of such impairments among adults not receiving TANF benefits.[1] This confirmed earlier findings from the Urban Institute and others.[2]

The studies show that parents on TANF have mental impairments such as severe depression, general anxiety disorder, post- traumatic stress disorder, learning disabilities, mental retardation, and physical impairments. These impairments can make it difficult for a parent to work or to understand and comply with state rules. Many families have multiple barriers to work, one or more of which is a disability or health condition.[3] In many instances, parents would like to work but will need intensive supports and services if they are to succeed. Some examples of these supports include training designed to take into account the person's disability, counseling, substance abuse treatment, on-the-job supports, child care and transportation. For some, full-time work may be the long-term goal, but there will need to be numerous smaller steps taken over time before such a goal can be reached. For others, part-time work in a supportive setting may be the ultimate goal.

There also are children with disabilities in TANF families. Some of these children receive SSI -the Urban Institute has reported that about four percent of children in TANF families receive SSI children's disability benefits[4] -while far more have health conditions that do not rise to the SSI level of severity but who nevertheless require constant parental care and attention. For example, the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, studying TANF recipient families in four urban counties -Los Angeles, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Miami-Dade, FL, and Cuyahoga County, OH (Cleveland) -found that one-fourth of non-employed mothers receiving TANF had a child with an illness or disability that limited the mothers' ability to workor attend school.[5]

Our sense it that the picture over the past five years as it applies to people with disabilities is mixed. Some parents with disabilities are now working but many others have been inappropriately sanctioned and lost TANF or have not received the services and supports they will need -often on a long-term basis -in order to take the steps that will ultimately allow them to work or achieve a greater degree of independence. Even among those who are working, we are concerned that some may be struggling to hang on to jobs and need additional supports and services to succeed. We were very pleased last year when the Office for Civil Rights at HHS issued guidance to states and counties explaining how the ADA and Section 504 apply in the TANF program.[6] This important step has helped to alert states and counties to their obligations to assist people with disabilities and to focus their attention on the types of policy changes that will be needed to ensure that people with disabilities are fully protected and served in their programs.

There is some evidence that some states are taking steps to assist people with disabilities in their TANF programs -and some of this evidence pre-dates the OCR guidance. But, the research reflects that these efforts are still very much in their infancy and that parents with disabilities and parents caring for children with disabilities continue to be at a disadvantage in most state TANF programs. We know, for example, that significant numbers of parents with disabilities are among those who have been sanctioned off of state TANF programs -often because their disability prevented them from complying. MDRC found that, "[w]elfare recipients with multiple health problems and with certain health problems (notably, physical abuse, risk of depression, having a chronically ill or disabled child) were more likely than other recipients to have been sanctioned in the prior year." And, among those who had left welfare, "[w]elfare leavers with multiple health problems were more likely than other women who had left welfare to say that they had been terminated by the welfare agency rather than that they left on their own accord."[7]

We also know of numerous disturbing examples of families with a member with disabilities where the system has failed them -as well as some for whom the system has worked. Consider, for example, these two parents' stories, included by the Colorado Governor's Task Force on Welfare Reform in their report, Moving Forward with Welfare Reform:[8]

Client A:

"A client was tested and had an IQ of 67. She was sent to Vocational Rehab and then instructed to seek work. She received child care for two occasions and then was sanctioned in Colorado Works. Her family became homeless in November 1998 and the children were placed in foster care in December 1998."

Client B:

"A client has an IQ of 67 and is a victim of domestic violence. There is suspicion of brain damage as a result of abuse. She cannot communicate well, she is conscientious but has few skills. She has an anxiety disorder which cannot be treated because of her heart problem. She sees a physician weekly to manage blood thinning medications. She had surgery for a valve replacement one year ago. She was assigned to a community college program which reported that she would be doing fine but then the next day she couldn't remember what she had learned. It takes the parent approximately one month to learn a bus route. The county required that she find a job in six months. Later that expectation was lowered to ten hours of time within her supported living program."

The description of the steps the state took to help Client B provides a sense of the types of steps that states will need to take in order to help some parents with disabilities to maximize their potential. Unfortunately, no steps -not even ongoing child care for her children -were taken to assist Client A, with the tragic consequence that she was sanctioned, lost her home, and then lost custody of her children. It should not be acceptable to the Congress that even one parent with disabilities or one parent caring for a child with disabilities faces these types of consequences in TANF. Unfortunately, the research suggests that problems like this are all to frequently occurring across the country, at great personal expense to parents and children.

The CCD TANF Task Force recommends that Congress take the following steps to ensure that parents with disabilities and parents caring for children with disabilities are able not only to fully benefit from the TANF program but also not harmed by policies that do not take into account the impact of their disabilities on their ability to comply with program rules:

Screening and Assessment

Ensure that TANF beneficiaries have access to screening carried out by trained personnel who use appropriate tools to identify barriers to employment, including cognitive and learning disabilities, physical impairments, mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Ensure TANF beneficiaries that are identified as having such barriers to employment have access to comprehensive assessments by qualified professionals.

Ensure all screening and assessments are voluntary on the part of TANF beneficiaries; TANF beneficiaries should not be subject to a sanction or closure for failing to participate in a screening or assessment.

Ensure that case workers inform TANF beneficiaries of the purpose of screening and assessment including the possibility that modification of requirements may be made to accommodate identified disabilities.

Ensure results of screening and assessments are maintained in accordance with professional standards of confidentiality.

States should consider other documentation of the existence of a disability in a family.

Services

Ensure qualified professionals are responsible for the development of tailored Individual Responsibility Plans for families that have been identified as including a person with a disability. Such plans should include a list of services the state must provide to ensure people with disabilities have the access to services, supports and treatment that will allow them to address their barriers to work and be successful in the workplace, consistent with their abilities and capabilities.

Encourage agencies administering TANF to facilitate inter-agency collaboration and explore co-location of services to facilitate access to the services, support and treatment that TANF beneficiaries require to address their barriers to work.

Repeal the provision in current law that prohibits those convicted of a drug felony from receiving TANF assistance.

Require states to ensure that an adequate network of service providers with specialized experience and expertise are available and accessible to meet the needs of TANF beneficiaries with disabilities.

Work Requirements/Work Participation

Provide flexibility to states and qualified professionals to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities by allowing activities that address employment barriers to count towards meeting work participation requirements.

Activities should include substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, education, vocational training, provision of child-care, and other activities considered appropriate by the state.

Modify work participation requirements to address and accommodate the impact that variations in types and severity of disabilities have on work and support needs, including the reality that some persons with disabilities currently may not be capable of meeting the generally applicable work requirements and for some persons with disabilities the ability to work varies over time because of the episodic nature of disability. Flexibility must be provided to take into account that some individuals with disabilities are currently not capable of working. Others are capable of working only on a part time or limited basis that may not meet the generally applicable work requirements. Still other are capable of meeting the generally applicable work requirements but not within the timeframes, or given the nature of the services, supports, and treatments available. Others may not be capable of meeting generally applicable work requirements because the individual is a parent of a child with a disability and the individual is unable to obtain appropriate child care services.

Ensure that states receive appropriate credit for providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities and ensure that states are not penalized for failing to meet work participation rates due to (1) the state making reasonable modification for persons with disabilities, (2) the state making reasonable modification for a parent with a child with a disability, and (3) the reality that certain individuals currently are not capable of meeting the generally applicable work participation requirements.

Time limits

Ensure that a state makes reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities regarding TANF time limits. More specifically, the provision in the statute concerning time limits should be modified to require a state to disregard months of assistance received by an individual identified as having a significant barrier to employment during any period in which the state did not provide necessary services and supports to the individual. Significant barriers include physical or mental impairments (including substance abuse disorders) that substantially impair an individual's ability to engage in generally required levels of work and a parent of a child with a disability if the child's need for parental care results in the parent being unable to engage in the generally required level of work.

In addition, the state should be required to disregard months of assistance during which an individual is unable to engage in the generally required levels of work.

Sanctions and Closures

Remedy the disproportionate sanctioning of people with disabilities and prohibit states from sanctioning individuals with identified disabilities who have not been accommodated. In other words, states should be prohibited from sanctioning an individual if the state fails to offer appropriate screenings and assessment or fails to provide an individual with necessary services and supports that the state knew or should have known were needed to work or comply with other requirements in the individual's plan.

Require states to adopt procedures to ensure outreach and assistance are provided before and after the implementation of a sanction or a closure to help a family become compliant and prevent people with disabilities from losing access to the services, support and treatment they may require to successfully transition to work.

Require states to restore benefits immediately to a family who has been sanctioned as soon as they become compliant with agency requirements.

Ensuring Continued Success For People in Transition to Work

Require states to ensure people with disabilities have access to transitional benefits, work supports, and other on-the-job support services and training to enhance the likelihood they will remain stably employed. Medicaid coverage should continue for a minimum of 12 months for TANF leavers and states should have the flexibility to extend this further.

Require states to plan for the successful work placement and responsible termination of TANF benefits for families that include a person with a disability by ensuring families have access to on-the-job support services and training and/or other community-based services to help them succeed.

Civil Rights

The statute should be amended to require that a state describe the "methods of administration" it plans to adopt to ensure compliance with the civil rights statutes, including the ADA, so as to ensure consistency among job training programs in the state. The Department of Labor regulations implementing section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act already require the adoptions of methods of administration.

Client Assistance/Ombudsman

Require agencies administering TANF programs to have a designated, independent entity that can serve as a client assistance advocate or "ombudsman" to serve those families that include an adult or child with a disability.

Participation in Program Design

Require states to have client representatives (including adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities) participate in developing the state TANF plan.

Require states to establish Advisory Panels, whose membership includes former and current TANF beneficiaries with disabilities, which are responsible for monitoring how the state can improve how it serves people with barriers to work, including people with disabilities.

Qualified Service Providers & Technical Assistance

Require states to define 'qualified service providers' within the TANF block grant program and set minimum education, training, and/or certification or licensure standards.

Require that state and local agencies develop a plan to provide on-going training to service providers to improve the delivery of services to people with disabilities.

Direct the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide on-going training and technical assistance to state and local agencies to improve the delivery of services to TANF beneficiaries with disabilities, including grants to states and counties interested in supporting initiatives to achieve systemic improvements in addressing the needs of persons with diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities.

Research

Provide resources to DHHS for research that will examine families' services and support needs and whether they are receiving those services to ensure people with disabilities are being appropriately served under the TANF block grant program. This should provide states and counties with examples of effective best practices in services, assessment tools, and programs designed to address the needs of parents with barriers; including disabilities, and parents caring for a child with a disability.

Provide additional resources to DHHS for competitively awarded demonstration projects to test the effectiveness of strategies to help TANF beneficiaries with disabilities.

Funding

It is essential that the basic TANF block grant be maintained and adjusted for inflation. Failure to do this will mean erosion in the value of the block grant and reduction in what states can do with the funds. The services and supports that parents with disabilities need to successfully move to work are often long- term and intensive. Without an increase in the block grant, it will be difficult for states to meet the needs of these parents and families.

Finally, in closing, we are very concerned that proposals to increase the number of work activity hours per week required of parents and to increase states' work participation rates will increase the negative outcomes for people with disabilities in TANF-funded programs. By reducing state flexibility and forcing states to redirect dollars away from services into work experience positions, states will find it harder to assist parents with barriers, including parents with disabilities. For far too many parents with disabilities -and parents caring for a child with disabilities - a requirement of 24 hours per week of work supplemented by 16 hours of more flexible activities will present an insurmountable obstacle to moving ahead.and, we fear, will lead to even more sanctioning of some of the most needy and vulnerable families.

Thank you again for this opportunity to testify. We will be happy to be helpful to you and your staff as you mark up the TANF reauthorization bill.



LOAD-DATE: May 1, 2002