Temporary Assistance For Needy Families

1

• Temporary Assistance For Needy Families
• Workforce Summit

2
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
AGENDA

• What Is TANF?
• The Four Purposes of TANF
• Penalties and Sanctions
• Using TANF Funds in the Welfare Transition
  Program
• Establishing Local Special Projects
• Questions and Answers

3
What is TANF?
A Historical Perspective

• TANF is a block grant that replaced the Aid to
  Families with Dependent Children or AFDC program
• The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
  Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was passed in 1996
• PROWORA
• Eliminated welfare as an entitlement
• Created a block grant known as TANF, which
  increased state flexibility
• Established requirements and work activities

4
What is TANF?
TANF Block Grant

• States are required to operate an assistance
  program
• Time limits
• Eligibility requirements
• Participation requirements
• States are now able to operate non-assistance
  programs and provide services to further one or
  more of the four purposes of TANF
• Diversions
• Services to help working families transition off
  welfare to work
• Family formation
• Out of wedlock pregnancy prevention
• States must develop a TANF State Plan to describe
  the operations of TANF programs and eligibility
  requirements

5
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose One

• Provide assistance to needy families so that
  children may be cared for in their own homes or
  in the homes of relatives
• Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) and the Welfare
  Transition (WT) program
• Eligibility is designated in Florida Statutes
  Chapter 414 and the TANF State Plan
• Provisions of assistance include specific
  requirements
• Time limits (414.105 F.S.)
• Work requirements (445.024 F.S.)
• Sanctions (414.065 F.S.)
• Self-sufficiency plan and assessments (45 CFR
  261.11 and 261.12)

6
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose One Assistance

• Assistance can only be provided under TANF
  purpose number one
• Assistance has specific eligibility requirements
  and performance requirements attached to receipt
• Assistance is not just cash payments, it may
  include support services

7
The Four Purposes of TANF
Rule of Thumb

• Assistance may only be provided to TCA recipients
• Assistance under federal law is defined as
• Cash payments, vouchers and any other form of
  benefits designed to meet a familys ongoing
  basic needs
• Childcare and transportation for families who are
  not employed

8
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose One How Do We Pull it All Together?

• Federal Regulations, TANF State Plan, statutes
  and guidance allows for the use of funds to
  develop work activities, for example
• Family literacy programs can combine work
  activities and education
• Intensive job search and job preparation programs
• Mentoring programs
• On the job training and work subsidy programs
• Federal Regulations, TANF State Plan, statutes
  and guidance allows for the use of funds to
  provide support services during work activity
  participation
• Development of activities and the use of funds
  for support services must meet the intent of
  federal legislation

9
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose Two

• End the dependence of needy parents on government
  benefits by promoting job preparation, work and
  marriage
• Individuals served under purpose two must be
  needy
• Individuals must be a part of a needy family
• In Florida, needy is defined for most programs
  under purpose two as below 200 of the Federal
  Poverty Level

10
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose Number Two

• All activities and services provided must further
  the purpose end the dependence of needy parents
  on government benefits
• Transitional services (445.028, 445.029, 445.030,
  445.031 F.S.)
• Up-Front Diversion and Relocation Assistance as a
  Diversion (445.017, 445.020, 445.021)
• Other diversion services (445.017, 445.018,
  445.020 F.S.)
• Non-custodial parent employment programs (445.065
  F.S.)
• Programs are established in law and the TANF
  State Plan
• Transitional services
• Diversions
• Non-custodial parent employment programs
• Youth program
• Working needy poor programs

11
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose Number Three

• Prevent and reduce the incidence of
  out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual
  numerical goals for preventing and reducing the
  incidence of these pregnancies
• Not restricted by federal law to needy or
  families
• All activities must further the purpose
• Is not limited to youth
• Often includes media campaigns and youth programs

12
The Four Purposes of TANF
TANF Purpose Number Four

• Encourage the formation and maintenance of two
  parent families
• Does not include the term needy
• Does include the terms two parent families
• May include
• Family counseling
• Parental counseling
• Parenting classes
• Visitation arrangements

13
The Four Purposes of TANF
Rule of Thumb

• For purposes two, three and four, only
  non-assistance may be provided when appropriate
• Non-assistance is defined as
• Childcare, transportation, and other supportive
  services provided to families that are employed
• Non-recurrent, short term benefits, which are
  designed to deal with a specific crisis situation
  or episode of need and are not intended to meet
  recurrent or ongoing needs and will not extend
  beyond four months

14
Rule of Thumb
Non-assistance Continued

• Work subsidies
• Refundable earned income tax credits
• Contributions to and distributions from IDAs
• Education or training, including tuition
  assistance (not including stipends)
• Counseling, case management, peer support, child
  care information and referral, transitional
  services, job retention, job advancement and
  other employment related services that do not
  provide basic income support

15
Penalties and Sanctions

• Misusing TANF funds (intentional and not
  intentional)
• Failing to meet minimum work requirements (4 of
  adjusted SFAG for each quarter)
• Failing to enforce five year time limit
• Failing to penalize recipients who refuse to
  engage in work (1-5 of adjusted SFAG)
• Sanctioning parents needing childcare for child
  under 6

16
TANF Funds
TANF Funds Cannot Be Spent On

• Medical services
• Cost sharing or matching requirement of another
  federal program unless specifically authorized by
  federal law
• The transfer to another federally funded program
  other than CCDF or the SSBG
• The transfer directly in to another program.
  States must contract for services and benefits
• The construction or purchase of buildings,
  facilities or real estate
• The general expenses required to carry out other
  responsibilities of the State (roads, etc.)
• Penalties or fines imposed by the court
• Parent fees for child care

17
TANF Funds
TANF Funds MUST Be Spent On

• Necessary costs
• Reasonable costs
• Allocable costs

18
Using TANF Funds in the WT Program
Flexibility Provided Under Federal Law

• Diversions
• Work Activities-must be aligned with State
  Statute definitions under 445.024
• Worksite development
• Combining worksite and education
• Education and services for English Speakers of
  Other Languages (ESOL)
• Subsidies for employers
• Employment related training
• Mentoring programs
• Support services
• Employer and participant incentives
• Transitional services

19
Using TANF Funds in the WT Program
Innovation

• MDRC at http//www.mdrc.org/publications_inpractic
  e.html provides How to Guides with ideas for
  moving participants from welfare to work
• Community service program that work
• Employer led programs
• Promoting participation
• HHS provides information regarding programs at
  http//www.acf.dhhs.gov/

20
Using TANF Funds in the WT Program
Innovation

• Successful programs are including specific
  elements
• Mentoring
• Social work inclusion
• Community agency inclusion in case management
  processes (staff meetings, case staffing)
• Detailed self-sufficiency plan and required
  updates
• Staff training to deal with difficult people,
  difficult situations, community agency referrals
  and balancing work (calendars, clients,
  paperwork, etc.)
• Reasonable caseload size
• Employment service staff that secure worksites,
  mentor clients, provide training to employers,
  meet with clients and employers, develop goals
  with clients and employers, conduct frequent
  evaluations, etc.

21
Establishing TANF Projects

• The RWB utilizes TANF dollars to establish both
  the WT program, locally, and other projects
• First determine the key principles
• What is the program providing?
• Who is the program serving?
• What purpose is the program serving?
• Are there any provisions in Federal Regulations,
  the TANF State Plan or State law?
• Was the program successful?

22
Key Principles

• What provisions does the RWB want to provide to
  the population?
• Assess the need
• List out the services that will be provided
• List the activities that will be included in the
  project
• Who is the program serving?
• Assess the need
• Determine the population needs to be served

23
Key Principles

• Why?
• Do these services need to be provided?
• Is the population in need?
• What is the need?
• Based on the why, what purpose does the
  services and program provisions further?
• Ensure all activities further the purpose
  selected
• Outline the eligibility guidelines based on the
  purpose
• Develop local operating procedures

24
Key Principles

• Are there any provisions in federal or State law?
• Check the State Plan to ensure the provisions and
  services are allowed and included in the States
  TANF program delivery design
• Statutes already outline diversions, transitional
  benefits and work activity definitions so, use
  this information
• Federal law limits certain activities for work
  participation rate inclusion

25
Key Principles

• What is the RWB trying to accomplish?
• Was the program successful?
• Before the program ever begins, develop the goals
• Number of persons the project will serve
• Number of persons the project will train
• Number of persons that will obtain a job
• Number of employed persons that will gain an
  increase in pay, increase in benefits, or a
  higher paying job
• The percentage of youth that will not become
  pregnant
• The number of non-custodial parent visitation
  hours per parent
• The number of months non-custodial parents
  maintain child support

26
Key Principles
Non-custodial Parents

• Must reside in the State of Florida
• Must have a related child residing in the State
  of Florida
• Custodial family must be included in income
  requirements (if required based on purpose or
  program)
• Non-custodial parent must be engaged with Child
  Support Enforcement (particularly for TANF
  purpose number two) to pay child support

27
Local Operating Procedures
Put It In Writing

• Reduce differential treatment
• Provide guidance to participants and staff
• Are guidelines that may be presented in a
  grievance
• Provide documentation to review in case of
  monitoring or an audit
• Should be developed prior to program
  implementation
• Each update should be documented and previous
  versions retained

28
Questions to Consider

• Can we provide training and education to
  unemployed individuals who are not on cash
  assistance?
• Can we provide support services to individuals
  who are unemployed and not on cash assistance?
• Can we develop a project to serve sanctioned WT
  participants?
• Can we provide employment services to applicants
  of cash assistance without providing Up-Front
  Diversion cash payments?

29
Questions to Consider

• Can we re-train a WT participant who has quit
  work to go back to school?
• Can we train a WT participant to obtain a job
  that is not high demand?
• What activity can be developed for a refugee or
  immigrant without the ability to work?
• What activities can be developed for a person who
  has low education scores and has not retained
  employment longer than a month?

30
The End

• Your questions and comments
• Thank you for attending
• Please, do not hesitate to contact us if you need
  assistance
• Erica Mott erica.mott_at_awi.state.fl.us
• JenniLee Robins jrobins_at_workforceflorida.com