U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Seeks Comments on Reauthorization of 1996 Welfare Law
DEADLINE: November 30, 2001
October 25, 2001On October 17, 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it was inviting comments on the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program (TANF). Stating that the TANF program goes before Congress for reauthorization next year, HHS said that the purpose of their notice "is to invite public comment about what changes the Administration should propose for this program." A copy of the full notice appears below. Comments must be submitted on or before November 30, 2001.
This is a chance to have your voices heard on ways to improve the TANF program. It is critically important that social work educators and practitioners submit comments in response to this invitation. It is clear that the Administration will submit a TANF reauthorization bill to Congress, but at this point it is not clear what it will include. HHS is conducting a number of initiatives to inform their decisions on what to propose in TANF reauthorization. One way it is doing this is by conducting "listening tours" in five locations around the country (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco). Speakers have already been chosen for those tours, however. They include governors and state administrators, and the recipients who speak will be chosen by the governors. Although this method of choosing speakers will leave out many, HHS has launched a second initiative -- this call for comments about TANF. This is an opportunity to let HHS hear about experiences with TANF other than those discussed by governors and hand-picked recipients. Your suggestions for change could lead HHS to try to improve the TANF program.
Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI) and 30 co-sponsors introduced a bill on October 12, 2001, to reauthorize and reform the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. The bill, the TANF Reauthorization Act of 2001 (H.R. 3113), contains many provisions that would improve the TANF program. However, NASW has not yet taken a formal position on the bill. A draft summary follows. The full text of the bill is available at http://thomas.loc.gov. Senator Paul Wellstone (W-MN) is expected to introduce a companion bill early in 2002.
Comments to HHS on the TANF reauthorization should be about your own experiences with TANF either as a researcher, service provider, advocate, policy expert, recipient, or former recipient. Below is an outline of some of the major issues, developed by a coalition of national organizations and augmented by NASW, on which you may want to comment. Feel free to use this outline as you see fit. But please let HHS know what you are thinking about TANF reauthorization. And please do not fail to highlight your social work expertise.
How to submit comments to HHS:
- By mail: Address to: TANF Reauthorization Ideas, Office of Family Assistance, 5th Floor East, Aerospace Building, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington, DC 20447.
- By hand delivery: Office of Family Assistance, 5th Floor East, 901 D Street, SW., Washington, DC.
- Electronically, go to OFA's Web site at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/ and follow the instructions.
The contact person at HHS if you have further questions is: Ann Burek, Senior Program Specialist, Office of Family Assistance, ACF, at 202-401-4528. Ms. Burek's e-mail address is: aburek@acf.dhhs.gov.
POSSIBLE ISSUES FOR COMMENT
- First, educate the agency about the social work profession. Lawmakers and the general public overwhelmingly associate social workers with public welfare, however, less than one percent of NASW's members are employed in a public welfare agency. Social workers are trained professionals who have bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees in social work from an accredited social work program. A social service employee, caseworker, or volunteer community worker is not a social worker unless he or she has a degree in social work. About half of NASW members are clinical social workers in direct service in settings such as mental health facilities, schools, hospitals, businesses, and criminal justice facilities.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) identifies clinical social work as one of the four core mental health professions, along with psychiatry, psychology, and clinical psychiatric nursing. Of the core mental health providers, clinical social workers comprise the majority, 60 percent, nationwide. Professional social workers constitute 40 percent of the licensed mental health practitioners participating in the American Red Cross Disaster Services Human Resource System. - Make poverty reduction a principal TANF purpose. The focus of TANF should be shifted from reducing the welfare rolls to reducing poverty by redefining TANF’s purpose as the reduction of child and family poverty. Welfare caseloads have fallen by nearly 50 percent, but more than 40 percent of former welfare recipients continued to live below the poverty line in 1999. About one-third of people who have left the rolls say they have had to cut the size of meals or skip meals because they did not have enough food in the house. Over 40 percent of welfare leavers report that they have had trouble paying housing and utility bills since leaving welfare.
- Increase access to higher education and training for non-traditional jobs. Higher education and training that focuses on high wage jobs will significantly improve the likelihood that families will move not just off welfare, but also out of poverty. Of the single mothers who leave welfare, 55 percent remain poor one year after leaving welfare, 49 percent three years after, and 42 percent five years later. Only about one-third of all welfare leavers have incomes above 150 percent of the poverty line years after going off welfare. The law should eliminate the current barriers to higher education and the training required to compete for jobs that pay a living wage.
- Increase, don’t decrease TANF funding. The problem of poverty has not been solved because the welfare rolls have been reduced. In fact, with a recession upon us, it is unlikely that the rolls will remain as low as they are. States need more, not less, money to give the support needed to move poor families out of poverty by providing good work and training programs, work supports and services for those with barriers to employment.
- Address barriers to employment. Studies indicate that those remaining on the TANF rolls face significant barriers to employment. States should be required to address the problems that seem most prevalent in the caseload: domestic and sexual violence, mental illness, disability and substance abuse issues. One study found that of parents still on welfare in 1997, 34 percent had one such barrier and 44 percent had two or more. Serious mental health problems were the barrier for roughly one-fourth to one-third of those parents. States should be required to have individuals assessed for such barriers by qualified professionals, including social workers. If one of these problems is identified, the state should be required to refer the individual for treatment -- again, by qualified professionals, including social workers -- if she so desires. States should be required to waive any program requirement that unfairly penalizes an individual addressing one of these barriers, or makes an individual unsafe.
- Address the need for better education and training of the welfare workforce. Many welfare agencies have broadened the duties of frontline workers. Once limited to impersonal clerical functions, frontline workers are now being asked to delve more deeply into their clients' lives, behaviors, and financial problems. But frontline workers typically do not have an educational background in social work, and they often feel reluctant to get involved with their clients' personal problems and unprepared to help them find workable solutions. States must provide workers with the education and training necessary to successfully perform their expanded duties and/or hire staff, such as social workers, who have the education and skills necessary to perform the duties assigned.
- Improve case management. With the increasing complexity of issues faced by families still on welfare rolls, effective case management is more critical than ever. Families addressing multiple barriers should be assigned one case manager who is qualified to coordinate services for the family across agency lines. Many families with multiple barriers have expressed concerns about the difficulty in finding time, transportation, child care, etc. to meet with various service providers, let alone also meet with their case workers assigned by the various service agencies. In addition, case managers must have caseloads that permit adequate contact hours with clients and must be able to effectively communicate with their non-English speaking clients.
- Redefine work to include education, caregiving and participation in services. For purposes of recipients meeting work requirements as well as states meeting work participation rates, the definition of "work activity" should be expanded to include: fulltime care for a child who is under age 6 or disabled; vocational training without the current arbitrary 12 month limit; education, including elementary and secondary education, literacy, ESL, GED, and higher education; and participation in activities designed to address domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or disability. Before an individual is assigned to a work activity, states should provide opportunities for skills assessment.
- Eliminate or modify time limits. It is unclear that the 5-year lifetime limit on assistance makes sense in light of the dramatic drop in the rolls, the indications that those remaining on the rolls have significant barriers to employment and the impending recession. At the least, it would seem that there are strong arguments that the time limit clock should be stopped for individuals in compliance with program rules (for instance, engaged in a work activity) or with barriers to employment, and that the 20% cap on hardship exceptions to the time limit should be repealed. It would also make sense to stall time limits when state unemployment reaches a certain level.
- Restore immigrant eligibility. One of the most egregious features of the 1996 act was the denial of benefits to legal immigrants. Those who serve immigrants should emphasize the hardship this provision has caused. All barriers, including waiting periods and deeming requirements, to qualified legal immigrants access to benefits should be removed.
- Modify child support requirements. Sanctions should not be imposed for failing to pursue child support, especially for families at risk of domestic violence, and child support that is received should be passed through to the family with some portion disregarded in determining eligibility for benefits.
- Ban all discrimination in the TANF program. States should ensure equitable treatment of families and not discriminate among families based on marital status or applicant/recipient status. The non-discrimination against different kinds of families is important because administration officials have advocated preference for married families in the allocation of benefits. Other types of discrimination by states should also be outlawed. For example, states should not be permitted to deny benefits to children because they are born into families receiving welfare or deny benefits to minor parents who are not in school or living with an adult. Examples of hardship caused by these provisions of TANF would be especially useful.
- Clarify that labor and civil rights laws apply to TANF recipients. TANF participants should be entitled to the same protections under civil rights and labor laws as other individuals.
- There should be a floor on benefit levels. There should be some floor on benefit levels which, in most states have not been raised in a decade. The Mink bill provides that the state benefit level must be no lower than the sum of the (monthly) poverty level and the amount (if any) by which family housing costs exceed 30% of the poverty level.
- There should be some requirements with respect to program administration. There should be Federal requirements that applications for assistance will be accepted unconditionally and immediately. Confidentiality provisions should be strengthened. Individuals must be given an opportunity to appeal any adverse decision. In addition, efforts should be made to streamline eligibility and application requirements for all major federal programs, such as TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid.
- Limit sanctions. There has been enormous suffering due to full family sanctions applied to the whole grant when one family member fails to comply with one requirement. In particular, where there is no decent child care for school age as well as pre-school children, sanctions should not apply. Current law should thus be strengthened to mandate sanction protection when quality child care is unavailable for either pre-school or school age children, and to prohibit full family sanctions.
- Strengthen charitable choice protections. Current protections should be maintained and new protections should be added that religious providers may not engage in religious employment discrimination with TANF funds or include sectarian worship, instruction or proselytization in a program funded by TANF.
FEDERAL REGISTER ANNOUNCEMENT
Federal Register: October 17, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 201)]
[Notices] [Page 52773]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17oc01-92]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program Authority
SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS
SUMMARY: On August 22, 1996, Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This legislation created a new welfare block grant program, known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. The TANF program goes before Congress for reauthorization next year. The purpose of this notice is to invite public comment about what changes the Administration should propose for this program.
DATES: Submit comments on or before November 30, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments through the mail to: TANF Reauthorization Ideas, Office of Family Assistance, 5th Floor East, Aerospace Building, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington, DC 20447.
Hand deliver comments to: Office of Family Assistance, 5th Floor East, 901 D Street, SW., Washington, DC.
If you wish to comment electronically, go to OFA's Web site at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/ and follow the instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Burek, Senior Program Specialist, Office of Family Assistance, ACF, at 202-401-4528. Ms. Burek's e-mail address is: aburek@acf.dhhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Legislative Background
Title I of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at title IV-A of the Social Security Act (the Act). TANF is a block grant program that has facilitated dramatic reforms in the nation's welfare system. Its focus is on moving recipients into work and turning welfare into a program of temporary assistance, preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of- wedlock births, and promoting stable two-parent families. TANF replaced the national welfare program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) that provided cash assistance to needy families on an entitlement basis. It also replaced the related programs known as the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program and the Emergency Assistance (EA) program. The law, which provides the major portion of the state and tribal funding for TANF in the form of a block grant, was only authorized through 2002. You may find an electronic version of the enrolled bill at: http:// thomas.loc.gov/. Authority: E.O. 13132. 64 FR 43255, 3 CFR, 1999 Comp., p. 206.
Public Input
Between mid-October and mid-November, the Department is sponsoring five regional meetings with key officials from each state to receive input as the Administration considers its TANF reauthorization proposal. The Department will also be sponsoring a meeting with tribal representatives that will focus on tribal TANF issues. However, it is not possible to capture input from all individuals and organizations that have an interest in TANF reauthorization through these meetings. Thus, this notice is intended to provide any and all parties an opportunity to submit comments. The Department's primary interest is gathering input about the TANF provisions of the legislation. However, many other federal programs, such as the Food Stamp Program, the Child Care and Development Fund, Child Welfare, and Child Support Enforcement, serve the same needy families as TANF and provide related benefits. Some of these programs are facing reauthorization next year as well. Thus, the Department will also accept comments on program coordination issues.
SUMMARY OF MINK BILL (H.R. 3113) - Draft 10/15/01
In General
The Mink bill retains the basic structure of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, including an emphasis on work and a five-year lifetime limit. The bill has been drafted with careful attention to the challenges that have prevented welfare recipients from escaping poverty during the last five years under TANF. The bill directs work efforts to permanent, sustainable, high wage employment opportunities through education, training and targeting high wage jobs. The bill also focuses on providing work supports like child care and addressing barriers to economic self-sufficiency such as domestic violence, mental or physical disability and substance abuse. Finally, the bill restores full access to qualified immigrants.
TITLE I-GENERAL PROVISIONS
Purpose of the TANF Reauthorization Bill [Sec. 101]
The Mink bill has refined the purposes of TANF to focus on poverty reduction. While welfare reform was successful at getting millions of individuals off the welfare rolls, it has failed to significantly reduce poverty in America. As TANF continues, the emphasis must be on programs and policies that will accomplish the sustained reduction of poverty in America. Consequently, the bill replaces the old purposes with a new purpose to end child and family poverty by-
- Supporting caregivers so that their children may be cared for in their own homes
- Promoting education, training, work supports, and access to jobs that pay a living wage
- Assuring access to Medicaid, Food stamps, child care and other such assistance
- Assuring access to services to address barriers such as mental illness, physical disability, substance abuse, and domestic and sexual violence
- Reducing poverty of families with children
State Plan
Addressing Barriers-The Mink bill revises and expands the Family Violence Option, changing it into a requirement that states address domestic and sexual violence, mental illness, disability and substance abuse issues by certifying that they have established standards and procedures to ensure that prior to imposition of any sanctions or penalty for non-compliance, trained caseworkers (or at the individual’s option qualified professionals) will screen individuals for one of several work/life barriers: domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse or disability. If one of these problems is identified, the state must have a system in place for referring the individual for treatment if she so desires. The state must also certify that it has coordinated, contracted with or hired in qualified professionals in these fields, and require those professionals to provide coordinated services. The provision includes a requirement that all such information will be kept confidential. Finally, states must certify that they will waive any program requirement that unfairly penalizes an individual addressing one of these barriers, or makes an individual unsafe. [Sec. 102]
Planning for Jobs that Lead out of Poverty-The bill requires states to help survey the regional economy to identify jobs that will lead an individual out of poverty. [Sec. 102]
Funding
Reauthorizes funding through 2008. [Sec. 103]
Child Poverty Reduction Bonus- The bill strikes the Illegitimacy Bonus and replaces it with a $153,000,000 annual Bonus that rewards the states that significantly reduce both the amount and depth of child poverty. [Sec. 103]
Supplemental Grant for Population Increases- The bill amends the supplemental grant for increases in low-income population and reauthorizes at 2,000,000,000 through 2008. [Sec. 103]
High Performance Bonus - The Mink bill specifies criteria for measuring state performance for purposes of qualifying for high performance bonus rewards. Bonus criteria includes a work measurement that rewards states that assist individuals in obtaining and maintaining employment at jobs that lift individuals out of poverty and provides benefits. It also rewards states that provide families with work supports, specifically food stamps, Medicaid and child care. Although in many cases, the high performance bonus uses criteria developed by HHS, this provision eliminates the portion of the bonus that rewarded states for increasing the number of children living within married, two parent families. [Sec. 103]
Bonus for Overcoming Barriers- The Mink bill adds a new $60,000,000 annual bonus to reward the 3 states that do the best job of training case workers to screen individuals for domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse or disability, notifying individuals of their option to be assessed and receive services to address those barriers, and working with qualified professionals in the field to ensure individuals are receiving coordinated, holistic services. [Sec. 103]
TITLE II-WORK REQUIREMENTS
Work
The Mink bill retains the work activity requirement established under TANF, but modifies it in the education and skills needed to escape poverty through steady, high wage employment.
Caring for Children: -In recognition of the high cost of child care, the value to children of being cared for in their own home, and the fact that full time parenting is work, the Mink bill:
- Counts care for a child who is under age 6, disabled or has a serious health condition as a work activity for the child’s parent or relative caregiver. [Sec. 203(a)]
- Requires a parent or relative caregiver with children over age 6 to work outside the home, but, where quality, affordable, accessible after-school or summer care is not available, lowers the required average hours of work per week to 20 hours. [Sec. 201]
- Restores the guarantee to childcare. [Sec. 801]
- Requires States to notify individuals of their rights with respect to childcare and the implications for TANF work requirements. [ Sec. 308]
Searching for Work-Conforms the allowable number of weeks in which job search counts as a work activity to the 12-week standard used under the unemployment compensation system. [Sec. 202]
Training-Under current law, an individual can engage in training for only 12 months. The Mink bill removes this arbitrary time limit and allows individuals full access to training for jobs with high wages. [Sec. 203 (a)]
Education-Education can offer access to employment with a high starting wage and upward mobility. Consequently, the Mink bill has revised the current law to recognize the following as a work activity:
- Education, including elementary and secondary education, literacy, ESL, GED, and higher education. [Sec. 203(a)]
- Participation in a work-study program. [Sec. 203(a)]
- 6 hours of study time. [Sec. 203 (a)]
Cap on Learning-Under current law, only 20% of a state’s caseload can be counted toward federal work participation rates for individuals participating in vocational training or teens pursuing a high school diploma. Because the Mink bill values education and training as a path out of poverty, this cap has been removed. [Sec. 203 (b)]
Work Experience-The Mink bill continues to count work experience as a work activity, in so far as it is transitional work experience that leads to living wage jobs. [Sec. 203(a)]
Working to overcome barriers- The Mink bill extends federal recognition of work to participation in counseling or other activities designed to address domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or disability. [Sec. 203(a)]
Skills Assessment-Before an individual is assigned to a work activity, the state must provide the individual the opportunity to elect to have a skills assessment done to determine preparations needed to obtain and maintain living wage, such as literacy, job training…. [Sec. ---]
Sanctions Related to Work [ Sec. 204]
No Full Family Sanctions- Children must not be punished for their parent’s mistakes. Where an individual is sanctioned for unjustified refusal to engage in work, the state shall reduce the amount of assistance only on a pro rata basis, in no case to an amount less than a family with the same number of children but no adults would receive. [Sec. 204(a)]
No Sanction related to Lack of Child Care-A State may not reduce or terminate assistance based on an individual’s refusal to engage in work due to a lack of child care, where the individual is a custodial parent or caregiver relative of a child who is under the age of 6, has a disability or serious medical health condition, or is over age 6 and has no available after-school care. [ Sec. 204(a)]
Support-Not Sanction- for Overcoming Barriers-A state may not reduce or terminate assistance based on an individual’s refusal to engage in work if such individual is in the process of being screened or assessed for domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or disability; the individual has not been offered services to address the barrier; or the individual cannot comply because of the need to seek services (medical, legal or other) to address the barrier. [Sec. 204 (a)]
Outreach to Those At Risk of Sanction- States required to provide oral and written notice to individuals who have been sanctioned or is at risk of being sanctioned that program requirements may be waived for people dealing with domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or disability and that individuals managing one of these barriers may choose to return to public assistance to be assessed for services to address those issues, including appropriate treatment, counseling, vocational rehabilitation, job training or other services. [ Sec. --- ]
Minimum Wage- A state may not reduce or terminate assistance based on an individual’s refusal to engage in work where the wage rate does not meet or exceed the state or federal minimum wage (whichever is higher.) [204(a)]
TITLE III-PROHIBITIONS; REQUIREMENTS
Access to Benefits
An otherwise eligible individual shall no longer be denied benefits based on any of the following:
Paternity Establishment and Child Support Cooperation Requirements- The Mink bill prohibits states from sanctioning individuals for refusing to cooperate in establishing paternity or establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support order with respect to a child of the recipient. A state that violates this prohibition shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 301/ Sec. 402]
Assignment of Child Support-The Mink bill prohibits states from penalizing an individual for refusing to assign child support rights to the state. A state that violates this prohibition shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 302/ Sec. 402]
States Required to Pass Through and Disregard Child Support Payments-The Mink bill replaces the foregoing "sticks" with a "carrot" that will provide individuals receiving public assistance with the incentive to pursue child support where they deem it safe and wise to do so. The Mink bill requires the states to pass through and disregard child support payments made to a family receiving public assistance. The bill also provides federal financial support to defray the cost of this requirement. A state that violates this prohibition shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 304 / Sec. 403]
Teen Parent Rules-The Mink bill removes unduly invasive restrictions on teen parents, striking both the:
- Requirement to live in an adult-supervised setting [Sec. 305]
- Prohibition on assistance to teenage parents who are not in school or in a training program. [Sec. 303]
Circumstances of birth -The Mink bill adds a section to protect children born into poverty, by prohibiting states from denying or limiting assistance to a child born into a family already receiving public assistance. A state that violates this prohibition shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 306/ Sec. 404]
Immigration status-The Mink bill removes all barriers (including waiting periods and deeming requirements) to qualified immigrants access to public assistance for which they are otherwise eligible. [Sec. 104/315]
Ex-offenders- The Mink bill repeals 42 USC 862(a) which currently prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a drug-related felony from receiving TANF or food stamps. [Sec. 415]
5 Year Life Time Limit--[Sec. 307]. The Mink bill retains the 5-year lifetime limit on federal assistance. In doing so, however, the bill remains true to its central goal of working with recipients to reach self-sufficiency by refusing to cut off assistance to individuals who are following the rules.
Compliance stops the clock-The Mink bill stops the clock while an individual is in compliance with program requirements (for instance, while engaged in a work activity including training, education, or care-giving or addressing work/life barriers such as domestic or sexual violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or disability.) [Sec. 307(a)]
Uniform Provision of Assistance-The Mink-Wellstone bill also ensures that all qualified individuals have equal access to five years of assistance no matter where they live, by removing the states’ option to create shorter state life time limits. [Sec. 307(b)]
Removes Cap on Hardship Exception-The Mink bill removes the 20% cap on the number of families who can be excused from the 5-year life time limit due to hardship. [ Sec. 307(a)]
Protections
Rights- The Mink bill requires states to provide individuals notice (oral and written in the individual’s native language at a six grade level) of their rights under the program and applicable laws. The state is also required to train program personnel to carry out the program in a manner consistent with those rights. States that violate these requirements shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 308 / Sec. 405]
Minor’s Income- In determining a family’s eligibility for assistance, states are prohibited from counting income, scholarship or a gift received by a dependent minor. States that violate this ban shall be penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 309 / Sec. 406]
Diversion- States may not refuse to accept an application for assistance, nor give an individual reason to believe that the state would not unconditionally, immediately accept such an application. Violation of this rule will result in a state being penalized by a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 310/ Sec. 407]
Privacy- States may not require recipients to respond to surveys conducted to obtain information for quarterly reports. Violation of this rule shall result in a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 311 / Sec. 408]
Confidentiality- States shall ensure that any information an individual provides to a state officer or employee for use under this part shall not be disclosed to any other person, except to the extent that the disclosure is necessary to administer the program or is consented to by the individual. Violation of this section will result in a 5% reduction in the State Family Assistance Grant the following year. [Sec. 312/ Sec. 409]
Civil Rights Laws- This section clarifies that TANF applicants and recipients are entitled to the same protections under federal and state civil rights and labor laws in the same manner as other individuals. [Sec. 314]
Nondiscrimination-States must ensure equitable treatment of needy families and shall not discriminate among families based on marital status or applicant or recipient status. [Sec.31?]
Fair Hearing- Individuals are entitled to an opportunity for fair hearing with respect to any adverse action. [ Sec. ---]
TITLE IV-PENALITIES
Additional state penalty provisions are included.:
Elimination of Reasonable Cause exception-The Mink bill strikes the Reasonable Cause Exception that, for most violations, currently prohibits the Secretary from imposing a penalty on a state where the state has reasonable cause for failing to comply with the requirement. [Sec. 413]
Modification of Availability of Corrective Compliance Plan Option- While in general a state can avoid a penalty by correcting the situation and coming into compliance, the Mink bill limits repeat offenders’ ability to avoid incurring penalties. After two strikes of the same provision the state will receive a penalty despite coming into compliance. [Sec. 414]
TITLE V-STUDIES AND REPORTS
State Reports- The Mink bill adds additional information to be included in the quarterly report to discover more information about recipient’s race and gender and education level; child support collection, disbursement, and disregard; child care subsidies; and sanctions.
Where the Secretary determines that a state has not, within one month after the end of a fiscal quarter, submitted the report, the Secretary shall reduce the following year’s State Family Assistance Grant by 5% (current law imposes a 4% penalty.) [Sec. 501 / 401]
Data on Out of Wedlock Births- The Mink bill eliminates the requirement that the Secretary’s report to Congress regarding whether the states are meeting objectives to decrease out-of-wedlock births. [Sec. 502]
Access to Welfare; Welfare Outcomes- The Mink bill adds to the information states must report to the Secretary, and the Secretary must report to Congress each year new information regarding:
- The number of applicants, as well as the percent and reason for those disapproved, broken down by race;
- Individuals who have been diverted;
- The rules and policies governing the state program funded under this part;
- The education, training and employment attained by recipients, broken down by gender and race;
- Indicia of well-being among recipients and those transitioning of TANF (including shelter and soup kitchen use);
- The reasons individual left welfare during the year (including employment, marriage, sanction, time limit or state policy); and
- The economic conditions of individuals who are otherwise eligible for public assistance but who have lost benefits as a result of the lifetime limit.
States that fail to submit the report within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year, shall be penalized by the Secretary an amount equal to 5% of the State family assistance grant. [Sec. 503/ Sec. 412]
Research, Evaluation, and National Studies- The Mink bill modifies this section by replacing "welfare dependency" with poverty whenever it arises, and by measuring both the amount and the depth of child poverty. [Sec. 504]
Study by the Census Bureau- The bill eliminates the direction given to the Census Bureau in conducting its study to pay particular attention to the issues of out-of-wedlock birth and welfare dependency. [Sec. 505]
TITLE VI-REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AUTHORITY
The Mink bill repeals the limitation on the Federal Government’s ability to regulate the conduct of states under this part or enforce any provision of this part.
TITLE VII-MINIMUM BENEFIT RULES
Minimum Benefit Rules- The bill requires states to ensure a minimum benefit that is no lower than the sum of the poverty level plus the amount (if any) by which the family’s housing costs exceed 30% of the poverty level. Failure to do so shall result in a 5% reduction in the following year’s State Family Assistance Grant. [Sec. 701/ Sec. 410]
TITLE VIII-CHILD CARE
Individual Entitlement to Child Care- provides a guarantee to safe, affordable, appropriate, quality childcare to individuals engaged in a work activity under TANF (except caregivers) and those who are within two years of transition off TANF whose income is below 250% of poverty. A state which violates this section shall be penalized a 5% reduction in the following year’s State Family Assistance Grant. [Sec. 801/Sec. 411]
TITLE IX-SERVICE PROVIDERS
The Mink bill repeals most of the current charitable choice language, retaining only the section which provides alternative services to individuals who object to the religious nature of a service provider and the section which clarifies that nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt any state provision that prohibits or restricts the expenditure of state funds in or by religious organizations. The Mink bill then adds the following:
Ban on Employment Discrimination- Nongovernmental organizations that receive funds under this Act (by contract, grants or other forms of disbursement) shall not claim use of the exemption provided under section 702 or 703(e)(2) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e?1, 2000e?2(e)(2)) with respect to individuals who provide services funded under this Act, or individuals whose employment is funded under this Act. [Sec. 901]
Ban on Proselytization-Nongovernmental organizations that receive funds under this Act, (through contracts, grants or other forms of disbursement) to provide services may not discriminate against a program beneficiary or prospective beneficiary on the basis of religion or religious belief; or include sectarian worship, instruction or proselytization in a program funded under this Act, or require or coerce a beneficiary to participate in, or be present for, sectarian worship, instruction or proselytization. [Sec. 902]
TITLE X-EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act and the amendments made by it shall take effect on October 1, 2002, unless otherwise provided herein.