Governor Romneys Welfare Reform Proposal

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Governor Romneys Welfare Reform Proposal
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Before the federal government passed its welfare
reform package in 1996 (the Personal
Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act PRWORA), Massachusetts had implemented its
own welfare reform initiative (Chapter 5) under a
federal waiver creating the Transitional Aid to
Families with Dependent Children program (TAFDC).
TAFDC emphasizes the importance of employment
in promoting a familys independence and
self-sufficiency. The waiver which allowed
Massachusetts to create the TAFDC program expires
in September of this year. Concurrently,
Congress is debating the reauthorization and
amendment of PRWORA. Given the expiration of the
waiver and the probable passage of a new federal
welfare reform law, Governor Romneys welfare
reform proposal makes modifications to the TAFDC
program. These changes are designed not only to
be consistent with the proposed federal law, but
also to help recipients make a vital connection
to the workforce which will result in
substantially higher income for their families.
For example, in FY05, benefits for a nonexempt
TAFDC family of 3 with no earnings in private,
unsubsidized housing, including available federal
food stamps, are 76 of the 2005 poverty level.
However, nonexempt families with as little as 20
hours of earnings at minimum wage have income at
117 of the federal poverty level when they take
advantage of federal and state Earned Income Tax
Credit.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Work Requirement Hours
The mission of the Department of Transitional
Assistance is to assist recipients in becoming
independent. Consistent with that mission, the
expectations for participation in work activities
will increase. Universal engagement incorporates
the view that all recipients, including those
with barriers to work, should be engaged in
productive activities. These activities should
address the recipients barriers to work, foster
economic independence and ultimately attach them
to the workforce where wages and earned income
tax credits significantly increase the money
available to families.

• Current Policy
• Recipients who are not exempt (see Exemptions for
  Work Requirement Time-Limited Benefits) from
  the work requirement must work or participate in
  other activities
• 20 hours a week if their youngest child is
  between ages 2 and 5
• 24 hours a week if their youngest child is
  between ages 6 and 8 and
• 30 hours a week if their youngest child is age 9
  or older.

Proposed Policy

• The Governors proposal will mirror federal
  requirements for work participation. Under
  current federal requirements, recipients will be
  required to work or participate in other
  activities
• 20 hours a week if their youngest child is
  between ages 1 and 5 and
• 30 hours a week if their youngest child is age 6
  or older.

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Work Activities
To position the Department to meet federal work
participation rates, the Governors proposal aims
to make Massachusetts definition of allowable
work activities mirror federal law. A wide range
of work activities will encourage recipients to
fully engage in programs and services which will
connect them to the workforce and lead to
increased income/self-sufficiency.
Current Policy Current allowable activities
include work, participation in the Full
Employment Program, Vocational Education and
Training, supported work, community service,
housing search by an emergency shelter recipient,
participation in a residential substance abuse
treatment program, and work study/internship
programs.
Proposed Policy Allowable activities will track
federal law with one exception. If TANF
reauthorization eliminates education and
training from the list of allowable activities,
Massachusetts would continue to allow such
activities to count. The following activities
are permitted under current federal law work,
work experience, on-the-job training, job skills
training directly related to employment,
education directly related to employment, job
search (limited to six weeks), job readiness,
vocational education (not to exceed 12 months),
community service and providing child care for an
individual participating in community service.
Massachusetts would also allow teens
participating in a high school or GED program,
and persons caring for a disabled recipient to
count towards the work requirement.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Exemptions for Work Requirement Time-Limited
Benefits
To ensure that more recipients are involved with
work-related activities, the exemptions will be
streamlined and universal engagement will be
stressed. Massachusetts currently has the 3rd
highest percentage of recipients exempt from work
requirements. This change will more closely
align the Commonwealths policies with federal
standards.
Current Policy

• A recipient is exempt from the work program and
  the time limit when he or she is
• disabled
• providing care for a disabled family member who
  lives with him or her
• in the last 120 days of pregnancy
• caring for a child under age 2
• a teen parent attending school full-time or
  participating in a full time GED program
• a relative (other than a parent) who is caring
  for a child and not receiving TAFDC benefits or
• age 60 or older.

Proposed Policy

• The Governors proposal is crafted to mirror
  federal policy toward work participation. As
  such, a recipient will be exempt from the work
  program and the time limit when he or she is
• caring for a child under age 1
• a relative (other than a parent) not receiving
  TAFDC benefits who is caring for a child
  receiving
• benefits or
• a parent receiving SSI.

Disability will not be an automatic exemption.
The Department, however, will ensure through its
good cause and assessment procedures that
sanctions for failure to participate in work will
not occur if the lack of participation is due to
the recipients age, disability or medical
condition (such as pregnancy or a short-term
illness), or to the Departments inability to
find services needed to fulfill the recipients
universal engagement plan. There will no longer
be automatic exemptions for teens in school and
those caring for the disabled, but these
activities will be countable toward work
requirements. See Assessment of Barriers to
Work.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Time-Limited Benefits
To help families become self-sufficient, there
are time limits on how long families can receive
TAFDC benefits. Currently, Massachusetts is one
of only five states that does not impose a
lifetime limit on TANF eligibility. In the
Governors proposal there will be a five-year
life-time limit consistent with current and
proposed federal law.

• Current Policy
• Unless a family is exempt from the time limit
  (see Exemptions for Work Requirement
  Time-Limited Benefits), a family may receive
  TAFDC benefits for a total of 24 months within
  each 60-month period. After the 60-month period
  is through, the recipient would be able to TAFDC
  receive benefits again.
• Extensions of the time limit are granted in some
  situations.

• Proposed Policy
• In addition to the 24-month limit a five-year
  life-time limit on TAFDC benefits will also
  apply.
• TAFDC benefits received before this new rule will
  count against the five-year time limit but no
  more than 24 months of such TAFDC benefits will
  be counted.
• Time limits will be imposed regardless of the
  requirement to work and exempt or nonexempt
  status.

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Assessment of Barriers to Work
The Governors proposal puts an increased
emphasis on assessment to better determine
recipients barriers to work and what supports
are needed for recipients to succeed.
Current Policy

• A general assessment is done at application and
  at enrollment into work activities to determine
  barriers to work and needed support services.

• Proposed Policy
• A more comprehensive and ongoing assessment
  process will be instituted.
• In order to engage a broader segment of the
  welfare caseload, the Department will be making
  changes to its operations. Where necessary and
  appropriate, comprehensive assessments will be
  completed to determine what work-related
  activities a recipient is capable of doing
  (including those offered by MRC and other
  supportive work type programs). The assessment
  process will include an overall screening by the
  recipients caseworker and when necessary, a
  vocational review by a vocational rehabilitation
  specialist and/or a clinical assessment by a
  qualified disability determination specialist.
  The hours of work participation and/or
  work-related activities will be modified as
  necessary, to accommodate a recipients barriers
  to work and needed support services.

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Benefit Calculation
To simplify administration and to increase TAFDC
benefits for a large portion of our families,
there will be one standardized benefit level and
one earnings disregard for all recipients.
Current Policy

• There are two financial standards for paying
  TAFDC benefits (one for exempt recipients and one
  for nonexempt recipients). Exempt recipients
  receive a 2.75 higher standard than nonexempt
  recipients.
• In order to encourage work, when calculating the
  TAFDC benefit, a recipient who is exempt and
  working, is allowed to keep 30 plus 1/3 of any
  earned income without a reduction of TAFDC
  benefits. A recipient who is nonexempt and
  working, is allowed to keep 30 plus 1/2 of any
  earned income without a reduction of TAFDC
  benefits.

Proposed Policy

• There will be one financial standard (the higher
  of the current standards) for paying TAFDC
  benefits.
• A recipient who is working (whether exempt or
  nonexempt) will be allowed to keep 30 plus 1/2
  of any earned income without a reduction of TAFDC
  benefits. The income left will be used to
  calculate the TAFDC benefits.

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Learnfare
Education is a key component to achieve long-term
self-sufficiency. Learnfare is designed to
ensure that recipients children attend school.
School attendance is compulsory in Massachusetts,
but current welfare law only affects a subset of
children. In the Governors proposal all
children under the age of 17, in TAFDC families,
will be required to attend school.
Current Policy

• A child who is school age through age 13 must be
  attending school or be subject to a sanction.

Proposed Policy

• A child who is under the age of 17 must be
  attending school or be subject to a sanction.

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Health and Human Services Department of
Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street ?
Boston MA 02111 www.mass.gov/dta
Failure to Cooperate with Child Support
Requirements
Receipt of child support is an important
component for financial self-sufficiency for
TAFDC parents. Former TAFDC families who get
support receive an average of 5,185 in child
support payments per year. Moreover, families
who receive regular child support are 3 times
less likely to return to welfare than families
who do not receive child support. To encourage
parental responsibility and comply with federal
law, failing to cooperate with child support
enforcement requirements will result in more
meaningful consequences.
Current Policy

• If a recipient fails without good cause to
  cooperate with the Department of Revenues Child
  Support Enforcement Division, the result would be
  the loss of a portion (approximately 100.00) of
  his or her TAFDC benefits.

Proposed Policy

• If a recipient fails without good cause to
  cooperate with the Department of Revenues Child
  Support Enforcement Division, the result will be
  a benefit reduction of 25 of the TAFDC Payment
  Standard followed by the closing of the entire
  TAFDC case if the client continues to not
  cooperate.