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Annual Report on State TANF and
MOE Programs - 2005
Idaho
December 20, 2005
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Family Assistance
Aerospace Building, 5th Floor
370 L’Enfant Promenade S.W.
Washington DC 20447
Dear Office of Family Assistance:
Attached is the original Idaho ACF 204 Report for FFY 2005. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Genie Sue Weppner or myself at (208) 334-5818.
Sincerely,
Russell S. Barron, Administrator
Division of Welfare
cc: ACF Regional, Seattle
Genie Sue Weppner
Terri Meyer
Dick Humiston
Bill Goodin
Annual Report on TANF Programs Under 45 CFR 265.9(b)
State: IDAHO Fiscal Year: 2005 Date Submitted: December 2005
1. The State's definition of each work activity.
45 CFR 261.30 encompasses the 12 categories of work activities listed in Section
407(d) of the Social Security Act for purposes of determining the State's required
minimum work participation rate(s). Each State defines the activities that fall
under each of these 12 categories and provides them to us. This item is for
that purpose. Therefore, your definitions should include the kinds of work activities
that apply to each of the 12 categories. For example, what activities comprise
"job skills training directly related to employment" in your State?
DESCRIPTION OF WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES
1. Unsubsidized Employment - Employment for which the individual receives wages
from public, private, or self employment.
2. Subsidized Private Sector Employment - Employment for which the individual
working in private sector receives wages subsidized by another program for purposes
of training provided by Dept. of Labor, Vocational Rehabilitation, etc.
3. Subsidized Public Sector Employment - Employment for which the individual
working in public sector receives wages subsidized by another program for training
provided by Dept. of Labor, Vocational Rehabilitation, etc.
4. Work Experience if sufficient private-sector employment is not available
- Unpaid, short-term, pre-employment work through which the individual gains
work experience (workfare) based on a signed Memorandum of Agreement between
the Department and the work site. Also includes work experience through another
agency’s program, such as vocational rehabilitation or probation and parole,
which is not community service.
5. On-the-job Training
6. Job Search and job readiness assistance - Active job search or work preparation
activities (job readiness) include Work First assessment, classes, workshops,
or one-on-one training on resume writing, how to interview, how to keep a job,
budgeting, or setting up a business, etc.
7. Community service programs - Voluntary or court assigned Community Service
work performed by the individual for community organizations.
8. Vocational educational training - Participation in occupational or skills
training of twelve months or less by and individual under the age of 20 who
has a high school diploma or GED.
9. Job skills training directly related to employment - Participation in job
skills training such as clerical or mechanic training by an individual under
age 20 who does not have a high school diploma or GED. Does not include work-finding
activities such as resume classes, how to interview, etc.
10. Education directly related to employment, in the case of a recipient who
has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency
- Pursuit of education by an individual age 20 or older who has no GED or HS
Diploma. Training may include Job Education Training, GED preparation courses
or English as a second language classes. Does not include work-finding activities
such as resume classes, how to interview, etc. Academic training may be counted
if the training will lead directly to employment such as teaching, nursing,
etc. AND the individual is participating in other activities including employment.
11. Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading
to a certificate of general equivalence, if a recipient has not completed secondary
school or received such a certificate - Attendance or participation in secondary
school, alternative school, adult basic education (math and reading skills training),
GED preparation courses, or English as a second language classes by an individual
under age 20.
12. Providing child care services to an individual who is participating in a
community service program - Families are eligible for the Idaho Child Care Program,
IDAPA 16.06.12, if child care is needed for a parent or caretaker relative to
participate in Personal Responsibility Contract activities, including community
service.
2. A description of the transitional services provided to families no longer receiving assistance due to employment Indicate the kinds of help provided to working families that received, but no longer receive, "assistance" as defined in 45 CFR 260.31.
Transitional services are paid only for work-related services to assist the individual to maintain employment. Payment for transitional services will be made to the provider of the services. These services may be contracted with other providers.
Transitional Services may be provided up to twelve 12 months after TAFI ends
due to employment. Transitional Services do not count toward the TAFI twenty-four
(24) month time limit. If the department pays transitional services in error,
the month does not count toward the twenty-four (24) month time limit.
• Information & referral
• Case management
• Employment related non-medical counseling
• Assessment/evaluation
• Employment related mentoring
• Employment related training expenses, such as books, fees, tuition
• Miscellaneous mentoring, counseling and training activities
• Job readiness activities
• Vocational or skills training
3. A description of how a State will reduce the amount of assistance payable to a family when an individual refuses to engage in work without good cause pursuant to 45 CFR 261.14 of this chapter
Idaho’s TAFI program has family penalties incorporated into the program.
Work program penalties, including job quit, are progressive in nature, with
penalties increasing for each noncompliance to stress the importance of work
and to utilize the 24 months most effectively.
• First Noncompliance. The family is ineligible for one (1) month or until
compliance, whichever is longer.
• Second Noncompliance. The family is ineligible for three (3) months
or until compliance, whichever is longer.
• Third Noncompliance. The family is ineligible for lifetime.
4. The average monthly number of payments for child care services made by the State through the use of disregards, by the following types of child care providers:
Licensed/regulated in-home child care;
Licensed/regulated family child care;
Licensed/regulated group home child care;
Licensed/regulated center-based child care;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
in-home child care provided by a non-relative;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
in-home child care provided by a relative;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
family child care provided by a non-relative;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
family child care provided by a relative;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
group child care provided by a non-relative;
Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
group child care provided by a relative; and
Legally operated (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
center-based child care.
Idaho does not use child care disregards.
5. If the State has adopted the Family Violence Option and wants Federal recognition of its good cause domestic violence waivers under 45 CFR 260.50-58, then provide (a) a description of the strategies and procedures in place to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive appropriate alternative services and (b) an aggregate figure for the total number of good cause domestic waivers granted.
a.) Idaho did not select the Family Violence Option, and has no formal waiver of program requirements for victims of domestic violence. However, the Department has established and is enforcing standards and procedures to screen and identify TANF participants with a history of domestic violence while protecting their privacy.
Services include referral of such individuals to counseling and supportive
services. The Department disregards, pursuant to good cause, certain program
requirements:
• time limits (for so long as necessary) for individuals receiving assistance.
• residency requirements, and
• family cap provisions
• where compliance with such requirements would make it more difficult
for individuals receiving assistance to escape domestic violence or would unfairly
penalize such individuals who are or have been victimized by such violence,
or are at risk of further domestic violence.
The Department will identify and provide additional, targeted support to victims of domestic violence who may have particular difficulty successfully making the transition from welfare to work.
Training is provided to Department staff to help them understand the issues surrounding domestic violence. Community resources, including agencies whose mission is working with domestic violence victims, have been identified. Activities required on the PRC are structured to accommodate the specific situation of a participant.
Although the Department expects that participants immediately focus on employment, the PRC will be appropriate to the participant’s situation. Assessment of each situation is based on the participant’s capabilities and strengths. Department staff employ a “reasonable person” standard when evaluating appropriateness of activities.
6. A description of any non-recurrent, short-term benefits (as defined in 45 CFR 260.31(b)(1)) provided, including:
a) The eligibility criteria associated with such benefits, including any restrictions on the amount, duration, or frequency of payments;
One-time cash payments
One-time emergency needs could include car repair, moving expenses, employment
agency fee, tools, uniforms, child care, housing expenses, and medical expenses.
The family must have needs that cannot be met with existing resources.
A family already receiving TAFI can become entitled to a one-time cash payment to be used for employment related expenses, such as relocation and moving expenses, tools, and union dues to permit the caretaker to accept or retain employment. Participant families can receive a one-time cash payment equal to one-half of their remaining months of eligibility, up to a maximum of three times the maximum monthly grant for which they would have been eligible.
Emergency Assistance
Emergency Assistance is a time limited flexible funding source, available to
all DHW programs, which provides for services and vendor payments to address
emergency needs of families regardless of where they enter the system. Emergency
Assistance (EA) Services provide families with immediate help to stabilize their
crisis, and protect the welfare of their children. The intent is to intervene
earlier with families, in hopes of stabilizing the crisis and diverting them
from needing longer-term Department services. Payments are issued directly to
vendors; no cash payments are made.
Emergency Assistance Services are child protection-related activities that provide families who have children under twenty-one (21) with immediate help to stabilize their crisis, without becoming involved in Child Protection and without applying for cash assistance. These activities may be delivered for up to ninety (90) days.
Services provided include food, clothing, shelter, household supplies, transportation, education, counseling, and health related supplies and services.
Career Enhancement
Career Enhancement services are provided to an individual with dependent children.
The individual must have a work-related need that if unmet, would prevent them
from maintaining employment or participating in work programs. Career Enhancement
services are non-recurrent, short-term, and designed to deal with a specific
crisis or episode of need and must not extend beyond four months. The individual
may only receive one Career Enhancement payment in a twelve-month period. Career
Enhancement payments do not count towards the TAFI twenty-four (24) month time
limit.
Supportive services do not provide skills, but will help individuals keep employment.
Payments for supportive services are made to the vendors. Supportive services
include the work related expenses listed below:
• Transportation related expenses, including
o gas, auto fluids, and minor items necessary for the vehicle to operate safely,
such as belts or windshield wipers
o Arrearage on car payments
o Bus, taxi fare, actual costs of public transportation or mileage reimbursed
at the rate established by the Region.
o The purchase or repair of bicycles
o Auto repair for TAFI participants necessary for participation in work activities
• Work-related clothing appropriate for work activities
• Tools and equipment necessary for work activities
• Fees for licensure and certification including state, federal, and local
licensure or certification (Fees for reinstatement of licenses and fines are
not allowed.)
• Other work-related services needed for work participation:
o Haircuts and personal hygiene items
o Photo identification
o Eye glasses, hearing aids and dentures. (Not covered by Medicaid)
o Idaho Telephone Service Assistance Program (ITSAP) is available for TAFI participants
participating in job search or other work activities. The amount of the supplemental
payment will be determined by regional policy and the participant's situation.
• Housing or utility costs paid in one payment. The payment can include
only two months arrearage, plus the current month and one future month.
• Security deposits
Transitional Services
Transitional Services are provided to an individual whose family is no longer
eligible for TAFI due to employment or who requested TAFI closure because of
employment. At the time of closure, the family's income must be below two hundred
percent (200%) of the Federal poverty guidelines. The individual must live in
the State of Idaho and must not be a resident of another state. The requirements
for receiving transitional service are:
• The family must have received TAFI for at least a partial month within
the past twelve months.
• The individual must be in need of work-related services to maintain
employment.
• Individuals convicted under Federal or state law of any offense classified
as a felony involving the possession, use or distribution of a controlled substance,
can receive transitional services when they comply with the terms of a withheld
judgment, probation or parole. The felony must have occurred after August 22,
1996. The states Deputy Attorney General is contacted on all withheld judgments.
Individuals listed below cannot receive transitional services:
• Felons fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody, or confinement after conviction
of a felony or an attempt to commit a felony cannot receive transitional services.
• Felons violating a condition of probation or parole imposed for a federal
or state felony cannot receive transitional services.
• Individuals convicted in a federal or state court of fraudulently misrepresenting
residence to get TANF, AABD, Food Stamps, Medicaid, or SSI, from two or more
states at the same time, cannot receive transitional services for ten years
from the date of conviction.
b) Any policies that limit such payments to families that are eligible for TANF
assistance or that have the effect of delaying or suspending a family's eligibility
for assistance; and
To be eligible for a one-time cash payment, families must meet the TAFI cash assistance eligibility requirements. The one-time cash payment may be up to three times the maximum TAFI grant amount for which the family would have been eligible. There is a reduction of 2 months of benefits for every month of cash assistance payment used in this one-time option.
c) Any procedures or activities developed under the TANF program to ensure that individuals diverted from assistance receive information about, referrals to, or access to other program benefits (such as Medicaid and food stamps) that might help them make the transition from welfare to work.
During initial contact with the Department, families are encouraged to identify and use their own personal resources, or resources within the community in preference to application for TAFI. Department personnel and contracted personnel assist families as needed to develop a plan that will emphasize steps the family can take to make use of alternative resources. Food Stamps, Medicaid, and other resources that are available in the community are discussed with the family. Applications for these services are available during this initial contact or whenever needed.
7. A description of the grievance procedures the State has established and is maintaining to resolve displacement complaints, pursuant to section 407(f)(3) of the Social Security Act. This description must include the name of the State agency with the lead responsibility for administering this provision and explanations of how the State has notified the public about these procedures and how an individual can register a complaint.
A person who alleges that displacement has occurred may request an investigation from the Department. If the Department concurs that displacement has occurred, the agreement with the site will be terminated.
A regular employee of the Department or of any other agency may file a grievance with the Regional Self-Reliance Program Manager or his designee at the Department of Health and Welfare within sixty (60) days of the alleged violation. The grievance is to resolve a complaint that a TAFI/JSAP participant placed in a Work Opportunity Work Site or in Community Service Assignment.
Use of the Departmental grievance procedures will in no way preclude use by the complaint of any process maintained by the employer to hear employer to hear employee grievances.
8. A summary of State programs and activities directed at the third and fourth statutory purposes of TANF (as specified at 45 CFR 260.20(c) and (d) of this chapter).
a.) Summarize below the State programs and activities directed at preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establishing annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies (TANF purpose 3):
The Idaho Governor’s Council on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (IGCAPP)
was developed under Executive Order in 1995 and continues under the current
administration. Our mission is to delay the onset of sexual activity by increasing
the number of teens who choose abstinence. IGCAPP focuses primarily on 10 –
14 year olds and their parents/caregivers and has council members located strategically
throughout the state who offer specific support to their regions.
This Council is funded by TANF monies and has contributed to Idaho’s ongoing
decline of teen pregnancies. The goals of the 19-member Council include:
• Developing and implementing a statewide campaign focused on delaying
sexual activity by adolescents;
• Assessing the impact of the campaign on reducing the rate of adolescent
pregnancies and increasing parent/child communication;
• Providing educational resources to the public-at-large via the Department’s
website (www.idahoteenpregnancy.com), conferences, presentations and partnering
with youth organizations that link associated risk behaviors;
• Providing funding at the local level via mini-grants to provide educational
opportunities and sustainability to individual communities throughout the state.
Between 1991 and 2002, the teen birth rate for girls aged 15-19 declined 27 percent in Idaho. If the teen birth rate in Idaho had not declined 27 percent between 1991 and 2002, there would have been nearly 6,100 additional children born to teen mothers during that time period. In 2002, there would have been over 1,200 more children under age six in poverty and over 1,200 additional children under age six living with a single mother.
Idaho’s objective is the same as the Year 2000 National Objective for this issue: “reduce to no more than 30% the proportion of all pregnancies that are unintended”. The activities to address this objective include monitoring family planning clinic sites, providing services to new clients, increasing outreach to women not likely to seek clinic services, conducting update training for nurses and others working with reproductive aged women, providing funding incentives for agencies to expand into hard-to-serve areas of the state and to support activities that increase the availability of bilingual clinic staff.
The IGCAPP has made a significant contribution to the state’s overall decline in teen pregnancies and is working diligently to continue that decline. IGCAPP works in cooperation with the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program which is funded under Title V, Section 510. The partnership assists with the Peers Encouraging Abstinent Kids (PEAK) Program to train high school mentors to provide a life skills curriculum to 6th, 7th and 8th graders in health classes throughout the state. The PEAK Program will be evaluated by Boise State University during the FY 2006 program implementation for effectiveness and future direction. PEAK is a model program that has shown positive impact through rigorous evaluations in Idaho’s Panhandle region since 1996. PEAK began statewide services in FY 2005, and will be delivered into 39 school districts during the 2005-2006 school year.
b.) Summarize below the State programs and activities directed at encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families (TANF purpose 4):
Mediation services are provided to needy families (with income under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines) involved in custody and other disputes to reconcile differences in order to promote goals of family unification and/or emotional and financial support for children.
9. An estimate of the total number of individuals who have participated in subsidized employment under §261.30(b) or (c) of this chapter.
All employment in Idaho is unsubsidized.
Annual Report on State Maintenance-of-Effort Programs: Form ACF-204
State: IDAHO Fiscal Year: 2005 Date Submitted: December 2005
Provide the following information for EACH PROGRAM (according to the nature of the benefit or service provided) for which the State claims MOE expenditures. Complete and submit this report in accordance with the attached instructions.
1. Name of Benefit or Service Program
a. TANF
b. CHILD CARE
2. Description of the Major Program Benefits, Services, and Activities:
a. See Idaho TANF State Plan
b. See Idaho Child Care State Plan
3. Purpose(s) of Benefit or Service Program:
a. See Idaho TANF State Plan
b. See Idaho Child Care State Plan
4. Program Type. (Check one)
__X_ This Program is operated under the TANF program.
____ This Program is a separate State program.
5. Description of Work Activities (Complete only if this program is a separate State program):
N/A
6. Total State Expenditures for the Program for the Fiscal Year 2005:
TANF -- $11,849,559
CHILD CARE -- $ 4,304,726
7. Total State MOE Expenditures under the Program for the Fiscal Year:
TANF -- $11,849,559
CHIILD CARE -- $ 1,175,820
8. Total Number of Families Served under the Program with MOE Funds:
TANF --1,868
CHILD CARE -- 6,588
This last figure represents (check one):
__X_ The average monthly total for the fiscal year.
____ The total served over the fiscal year.
9. Financial Eligibility Criteria for Receiving MOE-funded Program Benefits or Services:
See Idaho State Plan
10. Prior Program Authorization: Was this program authorized and allowable
under prior law?
Yes __X__ No _____
11. Total Program Expenditures in FY 1995: ___NA__
(NOTE: provide only if response on question 10 is No)
This certifies that all families for which the State claims MOE expenditures
for the fiscal year meet the State's criteria for "eligible families."
SIGNATURE: ____________________________________________
NAME: _____________________________________________
TITLE: Administrator, Division of Welfare
Approved OMB No. 0970-0199 Form ACF 204, expires 6/30/2002.
