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IX. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF STATE PROGRAMSCHARACTERISTICS OF STATE PROGRAMSINTRODUCTION Under the new law, states are required to submit a state plan to the Secretary that outlines how the state intends to conduct a program in all political subdivisions in the state (not necessarily in a uniform manner) that provides cash aid to needy families with (or expecting) children and provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services. States are allowed to determine what benefit levels to set and what categories of families are eligible. With few exceptions, states have the flexibility to design and operate a program to better match needs of their residents and to help families gain and maintain self-sufficiency. The following information is based primarily on TANF state plans, augmented by information contained in state policy manuals. We have sought to describe and organize the multitude of policy choices into some common themes: (1) requiring work; (2) making work pay; (3) time limiting assistance; (4) encouraging personal responsibility; and (5) other key provisions. REQUIRING WORKTime Frame For Work TANF Provision: Under TANF, parents or caretakers receiving assistance are required to engage in work (as defined by the state) when determined ready or within 24 months. States may impose work requirements sooner.
1 Individually determined based on individual responsibility plan. 2 After 18 months of assistance recipients must participate in work. Can be extended to 24 months at County option.3 Single parents are required to engage in work after 30 months and 2-parent households after 15 months. JOBS Requirement: Under JOBS, about half of AFDC adults were exempt from participation requirements. Age of Youngest Child Exemption From Work Requirement TANF Provision: States have the option to exempt single parents with children up to 1 year of age from work requirements, and to disregard them from the calculation of the work participation rates for a cumulative lifetime total of 12 months.
JOBS Requirement: Parents and caretaker relatives who were providing care to a child under age 3 (or as low as age 1 at state option) were exempt from participation in JOBS. Parents and caretaker relatives who provided care to a child under age 6 could not be required to participate if child care was not guaranteed by the state. Community Service Requirement TANF Provision: States must require a parent or caretaker who has received assistance for 2 months and is not engaged in work, to participate in community service employment, unless the state executive officer of the state opts out of this requirement. . Michigan, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wisconsin elected to require participation in community service for recipients after 2 months of benefit receipt. However, almost all states allow participation in community service as a regular work activity. AFDC Requirement: None. MAKING WORK PAYTreatment of Earnings TANF Provision: PRWORA does not specify how earnings should be treated in determining families' eligibility for TANF. States have the flexibility to determine the income eligibility rules that best meet their resident's needs. . Forty-two states made changes to the income eligibility rules under TANF. Generally, these states simplified and expanded the treatment of earnings compared to the AFDC treatment. . Nine states maintained the income eligibility test that existed under the former AFDC program.
AFDC Requirement: A family that enters employment was eligible to receive:
Resource Level TANF Provision: PRWORA does not specify the total resource level that states are to use to determine eligibility for families. States have the flexibility to set the resource level to determine eligibility that best meets the needs of their residents. . Thirty-eight states made changes to the total resource level used to determine eligibility for families. The higher limits for families range from $1,500 to an unlimited amount. . Thirteen states maintained the same level as under the former AFDC program.
AFDC Requirement: Families with countable assets above the $1,000 were ineligible for assistance. This limit had not been increased since 1981. Individual Development Accounts TANF Provision: Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) may be established by or on behalf of a TANF applicant or recipient. IDAs are restricted savings accounts that allow recipients to accumulate savings to be used for post-secondary educational expenses, first home purchase, or business capitalization. An individual may only contribute to an IDA such amounts as are derived from earned income. Funds in an IDA are not considered as a resource and any interest earned will not be considered income in determining TANF eligibility. . Twenty-seven states allow TANF funds to be placed in IDAs. The limits for such restricted accounts range from $1,000 to an unlimited amount.
AFDC Requirement: None. Families with countable assets above $1,000 were ineligible for assistance. Resource Levels and Individual Development Accounts
4 Available only to subsidized work component participants.
Vehicle Asset Level TANF Provision: PRWORA does not specify the vehicle asset level that states are to use under TANF. States have the flexibility to set the vehicle asset limit at the level that best meets their residents' needs. . Forty-seven states increased the vehicle asset level under TANF. Of these, twenty-four states have chosen to simply disregard the value of one automobile for a family. Other increases in the vehicle asset level range from a value of $4,500 up to $10,000. . The District of Columbia, Mississippi, and North Dakota maintained the same vehicle asset level as under the former AFDC program. . Only Indiana lowered the vehicle asset level.
AFDC Requirement: The first $1,500 in equity value was excluded. For example, if a family had $4,500 in equity in an automobile, $3,000 was counted and the family would have been ineligible for assistance, because of the $1,000 resource limitation.
Vehicle Asset Level
5 Represents the value of at least one car. Some States exclude cars for each licensed driver. 6 There is no limit when the car is used to transport disabled family member.
Transitional Medicaid Assistance TANF Provision: Families losing TANF benefits due to increased earnings from work will receive 1 year of Transitional Medicaid Assistance (TMA). Families that lose TANF benefits due to collection of child or spousal support will receive TMA for 4 months. These policies are the same as under the former AFDC program. However, several states have elected to provide TMA for longer than the required 12 and 4 months periods . Twelve states provide TMA for more than 12 months ranging from 18 months to unlimited months as long as income is below a specified level.
AFDC Requirement: Same as under TANF. Transitional Child Care TANF Provision: The new law replaces the entitlement with a consolidated funding stream and additional resources for families moving off of welfare (see AFDC requirement below) and folds funding into a new block grant, the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). . Twenty-nine states extend transitional child care for longer than 12 months for families moving off of welfare.
AFDC Requirement: The state agency had to guarantee child care to the extent it was necessary for an individual's employment in any case where a family ceased to receive assistance as a result of increased hours of, or increased income from employment, or as a result of the loss of earnings disregards. This assistance was available for a period of 12 months; the family had to contribute to the cost of care in accordance with a sliding scale based on ability to pay, established by the state and approved by the Secretary. Under AFDC, the state agency also had to guarantee child care to welfare recipients to the extent that such care was necessary for employment or participation in an education or training activity. AFDC applicants and recipients were allowed to disregard their child care costs up to disregard limits of $175 for a child age 2 to age 13, and $200 for a child under age 2. Upfront Diversion Assistance TANF Provision: There is no specific provision in PRWORA. The law allows states to provide upfront diversion assistance. As such, several states now offer upfront diversion assistance to families as an alternative to on-going TANF assistance. Generally, these payments are intended to provide short-term financial assistance to meet critical needs in order to secure or retain employment. Typically, states provide several months of benefits in one lump sum or, in a few states, a flat amount. By accepting the upfront diversion payment, the family generally agrees not to re-apply for cash assistance for a specified period of time, e.g., receipt of a diversion payment equal to 3 months of benefits results in family agreeing to not reapply for benefits 3 months. . Twenty-five states have opted to offer upfront diversion assistance
AFDC Requirement: None. Upfront diversion was not permitted under AFDC rules. TIME LIMITING ASSISTANCE Time Limits TANF Provision: states can not use Federal funds for any part of a grant to provide assistance to a family that includes an adult who has received assistance for 60 months (whether or not consecutive). States have the option to set lower time limits on the receipt of TANF benefits.
7 Under waiver, will deny benefits if family reapplies after completing an individual responsibility plan and had received benefits for 36 months. AFDC Requirement: None. AFDC benefits were a non-time limited entitlement.
Exemptions to the Time Limit TANF Provision: States are allowed to exempt up to 20 percent of their caseload from the 60 month time limit. States have the flexibility to determine the criteria by which families are excluded from being subject to the time limit, except all states are required under PRWORA to exempt: families not containing an adult receiving assistance; months of assistance received by an adult as a minor child; not the head of household or married to the head of the household; and any month in which the family lived on an Indian reservation or Alaskan Native village with an unemployment rate above 50 percent. . Most states exemption policies fall into the following categories: - Age of parent or caretaker; - Mentally or physically disabled parent or caretaker; - Caring for a disabled dependent; - Victim of domestic violence; - Actively seeking employment, and High unemployment.
AFDC Requirement: None.
Extensions to the Time Limit TANF Provision: There is no provision in PRWORA for extensions to the time limit. . Some states allow non-exempt families that have reached the time limit to continue receiving assistance for an extended period of time. The length of time for extensions range from 3 months to 60 months. The most common reasons for extensions are: - To allow individuals to finish a training program; or - The family is unable to find work and is making a good faith effort to find employment.
AFDC Requirement: None. ENCOURAGING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITYIndividual Responsibility Plan TANF Provision: States are required to make an initial assessment of the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each recipient 18 years or older or has no high school or GED. The state, in consultation with the individual, may develop an individual responsibility plan. . Every state requires TANF applicants and recipients to complete an Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP). Most IRPs include provisions to require immunization, school attendance, and cooperation with child support enforcement. Refusal to sign an IRP generally results in ineligibility. Sanctions for non-cooperation with plan activities after signing the plan result in immediate termination or benefit reduction, or initially benefit reduction with continued non-cooperation leading to termination. In 32 states, the maximum sanction can result in loss of entire grant for refusal to sign the IRP or for non-cooperation after signing. In 14 states, the maximum sanction for non-cooperation with plan activities can result in reducing the families benefit. In 4 states, the sanction was not specified.
AFDC Requirement: States were required to develop an employment plan for non-exempt JOBS participants. Refusal to cooperate with the employment plan could result in a reduction of benefits equal to the non-complying individual's needs being removed from the grant.
Maximum Sanctions For Not Complying With Work Requirements TANF Provision: If an individual in a family receiving assistance refuses to engage in required work, the state has the option to either reduce or terminate the amount of assistance payable to the family, subject to good cause. Maximum Sanctions for Not Complying
8 Protective payee for children under 12 years of age. 9 Protective payee for remaining grant 10 Third party payment for remaining grant. 11 May be allowed to participate in community service. 12 Vendor paid for remaining grant. 13 Payment to third party for children.
AFDC Requirement: An individual who was not exempt from JOBS participation was subject to a financial penalty or sanction if she refused without good cause to participate in JOBS activities specified in her employment plan. The sanction was to remove the non-exempt person from the grant. In the first instance, the sanction continued until the person agreed to participate; in the second instance, the sanction lasted 3 months, or until the person agreed to participate, whichever was later; and for the third and subsequent instances, the sanction lasted for a minimum of 6 months, or until the person agrees to participate, whichever is later. Strengthening Child Support Sanctions for Non-Cooperation With Child Support Requirements TANF Provision: Title III of PRWORA establishes stricter child support enforcement policies. States must operate a child support enforcement program meeting general requirements in order to be eligible for the Family Assistance Program. Recipients must assign rights to child support and cooperate with paternity establishment efforts. States have the option to either deny cash assistance or reduce assistance by at least 25 percent to those individuals who fail to cooperate with paternity establishment or obtain child support.
AFDC Requirement: States were required to establish paternity and enforce child support orders for AFDC recipients. $50 Pass-Through TANF Provision: PRWORA repeals the child support $50 pass-through, but states have the option of continuing it at their expense.
14 Continuing temporarily. 15 Discontinued for new TANF recipients after 7-1-97. Continued for those receiving TANF prior to 7-1-97. 16 State provides a $50 incentive payment to TANF recipients who receive child support payment. AFDC Requirement: States were required to disregard the first $50 in a child support payments collected by the state and pass that amount through to the family.
OTHER KEY PROVISIONS Different Treatment for Families From Other States TANF Provision: States are allowed to treat families moving into the state from another state differently than state residents with respect to eligibility rules and benefit levels. . Twelve states have chosen to provide benefits to families moving from other states based on the maximum aid payment they received in the state from which they moved. . North Carolina allows counties to set out-of-state family eligibility. . Florida and North Dakota will also use the former state's time limit, if shorter than their previous time limit.
AFDC Requirement: None. Different treatment based on state of prior residence was not permitted under AFDC. Immigrant Benefits TANF Provision: States are given the option whether or not to provide assistance under TANF to "qualified aliens."17 States may not deny assistance to refugees, who have been in the U.S. for less than five years, to asylees and aliens whose deportation is withheld under Section 243(h) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act for 5 years from the date such status was received, to legal permanent residents who have earned 40 qualifying quarters of coverage, or to aliens who have served in the armed forces (and their spouses and unmarried dependent children). Under Section 403 of PRWORA, Federal TANF funds may not be used to provide assistance to an alien entering the United States on or after the date of enactment (August 22, 1996) for a period of five years beginning with the date of the alien's entry into the country as a qualified alien, with exceptions for refugees, asylees, immigrants whose deportation is withheld, and veterans and their families. . Forty-eight states have elected to continue to provide benefits to qualified aliens. . Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina are not providing benefits.
AFDC Requirement: Aliens who were permanently residing under color of law were eligible for AFDC benefits. 17 The definition of "qualified alien" includes seven categories of aliens, including immigrants legally admitted as permanent residents, refugees and asylees. Aliens who are not qualified aliens are banned from receiving federal public benefits, with certain limited exceptions. State or local public benefits are not available, with certain limited exceptions, to aliens who are not one of the following: qualified aliens, non-immigrants, or aliens paroled into the U.S. for less than one year. The State can enact a law after August 22, 1996 which affirmatively provides a benefit to an alien who is not lawfully present in the U.S.
Family Violence Option TANF Provision: States have the flexibility to give special treatment to the victims of domestic violence. States have the option to certify that they will assist victims of domestic violence by: Screening for them when they apply for TANF; referring these clients to counseling and supportive services; and waiving time limits, residency requirements, child support cooperation requirements, and family cap provisions. . Twenty-six states have certified they will assist victims of domestic violence. . Three states are developing screening and counseling standards
AFDC Requirement: None. Family Cap TANF Provision: None. States have the flexibility not to increase cash assistance after the birth of additional children while the family is on TANF. . Nineteen states have elected not to increase cash assistance after the birth of additional child while the family is on TANF. . Connecticut and Florida provide a partial increase in benefits after the birth of additional child(ren) while the family is on TANF. . Maryland provides the increase to a third party, and Oklahoma provides an increase in the form of vouchers.
AFDC Requirement: None. AFDC benefits were based on family size, regardless of when the children were born. Attachments:
Table 9:1 Selected Provisions of State TANF Plans (in four parts): Part a, Part b, Part c, Part d |
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