Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19,...

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

CSHB 3759Testimony

House Human Services Committee

April 19, 2007

Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222 x110

hagert@cppp.org

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

Why reform is needed1) Recent changes in federal TANF

rules have put states in a tight spot2) Texas TANF work program

(“Choices”) is designed to help able-bodied parents with relatively low barriers to employment

3) Choices is NOT designed to help parents with greater barriers to employment become employable

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Why reform is needed4) Texas has done a good job getting able-

bodied parents into low-wage jobs; BUT we need to do more to support the transition from low-wage jobs to true self-sufficiency

5) Texas needs a compliance-oriented approach to improve the effectiveness of full-family sanctions. The full-family sanction policy was adopted to increase compliance with program rules and get more recipients working; INSTEAD it has pushed tens of thousand of families off of welfare, leaving them jobless and in poverty.

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TANF at a Glance

• Limited eligibility:– Income cannot be higher than

$188/month (family of 3) to qualify

• Small benefit:– Average benefit is $200/month;

maximum is $220

• By definition, our TANF population is hard-to-serve

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

The Work Participation Rate

• Federal law requires states to engage 50% of adults in federally approved work activities for a minimum number of hours per week (30 for single parents, 35 or more for two-parent families).

• Feds include most adults in the calculation, with limited exceptions

• *States can exempt adults even if they are included in the WPR

NumeratorDenominator

Adults meeting the work requirement

Adults subject to work participation*

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Primary challenges• Over the last decade, the TANF population

has become harder-to-serve due to time limits, work rules, and strict sanctions

• Persons with serious barriers to employment now make up a greater share of our caseload, which makes it harder for Texas to meet federal work participation requirements.

• We have more hard-to-serve people in the “denominator” and fewer able-bodied adults

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Feds have made things worse

• Recent changes in federal rules restrict what work activities “count” and limit states’ flexibility to reduce work hours

• Rules also subjected more people to federal work participation, i.e., increased “denominator”

• This makes it harder for Texas to design effective work program for persons with barriers to employment

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

CSHB 3759 provides solutions

• Increases the number of families meeting the work requirement (“the numerator”)– Work support program – Post-sanction review increases

compliance• Decreases the number of families

subject to federal work participation (“the denominator”)– Solely state-funded program (also

caseload reduction credit)

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

CSHB 3759 helps low-income parents

• Gets more families to work by increasing compliance

• Helps recent welfare leavers make the transition from low-wage work to self-sufficiency

• Ensures that parents who can’t work, or who need specialized services or more time to overcome barriers to get this assistance

Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org

CSHB 3759 increases program integrity and effectiveness

• Establishes a standardized good cause process to ensure caseworkers are following policy and imposing sanctions fairly

• Gives the Legislature the tools to judge the effectiveness of full family sanctions