Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19,...
-
Upload
matilda-malone -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
2
Transcript of Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19,...
![Page 1: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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
![Page 2: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
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
![Page 3: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org
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.
![Page 4: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org
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
![Page 5: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
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*
![Page 6: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org
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
![Page 7: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Center for Public Policy Priorities www.cppp.org
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
![Page 8: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
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)
![Page 9: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
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
![Page 10: Center for Public Policy Priorities CSHB 3759 Testimony House Human Services Committee April 19, 2007 Celia Hagert, Senior Policy Analyst 512-320-0222.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022071808/56649eef5503460f94bffaeb/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
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