DC’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program has been the subject of much discussion over the last year. While the driving force for these discussions is a desire to improve outcomes for TANF families and reduce long-term participation in the program, a number of recently-adopted policy changes will end up putting the cart before the horse. These changes could end up penalizing families before they have had a chance to participate in improved services within the TANF program ‘ services than can help improve the outcomes for families.
The District has long recognized a need to redesign its TANF program, and many advocates agree that making quality improvements to the program in order to better support families is the best way to improve outcomes. A study co-authored by So Others Might Eat and DCFPI pointed out some major areas for improvement, including the need for a detailed orientation, comprehensive assessments, broader educational and employment services, and improved accountability standards for TANF vendors. While each of these components is on the DHS agenda for this year, none has been implemented to date.
Instead, two punitive measures have been put into law through the FY 2012 budget. By implementing these measures before any positive program changes have had a chance to take effect, the District could end up doing more harm to poor families with children than good. Here is a look at the upcoming changes:
- New time limits: In December, the Council voted to reduce benefit amounts, for families receiving assistance for more than 60 months, by 20 percent in April 2011. The Mayor’s FY 2012 budget proposal included an additional 20 percent cut this October and a complete phaseout of benefits to long-term recipients by FY 2014. The final approved budget shifted these time limits back by one year.
The one-year delay of TANF time limits represents a small improvement, but the plan is still worrisome. DHS has stated that just completing assessments of all TANF recipients who would be immediately affected by the time-triggered reductions will take some 18 months. This means that at the time of the next round of benefit cuts in October 2012, many families will not even have had an official assessment to determine their skills, barriers, and needs.
- Full-family sanctions: The FY 2012 budget assumes $3 million in savings from a new sanctions policy to impose a financial penalty on families not complying with program requirements. However, the policy has not been drafted and approved yet, which indicates that budget savings may drive the development of the sanctions policy rather than effectiveness and outcomes.
Other changes to the TANF program have been floated but not adopted, including a last-minute proposal to require participants to attend at least 50 percent of parent-teacher conferences as a condition of program eligibility. This proposal would have not only been administratively difficult, but would also single out TANF families for increased parental engagement via a mechanism that has little support in national research for any effectiveness in improving student outcomes.
DC is beginning to make progress in the TANF program’ progress that can help improve the outcomes for low-income families with children. However, for many families on TANF, these improvements ‘ in areas like screening for barriers and job training programs ‘ may not happen soon enough.
