This article originally appeared in the January-February 1997 Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Welfare Reform: Questions for States

by Joy Shioshita

The new federal welfare law gives states leeway to make major decisions about welfare, child care, food stamps, Medicaid (Medi-Cal), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). During the next several months, California will decide who qualifies for aid and how long the aid will last. The state will also set rules and decide on the amounts and types of benefits.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (HR 3734) ends the federal guarantee of aid to all needy people. The new law eliminates federal funding for AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children/welfare), Emergency Assistance, and JOBS/GAIN. In their place, the federal government will give states a single Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. The law also establishes a five-year, lifetime limit for receiving any TANF benefits, including cash assistance, training, education, and income supplements for low-wage workers.

In October, California submitted its initial welfare-reform plan, which continues most current programs and policies. But that plan can--and probably will--change. In the next few months the legislature may consider proposals to revise the state's welfare program. To have your say, contact your state senate and assembly members.

Here are some of the main issues that the federal law leaves up to states to decide:

Welfare/TANF

Will states maintain current benefit amounts?
The law does not set any minimum amount that states must pay.

Will states reduce the time limit to less than five years?
The law does not require states to provide benefits for any minimum time.

How will states aid people who have reached the five-year limit?
States may exempt up to 20 percent of recipients, including children, from the five-year limit. Experts predict that more than 20 percent of recipients may follow all the rules but still need more than five years' aid; this group will include people living in rural areas, parents of children with special needs, and people with disabilities or limited job skills.

Will states provide benefits to children born while their parents are receiving TANF?
California's plan denies children these benefits.

Domestic Violence

Will states exempt survivors of domestic violence from time limits, residency requirements, and child-support cooperation?
More than half of welfare recipients are survivors of domestic violence, according to the Taylor Institute. Battered women may need more than five years to become financially self-supporting. To escape their assailants, women may move to a new state, then find themselves penalized by residency requirements. Some states, including California, plan to limit new residents' welfare payments to the amount they would have received in their previous state, but they may exempt battered women from this rule. Child-support collectors may excuse women with "good cause" from providing information that might endanger their lives.

Jobs

How will states prioritize required "work activities"?
By 1997, one-fourth of all families receiving TANF must participate in at least 20 hours of "work activities." By 2002, half the families must work at least 30 hours per week. "Work activities" include jobs, training, community service, and job-hunting. Will states require people to get jobs right away or encourage them to enter training programs? Will required community service interfere with job-hunting? States will need to set their priorities carefully so parents can find jobs that will support families.

Will states require all able-bodied adults to hold community-service jobs after receiving aid for two months?
The federal law sets this requirement, but states may choose not to follow it.

Will states exempt any parents from work requirements?
States may exempt parents with children under age one. States must exempt parents of children under age six when parents can't find safe and affordable child care; states may extend this exemption to parents of children under age 11. Parents who receive work exemptions may still receive TANF for only five years.

Will states require adults to get jobs before the federal two-year deadline?
The federal law requires adults to work after receiving two years' assistance, but states may set shorter limits.

Will states let some TANF recipients count certain educational programs as job training, and therefore "work activity"?
States may define "work activity" to include basic adult education, high-school equivalency, English-as-a-second-language (ESL), and two- or four-year college programs.

Will states help develop transportation to enable people to get to jobs?
Lack of transportation, especially in rural areas, is a major obstacle to employment.

Child Care

How will the state meet the rapidly increasing need for safe and affordable child care programs?
As more and more people must begin working each year, many thousands of parents will need child care.

If there is not enough money to help all needy families, how will states prioritize who receives child care funds?
People who are unable to find jobs, training for work, performing community service, or working low-wage jobs all will need help.

How will states determine rates for reimbursing child care providers?
If states pay significantly less than the average rate, parents may have difficulty finding safe, appropriate care for their children.

Will states encourage or require TANF recipients to provide child care for other recipients?
This policy might help states to meet child care needs and find jobs for parents, but the plan could also hinder the child care provider from finding a longer-term job. Child care advocates have also expressed concerns about the quality of care that children will receive; any particular TANF recipient may have little or no interest or training in child development work.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Will states spend their own funds to help children with disabilities?
Some children with autism, tuberculosis, mood disorders, developmental delays, and other conditions will no longer be eligible for SSI income-support payments. 185,000 children may lose their benefits.

Immigration

Will states provide cash aid to current legal immigrants?
States may choose whether to provide TANF, non-emergency Medicaid (Medi-Cal), and social services to legal immigrants. California's initial plan maintains eligibility for legal immigrants. The Western Center on Law and Poverty estimates that legal immigrants represent over 375,000 California parents and children receiving welfare.

Will states spend their own funds to provide food stamps and/or SSI to legal immigrants?
Most legal immigrants will become ineligible for food stamps, and the law permanently bans most current and future immigrants from receiving SSI. In California, several hundred thousand legal immigrants with physical or mental disabilities will lose services and be left with few resources.

Will states provide prenatal care or certain food programs to undocumented residents?
Sates may choose whether to provide prenatal services. California has announced plans to stop providing this care. States also may choose whether they will offer the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP); or Summer Food Program benefits to undocumented people.

Food Stamps

How will states respond to food stamp cuts to families?
The average food stamp benefit will fall almost 20 percent by 2002.

Will states allow exceptions to the three-month limit for able-bodied adults?
"Physically and mentally fit" adults without children may receive food stamps for only three months during any three-year period. The state may waive the limit in areas with unemployment rates above 10 percent or an inadequate job supply.

SOURCES:

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, California Food Policy Advocates, Center for Law and Social Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Child Welfare League of America, Children's Defense Fund, California Legislative Analyst's Office, Western Center on Law and Poverty