Councilmembers Tommy Wells and Michael Brown have set their sights on improving services to the 17,000 DC families participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Legislation introduced this month would require, among other things, improved assessments of strengths and challenges of TANF parents that relate to their ability to work, as well as detailed reporting on the employment and supportive services provided to them. The legislation is well-timed, coinciding with efforts of the Department of Human Services to re-design the TANF program.
The renewed focus on TANF is very welcomed. New Census Bureau figures show that child poverty has skyrocketed in the District during the recession. TANF serves one of three children in the city, providing cash assistance to meet basic needs and services to help parents address barriers to work. A 2009 report by DCFPI and SOME, Inc. showed that DC’s TANF program often fails to assess parents’ needs or refer them to appropriate services. Strengthening TANF service is important both to the future of DC’s children and to efforts to improve workforce development in the city.
So, what would the bill ‘ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF”) Educational Opportunities and Accountability Act of 2010 ‘ actually do?
- Require the Department of Human Services to develop a standard assessment tool to identify barriers to employment faced by parents in TANF families;
- Change the definition of work-related services that can be provided to TANF recipients, to allow the District to take advantage of new opportunities created by federal TANF law changes;
- Require the city to track recipients who leave TANF for employment, to determine how many are living above 200 percent of poverty a year later;
- Require reporting on the number of TANF recipients referred to supportive services, such as for domestic violence, and the number actually getting help; and
- Require reporting on the number of TANF recipients in various work preparation activities ‘ from job search to vocational training to education.
This bill will add a new layer of accountability to efforts already underway at the Department of Human Services to strengthen the TANF program. Based on a series of “roundtable” discussions with stakeholders, DHS is planning to implement a new tool to assess the work barriers of TANF clients and to develop a new range of services designed to meet the individual needs of TANF families. (Those plans may be released as soon as October.) .
The new legislation, if adopted, will help ensure that some of these steps are taken. New reporting requirements will allow the agency and the public to monitor the success of TANF reforms and track the number of families receiving help and moving toward self sufficiency.
