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820 First Street, NE, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20002
Tel: 202-408-1080 Fax: 202-408-1056 center@cbpp.org http://www.cbpp.org
January 22, 2002
IMPROVING TANF PROGRAM OUTCOMES FOR FAMILIES
WITH BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT
by Heidi Goldberg1
A significant number of current and former TANF recipients have various barriers to
finding and maintaining employment. Among the most common barriers are physical and mental
health problems, domestic violence, low skill levels, lack of adequate or affordable housing, and
limited proficiency in English. Research has shown that recipients with work barriers are less
likely to find jobs, have lower earnings on average, and are more likely to lose assistance because
of a sanction for program noncompliance than families without barriers. Poor outcomes are
especially likely for families that experience more than one barrier to employment. Welfare
reauthorization offers an opportunity to improve services and outcomes for these disadvantaged
families.
After summarizing research on the prevalence and effects of various barriers to
employment, this paper discusses changes that could be made to TANF to improve program
outcomes for families with work barriers.
The Extent and Effects of Barriers to Employment
A number of studies documenting the extent of various barriers to employment among
current and former TANF recipients have been conducted since the passage of the 1996 welfare
law. The precise estimates of the prevalence of a particular barrier, the population studied, and
the way in which barriers are measured vary; however, when these studies are taken together, the
following conclusions emerge:
· Physical and mental health conditions and low education levels are the most
prevalent barriers documented among TANF recipients. Other common barriers
include domestic violence and limited English proficiency.
· Recipients with such barriers are less likely to secure employment than other
recipients.
1
The analysis and recommendations presented in this paper were developed collaboratively with the Center for
Law and Social Policy.
· A large number of families experience more than one barrier to employment. The
likelihood of a recipient finding employment falls as the number of barriers she
experiences increases.
· Recipients that lose cash assistance because they were sanctioned off the program for
noncompliance with program requirements are more likely to experience barriers to
employment than those who have left welfare for other reasons.
Research Findings on the Prevalence of Barriers
Various studies have measured the prevalence of an array of barriers. These studies find
particularly high rates of barriers related to the health both of parents and children receiving TANF.
· Physical and Mental Health Problems: TANF recipients are more likely to suffer
from physical or mental health problems that limit employability than the general
population. The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) found
that nearly one-third of the non-working recipients studied reported having fair or
poor health. (This study measured barriers among recipients in four urban areas.)
Nationally, only eight percent of similarly aged women report having fair or poor
health status. Similarly, while 44 percent of non-working TANF recipients reported
having a physical condition that limited moderate activity such as pushing a
vacuum cleaner less than 10 percent of similar women nationally reported having
such limitations.2 In a national study of TANF recipients, the General Accounting
Office found that 44 percent of TANF recipients nationally had at least one physical
or mental health impairment, three times higher than the rate of such impairments
among adults not receiving TANF benefits.3 Findings from these two studies and
2
Denise Polit, Andrew London, and John Martinez, The Health of Poor Urban Women: Findings from the
Project on Devolution and Urban Change, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, May 2001,
http://www.mdrc.org/Reports2001/UC-HealthReport/UC-HealthRpt-FullRpt2001.pdf. This research project
studied a sample of low-income women in Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, or Cuyahoga County in Ohio, which
includes Cleveland. Some of these women received TANF cash assistance, many did not. The results presented in
this paper refer to the women who were receiving TANF and who were not employed. The authors noted that health
problems were likely to be underreported and underrated in the survey. Ethnographic interviews revealed serious
health problems in some respondents that initially stated they were in good health in the survey. The researchers
also noted that the survey data did not accurately reflect severity of problems the mothers and children faced.
3
U.S. General Accounting Office, Welfare Reform: More Coordinated Federal Effort Could Help States and
Localities Move TANF Recipients With Impairments Toward Employment, October 2001. GAO reports can be
found at www.gao.gov. GAO developed estimates of TANF recipients with impairments using data from the
Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Census classified SIPP respondents as
having a disability or impairment if they met specific criteria on a nine-item scale, including having difficulty
performing certain functional activities, difficulty with activities of daily living, having a mental or emotional
impairment that interferes with daily activities, having a condition that limits ability to work, or having certain
2
one other national study that documents the prevalence of health problems among
TANF recipients are summarized in Table 1.4
Drug and Alcohol Problems: Accurate estimates of the number of welfare
recipients that have alcohol or drug problems are difficult to obtain generally and
vary considerably depending on the definitions used. In a survey of the existing
research on the extent of these problems among welfare recipients, researchers at
Mathematica Policy Research found that estimates of the welfare population
nationally that abuse alcohol or other drugs range from 11 percent to 27 percent.
More recent studies suggest similar results.5 Mathematica also concluded that
approximately five percent of welfare recipients were "dependent" on alcohol or
other drugs.
Children's Health: The MDRC study found that one-fourth of non-employed
mothers receiving TANF had a child with an illness or disability that limited the
mothers' ability to work or attend school.6 Similarly, in a study in conducted in an
urban county in Michigan, 22 percent of respondents had a child with a health,
learning, or emotional problem.7 A child with a health problem can inhibit a parent's
ability to work. Some children require frequent trips to medical professionals and it
is often difficult to find appropriate child care for such children.
Domestic Violence: Domestic violence can affect recipients' physical health and
safety as well as their mental health. A review of the research on the prevalence of
domestic violence among low-income women generally also reviewed studies of
welfare recipients. These studies showed that between 15 and 30 percent of welfare
illnesses or conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, mental retardation, or another developmental impairment.
4
For more information about the prevalence of disabilities in the TANF population, see Eileen Sweeney, Recent
Studies Indicate That Many Parents Who Are Current Or Former Welfare Recipients Have Disabilities And Other
Medical Conditions, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 2000, http://www.cbpp.org/2-29-00wel.pdf.
5
See discussion in Gwen Rubinstein, Making Welfare Reform Work Better: Improving TANF Program Results
for Recipients with Alcohol and Drug Problems, Recommendations for TANF Reauthorization, Legal Action
Center, September 2001.
6
Polit, London, and Martinez, 2001.
7
Sandra Danziger, et al., Barriers to the Employment of Welfare Recipients, University of Michigan Poverty
Research and Training Center, February 2000, http://www.ssw.umich.edu/poverty/pubs.html.
3
recipients have been recent victims of domestic violence. Between 50 and 65 percent
of recipients were victims of domestic abuse at some point in their lives.8
Table 1
Prevalence of Physical and Mental Impairments Among TANF Recipients:
Findings From National Studies
STUDY DATA MAJOR FINDINGS
U.S. General Accounting National sample of TANF · 44 percent of all recipients reported at least one
Office, 2001 recipients from 2000 Survey physical or mental impairment
of Income and Program · 38 percent reported a severe impairment
Participation (data are for · 29 percent reported at least one mental
1999) impairment
Urban Institute, 20019 National sample of TANF 36 percent reported either very poor mental
recipients from the 1999 health or that health limits work
National Survey of America's 17 percent reported that health limits work
Families 28 percent reported very poor mental health
Manpower Demonstration Sample of TANF recipients Among non-employed TANF recipients:
Research Corporation, 2001 from Los Angeles, Miami, 32 percent reported fair or poor health
Philadelphia, and Cuyahoga 34 percent had a physical problem that limited
County, Ohio (Cleveland), work or type of work
interviewed between 1998 and 33 percent were at moderate or high risk for
1999 depression
In addition to health-related barriers to employment, low education levels, limited English
proficiency and learning disabilities can all affect TANF recipients' labor market prospects. Recent
research has documented the extent of many such barriers among TANF recipients.
· Low education levels: A report by the Urban Institute found that 44 percent of adults
receiving TANF cash assistance in 1999 lacked a high school diploma or GED.10
Census data show that nationally, only 12.7 percent of women between the ages of
8
Richard Tolman and Jody Raphael, A Review of Research on Welfare and Domestic Violence, Journal of Social
Issues 655-681, 2000. Estimates of the prevalence of domestic violence experienced by welfare recipients vary
depending on the measure used. Some studies measure only very severe abuse while others use a more broad
definition of violence.
9
Sheila Zedlewski and Donald Alderson, Before and After Reform: How Have Families on Welfare Changed?,
Urban Institute, April 2001, http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/series_b/b32/b32.html.
10
Zedlewski and Alderson, 2001.
4
18 and 54 lack a high school diploma or GED.11 The lack of a high school diploma
can make it difficult for individuals to find jobs either because a diploma itself is a
job requirement or because individuals without the skills of a high school graduate
cannot perform the duties associated with many jobs.
· Limited English Proficiency: Persons with limited proficiency in English constitute
a significant share of the TANF caseload in some urban areas. For example, in Los
Angeles County, 41 percent of the TANF caseload has limited proficiency in
English.12 While an accurate national estimate of the percentage of TANF recipients
with limited proficiency in English is not available, approximately 17 percent of the
national TANF caseload is foreign-born and it seems likely that a significant share of
these families have limited proficiency in English.13 Individuals with limited
proficiency in English often can have difficulty securing employment as many jobs
require employees to communicate with customers, co-workers, or suppliers in
English.
· Learning Disabilities: Studies in Kansas, Washington State and Utah suggest that
between one-fifth and one-third of parents receiving TANF have learning disabilities
& neurologically-based problems that make it difficult for individuals to process
information. The problems may involve language, motor activity, reading, writing,
math, organization, or other tasks that are important to functioning in a work
setting.14
An intensive study conducted in an urban county in Michigan provides the most complete
analysis of the range of work barriers among TANF recipients. This study measured the prevalence
11
1998 Current Population Survey figures cited in Danziger, 2000.
12
Karen Tumlin and Wendy Zimmerman, What Does "Work-First" Mean for Immigrants?, Urban Institute,
paper presented at Association for Public Policy and Management Conference, November 2001.
13
Id. A survey of Mexican and Vietnamese noncitizens receiving TANF benefits in late 1998 in Santa Clara
County, California, found that forty-eight percent of the Mexican participants and 87 percent of the Vietnamese
participants had "poor to no" proficiency in English. Doris Ng, From War on Poverty to War on Welfare: The
Impact of Welfare Reform on the Lives of Immigrant Women, Equal Rights Advocates, April 1999, available on the
organization's World Wide Web site at http://www.equalrights.org/welfare/iwwp/index.htm.
14
See Martin Gerry, Candace Shively, "The Kansas Learning Disabilities Initiative," January 1999; "Learning
Disabilities: A Report by the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services
Administration, WorkFirst Division," September 1998; Amanda Smith Barusch, Mary JaneTaylor, et al.,
"Understanding Families with Multiple Barriers to Self Sufficiency: Final Report," University of Utah Social
Research Institute, February 1999, http://www.socwkutah.edu/finalreport.htm. See also Rebecca Brown, Evelyn
Ganzglass, Serving Welfare Recipients with Learning Disabilities in a Work First Environment," National
Governors Association, July 1998, http://www.nga.org.
5
of barriers among a sample of women receiving welfare in February 1997. Its findings are
summarized in Table 2.
Table 2
Prevalence of Work Barriers Among TANF Recipients
in an Urban Michigan County15
Type of Work Barrier Prevalence (%)
Education, Work Experience, and Job Skills
No high school diploma or GED 31.4
Low work experience (worked less than 20 of years since 18th birthday) 21.4
Knows fewer than four job skills16 21.1
Knows 5 or fewer work norms (measured by responses to questions about the
appropriateness of certain workplace behaviors) 9.1
Discrimination
Four or more instances of prior discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or welfare status 13.9
Transportation
No car or drivers' license 47.1
Physical and Mental Health
Major depressive disorder 25.4
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 14.6
Generalized anxiety disorder 7.3
Alcohol dependence 2.7
Drug dependence 3.3
Mother's health problem 19.4
Child health, learning or emotional problem 22.1
Domestic Violence
Severe abuse from a partner within the past year 14.9
15
Danziger, 2000.
16
The job skills measured included: working with a computer, writing letters or memos, watching gauges,
talking with customers face to face, talking with customers on the phone, reading instructions, filling out forms,
doing arithmetic, and working with electronic machines.
6
Multiple Barriers to Employment
A number of studies have shown that many TANF recipients experience more than one
barrier to employment. In an Urban Institute study of TANF recipients from across the country that
measured a range of different work barriers -- including six physical or mental health measures,
two measures related to skill or work experience, and four other barriers related to transportation
problems, language barriers, barriers associated with children's health and age. The study found
that 44 percent of TANF recipients had two or more of these barriers.17 In the Michigan study,
almost two-thirds of the women surveyed had two or more of the 14 barriers measured and more
than four in ten had at least three.18 (See Table 2 for a list of the barriers studied.) Finally, the
MDRC study found that many current and former recipients with health-related barriers to
employment had additional non-health-related barriers, including limited education and work
experience, limited proficiency in English, and having more than three children. When both health
and non-health barriers were considered, more than 85 percent of non-working TANF recipients
surveyed experienced at least two of the barriers, and 44 percent experienced at least four barriers.19
Work Barriers and Employment Outcomes
TANF recipients with barriers to employment have lower rates of employment than
recipients without barriers. The Michigan study analyzed how work barriers limit employment.
The study examined the relationships between certain barriers and the likelihood of employment
among a group of women who received welfare in February of 1997. Some barriers had a
particularly pronounced effect on employment. For example, only 39 percent of women without a
high school degree were working at least 20 hours per week when interviewed in late-1997
compared to 66 percent of women with a high school degree. Similarly, among recipients who had
poor physical health that limited their ability to perform moderate activities, only 39 percent were
working when interviewed in late 1997. Among those without such physical health problems, 62
percent were employed. Other barriers that had a significant impact on employment were
depression, low work experience, few job skills, perceived discrimination, transportation, and child
health problems.20
The study also found that the likelihood of employment decreases sharply and significantly
as the number of barriers increases. Women with only one barrier were significantly less likely to
work compared to women with no barriers (71 percent versus 82 percent). Women with two or
17
Sheila Zedlewski, Work-Related Activities and Limitations of Current Welfare Recipients, Urban Institute,
1999, http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/discussion99-06.html.
18
Danziger, 2000.
19
Polit, London, and Martinez, 2001.
20
Danziger, 2000.
7
three barriers had a 62 percent chance of working; women with three or more barriers had only a 40
percent chance of working.21
The Urban Institute study measured the likelihood that a recipient was working, in school, or
looking for work. The study found that 86 percent of TANF recipients with no barriers were
participating in a work activity compared to 60 percent of those with one barrier. In addition,
recipients who experienced a barrier to employment were more likely to be engaged in a job search
activity -- rather than working or participating in education -- than recipients without barriers.
Since job search programs generally entail fewer services related to barriers than other work-related
activities, this finding is troubling. Most recipients with multiple barriers were not participating in
any a work activity. Some 57 percent of those with two barriers and 73 percent of those with three
or more barriers reported that they were not currently participating in a work-related program.
While these studies demonstrate that barriers reduce the likelihood that a recipient will find
employment, they also show that many recipients with barriers do work. It is likely, however, that
more such recipients could secure employment if they received services designed to help them
overcome their barriers and prepare for work. There is evidence that many recipients do not receive
such services. A recent GAO study of TANF cash assistance programs in 600 counties examined
the way in which these programs identified recipients who had various barriers to employment who
might need specialized services. The study found that while most counties did some screening of
recipients, many barriers that are more difficult to detect such as mental illness or learning
disabilities were not identified. More than three-quarters of welfare offices in the study relied on
recipients' self-disclosure of barriers instead of using screening and assessment tools. These tools
generally are able to identify more people with certain barriers then a simple question which
requires individuals to "self-identify" themselves as having a particular problem.
The GAO study also found that once barriers were identified, recipients often did not receive
services designed to address those barriers and help them secure employment. Some 63 percent of
the counties studied exempted TANF recipients with physical or mental impairments from
participation requirements entirely. While exemptions are appropriate for some recipients who are
unable to work, the study noted that in counties where TANF recipients with barriers were
exempted from work requirements, they were much less likely to receive any services to assist them
to address these impairments and take steps toward employment.22
21
The study used regression analysis to estimate the effects of different numbers of barriers on the likelihood of
employment. The sample for the Michigan study consisted of women who were receiving welfare in February 1997
and were interviewed at the end of 1997.
22
GAO, 2001.
8
Lack of Stable Housing Can Be a Barrier to Employment
While different in nature than a physical or mental impairment that impedes a recipient's
ability to secure employment, unstable, inadequate, unsafe, or unaffordable housing also can make it
difficult for a parent to retain employment. These housing conditions can lead to frequent moves
which can disrupt job attendance and performance. In the national Post-Employment Services
Demonstration, nearly one in five families reported housing problems as a barrier to keeping a job.a A
1999 survey in New Jersey found that about one in five of the families that had ever worked cited
housing problems as a barrier to work.b
There are a number of ways to modify the TANF statute to make it easier to address the
housing needs of families with children. First, states should have broader flexibility to use TANF
funds to provide supplemental rental assistance to families not receiving TANF cash benefits. To this
end, housing assistance for such families should be treated as work supports rather than welfare
payments that trigger time limits and other requirements. States have found it cumbersome to use
TANF funds for such initiatives. States also should have flexibility to use TANF funds for minor
housing rehabilitation to ameliorate harmful housing conditions. MDRC's study of the health of
current and former welfare recipients found that non-working TANF recipients were nearly 50 percent
more likely than working former recipients to have two or more problems with their housing
conditions. Research has shown that often poor housing conditions can cause or exacerbate health
problems also experienced by recipients.c While such use of TANF funds is permissible, it is not
currently clear what types or cost of repairs are allowable. Finally, states should be encouraged to
consider housing needs in TANF planning and implementation, and cooperation among welfare
agencies and public housing agencies should be encouraged. Better cooperation between housing and
TANF agencies could lead to an integration of the services provided by both agencies.
_____________
a
Anu Rangarajan, Keeping Welfare Recipients Employed: A Guide for States Designing Job Retention Services.
Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 1998, http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/Pesdemp.pdf.
b
Anu Rangarajan and Robert G. Wood, Work First New Jersey Evaluation: How WFNJ Clients are Faring
Under Welfare Reform: An Early Look, Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 1999,
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/wfnj.pdf.
c
Polit, London, and Martinez, 2001.
The Relationship Between Barriers and Sanctions
Research has demonstrated that a large proportion of families that are sanctioned for failing
to comply with program activities experienced barriers to employment. In many states, families in
which an adult does not comply with program requirements is terminated entirely from the cash
assistance program.
· The MDRC study found that recipients with a larger number of health problems were
more likely to be sanctioned than healthier recipients. One-third of the women with
three or more barriers, compared with about one-fourth of those who had no barriers,
9
reported having been sanctioned by the welfare agency. The health barriers most
strongly associated with reports of being sanctioned were physical abuse, being at
risk of depression and having a child with a health problem.23
· A study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Human Services as part of a
welfare reform demonstration project begun prior to the enactment of the 1996
welfare law found that sanctioned families were four times as likely as the caseload
as a whole to have a substance abuse problem, three times as likely to have a family
health problem, twice as likely to have a mental health problem, and twice as likely
to have been a recent victim of domestic violence.24
· A South Carolina study compared families that were sanctioned with families that
left welfare due to earnings during the first six months of TANF implementation in
the state. The study found that sanction rates were substantially higher among
recipients with low education levels than among those with more education. Some
36 percent of recipients with nine to 11 years of education were sanctioned,
compared with 24 percent of high school graduates and 18 percent recipients with
education beyond high school.25
· In a Utah study, 55 percent of sanctioned families cited transportation as a barrier to
employment, and almost a quarter of respondents said lack of transportation was the
primary reason they were unable to comply.26
These findings suggest that work barriers can impede a recipient's ability to meet program
requirements. This may be because the particular work activities that a recipient has been assigned
to are inappropriate based on her individual circumstances or that appropriate supportive services to
help the recipient overcome the barrier are not in place. Placement in an inappropriate activity
could arise because the state failed to identify the recipient as having a barrier. A state also may not
have appropriate activities available for individuals it does identify as having particular barriers.
23
Polit, London, and Martinez, 2001.
24
Minnesota Department of Human Services, Internal Memorandum, 1996.
25
Marilyn Edelhoch, Qiduan Liu and Linda Martin, The Post-welfare Progress of Sanctioned Clients, South
Carolina Department of Social Services, November 1999.
26
Michelle K. Derr, The Impact of Grant Sanctioning on Utah's TANF Families, University of Utah, October
1998.
10
Is Today's TANF Caseload More Disadvantaged?
As cash assistance caseloads fell dramatically over the past five years, many policymakers and
program administrators wanted to know whether the families now receiving cash assistance experience
more barriers to employment than those who received welfare several years ago when caseloads were
larger. Surprisingly, two studies have found that today's caseload is not significantly more
disadvantaged than the welfare caseload of earlier years. A GAO study found that adults receiving
cash assistance in 1999 were no more likely than their counterparts in 1994 to have physical or mental
impairments. Similarly, the Urban Institute compared those who received cash assistance in 1997 with
1999 recipients and found that both groups had similar incidences of health problems and low
education levels.
There are several possible explanations for these puzzling findings. First, many families with
barriers to employment have lost assistance due to sanctions. Sanction policies became more stringent
under TANF and the number of families affected by sanctions has increased over time. Had a large
number of families with barriers not lost assistance due to sanctions, current caseloads might be larger
and exhibit higher rates of barriers than is now the case.
New requirements imposed on individuals applying for cash assistance also may have kept
some recipients with barriers off the rolls. Many states have increased the requirements an applicant
must meet before a TANF cash assistance application is approved. For example, many states require
applicants to participate in a job search program prior to approving a cash assistance application. If
parents with barriers have difficulty meeting these requirements or if the requirements discourage
such a parent from applying at all some disadvantaged families may not be coming onto the rolls.
It is also possible that these counter-intuitive results stem from the way in which "barriers" are
measured. Some researchers have suggested that the survey instruments used by GAO and the Urban
Institute understate the extent of barriers among TANF recipients. For example, the Urban Institute
study relied on self-disclosure of health problems rather than a more sensitive survey instrument. It is
possible that if more sensitive measurement tools had been used to determine prevalence rates of
various barriers of both current and former recipients, differences between the two groups would
emerge.
Families with Barriers and TANF: Where Do We Go From Here?
As the preceding discussion shows, a significant number of current TANF recipients as well
as those who have been sanctioned off the program have various barriers to finding and maintaining
employment. Families with work barriers have lower employment levels and are more likely to be
sanctioned for program noncompliance than families without work barriers. Welfare
reauthorization offers an opportunity to improve services and outcomes for these disadvantaged
recipients and their families.
Allowing States to Count Individuals Placed in "Barrier-Removal"
Activities Toward the Federal Work Participation Rates
11
Under current law, adults must participate in a narrow set of work activities for a specified
number of hours in order to count toward a state's work participation rate. In general, to be counted
toward the work rates, adults must participate in job search programs, work in subsidized or
unsubsidized jobs, participate in work experience or community service, or participate in vocational
education (though the number of adults who can participate in education activities is subject to
special limitations). The poor labor market outcomes of recipients with barriers documented by
research in this area suggest that they may need to participate in activities designed to address their
barriers, such as mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, or English-as-a-Second
Language classes, rather than exclusively participating in the limited set of countable work activities
set out in current law. Without access to such activities, recipients may be forced into inappropriate
activities that do not help them move toward employment and may result in a sanction if the
recipient is unable to meet program expectations.
States should be given broad flexibility to place recipients in barrier-removal activities and
federal law should allow states to count recipients participating in such activities toward federal
work participation rates.
Some may argue that states do not need additional flexibility in this area because federal law
does not prohibit them from engaging families in a broader array of activities. This objection stems
from the fact that over the past five years, states have had little difficulty meeting federal work
participation requirements due to provisions in the law that lower required work rates for each state
based on past caseload decline.27 While states have had flexibility to place recipients in an array of
activities to address barriers without jeopardizing their ability to meet the federal work participation
requirements, it is unclear whether this will be the case in the future. TANF reauthorization may
alter the way in which work participation rates are set and states may no longer face very low
"effective" work participation rates. If this occurs, broader flexibility will be needed or states will
be unable to place large numbers of recipients in barrier-removal activities and still meet the work
participation requirements.
Even if the work participation rates states actually must meet are not increased substantially,
language in the federal statute that makes clear that placing recipients in activities designed to
address barriers to employment is consistent with TANF goals could encourage more states to
engage recipients in such activities. The GAO study shows that, despite state flexibility in this area
and low "effective" work participation rates over the past five years, many recipients who needed
services to address barriers did not receive them. This may be due, in part, to the TANF law's
strong signals recipients should be engaged in a narrowly defined set of work activities.
Finally, some also may feel that this additional flexibility will dilute the welfare law's strong
focus on work. The experience of several states that had welfare waiver programs in place prior to
27
Under current law, states are required to place a specified percentage of TANF assistance recipients into a set
of specified work activities. This percentage, however, was reduced based on the extent to which assistance
caseloads had declined since 1995. Because states experienced such large caseload declines, the actual work
participation rates they were required to meet were quite low and in some cases were zero.
12
the enactment of the 1996 welfare law suggests this is not the case. These states have been
permitted to count recipients participating in barrier-removal activities toward the federal work
participation rates. There is no evidence that the ability to count a broader range of activities
diminished the overall emphasis on work in these states.
Developing Sanction Procedures that Address Barriers and Increase Compliance
As discussed earlier, barriers to employment are especially prevalent among families that
have been sanctioned, suggesting that barriers may be impeding recipients' ability to comply fully
with program requirements. Under TANF, many states have adopted full-family sanctions that
terminate assistance to the entire family when an adult recipient does not meet work requirements.
Between 1997 and 1999, 540,000 families lost assistance because of full-family sanctions.28 Many
others had their benefits reduced because of partial sanctions.
To avoid inappropriately sanctioning vulnerable families, some states and counties have
adopted pre-sanction review procedures that assess family circumstances, provide information about
how to comply with program requirements to families, and offer, when needed, additional supports
and services to families to facilitate compliance. These pre-sanction procedures have been found to
reduce sanction rates and increase compliance with TANF work requirements. For example, in a
pre-sanction review program in Tennessee, about one-third of the families that were slated to
receive full-family sanctions in 1999 ultimately did not receive them as a result of this pre-sanction
review process. In 70 percent of these cases, the parent came into compliance. In the remaining 30
percent, the reviewers found errors in caseworkers' application of the sanction policies.29
Similar procedures that meet the following criteria should be implemented in all state TANF
programs:
· A comprehensive assessment should be conducted prior to a sanction being imposed
to determine why the family did not meet program expectations, including whether
the family has barriers that prevent full compliance.
28
Goldberg, 2000. This estimate reflects the cumulative number of families that have lost assistance during
these two years. The estimate was derived from a GAO report stating that an average of 16,000 families per month
lost cash assistance due to full-family sanctions in 1998. However, because full-family sanctions usually keep
families off assistance beyond the initial month of closure, the total number of families without assistance due to
sanctions at any given point is many times larger than the number of new case closures each month. Using GAO's
numbers along with state-level data, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated the number of families
that lost assistance following a full-family sanction sometime between 1997 through 1999.
29
For more information on the effectiveness of these procedures, see Heidi Goldberg, A Compliance-Oriented
Approach to Sanctions In State and County TANF Programs, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 2000,
http://www.cbpp.org/10-1-00TANFcover.htm.
13
· If barriers are found, states should determine whether a change in work activities is
needed to ensure that the program expectations are appropriate based on the family's
circumstances. The state also should ensure that the family has the services it needs
to meet program expectations.
Some will object to imposing a requirement on states in this area. Substantial evidence
demonstrates, however, that a properly designed pre-sanction review procedure will increase the
number of recipients complying with program requirements, while ensuring that families have
adequate notice of what is expected of them and the supports they need to comply. Moreover, the
fact that some states have adopted effective pre-sanction procedures suggests that such procedures
do not present significant administrative burdens. Finally, the very large number of families that
have lost assistance due to sanctions coupled with the high prevalence of barriers among these
sanctioned families indicate that this is an area in which the broad flexibility afforded states in the
1996 welfare law went too far. Based on this experience and the existence of successful program
models that reduce sanction rates while increasing compliance with work requirements, additional
protections for parents are warranted in this area.
To assist states in this area, HHS should be given resources to develop materials that both
provide information on successful pre-sanction programs as well as model screening and assessment
tools.
Finally, the goal of sanctions should be to encourage compliance with program rules so that
families can ultimately move into employment. Currently, however, when a recipient comes into
compliance with program rules, many states do not lift the sanction for several additional months.
Some states impose minimum sanction durations that last as long as 12 months, or even 36 months
in one state. Long sanction periods can provide a disincentive to an individual to comply since the
family will not see its benefits restored despite compliance and can leave poor families in which a
parent is willing to comply with program rules without basic assistance. Often sanction notices are
not clear and a parent may not know when the sanction period is over and how to regain assistance
because contact with the welfare office can be lost during that time. Restoring benefits upon
compliance, by contrast, sends the message that compliance is the ultimate goal, helps the family
move toward employment sooner, and alleviates family hardships that result when a family in which
a parent is willing to comply with program rules is sanctioned. Federal law should prohibit states
from continuing a family's full-family sanction after the adult comes into compliance and remains
in compliance for a reasonable period of time.
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State Experience Has Demonstrated
the Importance of Pre-Sanction Review Procedures
Among the states that have implemented pre-sanction procedures, the procedures adopted in
Maine and Tennessee are especially notable. The experiences in these states illustrate how such
procedures can increase positive outcomes for families at risk of a sanction.
In both Tennessee and Maine, the state reviews the family's circumstances prior to imposing a
sanction to determine if the family had a "good cause" reason for not complying. All families are
given a second opportunity to come into compliance and if the family does comply, no sanction is
imposed. Such procedures help ensure that families understand what is required of them. This is
particularly important because confusing notices -- particularly for individuals with limited literacy
skills -- often can leave families unsure of how to come into compliance. In Tennessee, about one-
third of the families that were slated to receive full-family sanctions in 1999 ultimately were not
sanctioned as a result of this pre-sanction review process. In 70 percent of these cases, the parent
came into compliance. In the remaining 30 percent, the reviewers found errors in caseworkers'
application of the sanction policies.
The Tennessee process also allowed families with barriers to employment to enter the Family
Services Counseling program. In this program, families work closely with a social worker who
conducts a thorough assessment and provides services to address barriers that are identified in the
assessment. The counselor can revise the individual's work plan to include various barrier-removal
activities (such as mental health counseling) or, when necessary, can temporarily suspend work
requirements or time limits.
Improving Service Delivery for Families with Barriers
In discussions about improving policies for individuals with barriers, program design and
implementation changes often are identified as key to improving outcomes for families with
barriers. States have a very difficult task at hand to meet the needs of families with barriers to
employment. While some states and counties have taken steps to meet this challenge, research has
identified numerous problems in the implementation of services for families with barriers in states
and counties across the country. As discussed earlier, the GAO study found that screening for
barriers to employment was inadequate in most counties. Half of the counties surveyed did not
know how many recipients they served had physical or mental impairments. The report also showed
that even when screening was performed, families often did not receive the services needed to
address the barriers that had been identified.
Reauthorization legislation could assist states to meet the challenges of serving families with
barriers by providing them with funding to create a panel to review state TANF-funded programs.
The panel would study how well these programs meet the needs of families with various barriers to
employment and identify areas that need improvement. The panel should consist of state
representatives, experts in service provision to various groups of individuals (such as those with
physical or mental impairments or those with substance abuse problems), advocates who represent
or work with low-income families, and recipients themselves. For example, a barrier review panel
15
may examine the work activities in which recipients participate to determine whether the activities
are appropriate for recipients with different characteristics. The panel could research best practices
in this area from around the country and make recommendations about how employment services
could be more responsive to the needs of, for example, parents with a learning disability.
Time Limits: Flexibility to Grant Extensions
States should be given broader flexibility to continue providing assistance to families that
reach the federally mandated 60-month time limit. Federal law does not include the kinds of
exemption and extension criteria that many states with time limits have already adopted. For
example, in some states with time limits of shorter than five years, families in which a parent has a
disability or is caring for a disabled child are not subject to time limits. Current federal law simply
allows states to provide extensions to a certain number of recipients such that no more than 20
percent of the caseload can consist of families that have exhausted their 60 months of time-limited
benefits. In the short run, the 20 percent limitation may pose few problems. Over the longer-term,
however, as more families exhaust their time-limited benefits, states may need greater flexibility to
provide extended assistance to those families the state believes require such aid.
Given states' demonstrated commitment to reducing caseloads and limiting the amount of
time families receive assistance, the current 20 percent limitation on hardship extensions is
unnecessary. It seems unlikely that granting broader state flexibility in this area would result in
states reducing their efforts to move families from welfare to work; it would allow, however, states
to adopt simpler extension rules without having to worry about exceeding an arbitrary limit.
While states can use state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds to provide benefits to families
that exhaust their 60 months of federally-funded benefits, this does not provide sufficient flexibility
for states.30 Policymakers often are hesitant to use MOE in ways which may appear contrary to the
broad direction of federal law, even when such spending is wholly legal. Under the current
structures, many view using MOE funds in this way as contrary to the intent of the 1996 welfare
law. Some states also are hesitant to use MOE funds in this manner because of the administrative
complexity involved with ensuring that certain families receive MOE-funded benefits while other
families receive TANF-funded benefits. Finally, MOE funds constitute a limited percentage of
available TANF funding in some states. In 12 states, MOE funds comprise less than 30 percent of
total TANF funding. These states should have the same ability to provide extensions when
necessary as other states with more substantial MOE funds.
Funding Innovative Strategies to Improve Employment Outcomes For Recipients with Barriers
Reauthorization legislation also should include funds for demonstration projects that test
new approaches to improving the employment outcomes of families with various barriers to
employment. In the past, demonstration projects have provided important information to all states
30
States are required to spend a certain level of state resources on TANF-related programs. These funds are
called "maintenance-of-effort" funds. The current TANF law provides that families receiving assistance funded
entirely with MOE funds are not subject to the federal 60-month time limit.
16
about how to structure effective employment programs, but little work has been done to test
approaches designed to help families with particular barriers. For example, demonstration projects
could test various approaches to helping recipients with very low skill levels, certain mental health
problems, or housing barriers find and retain employment.
Federal funding also should be provided to expand transitional jobs programs, which already
have shown considerable promise as a strategy for the most disadvantaged TANF recipients. These
programs provide short-term, wage-paying subsidized jobs for parents who have not obtained or
maintained employment in more traditional welfare-to-work programs. A survey of 30 transitional
jobs programs across the country found that 50 to 75 percent of participants are placed in
unsubsidized jobs within six to nine months of enrollment.31 Research on the employment services
provided to recipients in Washington State measured the effects various types of work activities on
recipients' employment and earnings. The researchers found that the transitional jobs program
increased employment rates of recipients by 33 percent and increased earnings by almost $800 per
quarter as compared to the employment rates and earnings that would have been expected had they
not participated in any program. The study also found that the transitional jobs program had larger
effects on employment rates and earnings levels than most other work activities.32 Federal funding
both would encourage additional states to implement transitional jobs programs and would help
sustain current programs, many of which had relied previously on funding from the expired
Welfare-to-Work grants.
Conclusion
Research has demonstrated the high prevalence of various barriers to employment among
TANF recipients and the effect these barriers have on recipients' ability to attain stable
employment. TANF reauthorization legislation should build on the experience of the past five years
to ensure that in the coming years, families with barriers get the help they need to secure
employment.
31
Unpublished survey conducted by the Center on Law and Social Policy, 2001.
32
Marieka Klawitter and Daniel Evans, Effects of WorkFirst Activities on Employment and Earnings, Daniel J.
Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, September 2001.
17