HB 1746-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2006 SESSION
05/03
HOUSE BILL 1746-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
SPONSORS: Rep. Kurk, Hills 7; Rep. Wendelboe, Belk 1; Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Sen. Martel, Dist 18
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill directs the department of health and human services to change the eligibility criteria for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
06-2512
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); State Plan Amended.
I. The department of health and human services shall seek to amend the state plan for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits in the following manner:
(a) Impose a family cap to deny increased TANF benefits, to the maximum extent permitted by federal law, to a TANF recipient who has an additional child while receiving TANF benefits, unless the child is a result of a rape or incest appropriately reported to child welfare and/or law enforcement authorities.
(b) Eliminate job readiness skills, adult basic education/English as a second language, post-secondary education, and vocational education training as countable work activities, but continue current eligibility and financial standards to allow TANF recipients to participate in these activities.
(c) Require lump sum, job search, and alternative resources diversion programs similar to the programs adopted in Idaho and Maryland.
(d) Retain the 60-month lifetime benefit period, but provide for a 36-month ineligibility period after a 24-month period of receiving TANF benefits and retain the current exception for disabled recipients and “child-only” cases.
(e) Require coordination of benefit periods with other states in order to prevent recipients whose benefits have run out in their current state of residence from receiving benefits in New Hampshire should they move here.
(f) Change the sanctions policy to one imposing total loss of benefits until compliance for the first infraction.
II. On or before January 1, 2007, the department shall submit a proposed amendment to the state plan meeting the criteria in paragraph I to the house standing committee on health, human services and elderly affairs for the committee’s review and approval. The amendment shall then be submitted to the United States Department of Health and Human Services for approval.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
06-2512
Revised 1/13/06
HB 1746 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will increase state, county, and local expenditures, and state revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2007 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) states there will be no general fund savings associated with this bill since the state must spend a minimum of $32,100,000 each year to meet the TANF maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements. Penalties for failure to maintain MOE are progressive reductions of the state’s TANF grant that can only be remedied through additional state general fund spending. The Department assumes that clients not employed or who are employed with earnings below the TANF payment standards, will seek support from municipalities when the 24 month time limit is reached. Clients receiving assistance for more than 24 months on average receive an additional 12.5 months.
The Department states without the case management and employment support services available under the NH Employment Program (NHEP), clients will remain on assistance longer than 12.5 months but it is not possible to project the length of time. The proposed work participation requirements would be more stringent than imposed under federal TANF regulations, and if the state is not able to achieve the federal requirements, substantial federal grant sanctions will be imposed that can only be remedied through additional state general fund spending on TANF programs. The elimination of job readiness, adult basic education, English as a second language, postsecondary education, and vocational education training as countable work activities, will require the Division of Family Assistance (DFA) to place mandatory NHEP clients in alternative work experience programs (AWEP), community work experience programs (CWEP), and on-the-job training (OJT) in order to meet federal work participation rates.
The Department states simulating the Maryland and Idaho programs to include local jurisdiction and administration of alternative programs would require additional staffing at the local and state levels, and would require all local jurisdictions to submit to state and federal audit of their use of federal TANF funds and any local funds applied to state MOE requirements. Local administration of any part of the TANF program would require all local jurisdictions to submit timely reports to the state for the purpose of meeting federal TANF reporting requirements. The amount of assistance granted by municipalities would approximate the amount granted by the state. The Department states that failing a city or town ability to provide adequate financial support to meet the basic standard of need, other programs such as foster care administered through the Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will increase. Counties are required to share in 25% of the non-federal cost of services provided by DCYF to children, which will impact county expenditures and state revenue.
The Department states additional childcare slots would be required and made available to meet the additional needs of clients reaching the 24 month time limit who become employed. The Department assumes additional general funds would be made available to expand the availability of childcare slots and subsidies to meet the increased need for clients to participate in work related activities during their 24 month period of assistance and as they become employed.
The Department assumes that federal TANF funding of $38,500,000 and the state general fund MOE requirement of $32,100,000 will remain constant through FY 2010, and total program funding will remain constant at $70,600,000. The Department assumes the TANF caseload will remain constant at 6,051 (which is the 12 month moving average as of 9/30/05). The Department states there will be an estimated expense of $600,000 incurred for the New HEIGHTS system changes required to implement this legislation. There will be additional one-time costs associated with revisions to existing forms, pamphlets, and brochures used by the Division of Family Assistance (DFA). There will also be cost associated with staff training on the revisions to the New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) based on a modified time limit and schedule of sanction for failure to comply, as well as one-time mailing costs associated with client notices to citizens currently enrolled in the NHEP.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill would make several changes to the state’s TANF program, including the denial of additional assistance to a TANF recipient who has an additional child while receiving benefits and providing for period of ineligibility after two years of receipt of TANF benefits. Changes to the state’s TANF program which reduce the coverage or eligibility period for benefits could result in an increase in local expenditures for local welfare programs. The potential increase in each municipality is indeterminable, as it depends on factors such as the nature of the changes made, whether the individuals cut from state programs apply for local welfare, and the unmet cost of the basic needs for which former state recipients request coverage by the municipality.