Weatherization Assistance Program

Emergency TANF Contingency Fund Key Facts & Figures October 2009 Program Overview In 1996, when the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADFC) -- commonly known as ‘welfare reform’ -- the federal block grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), was created and instituted.

The four purposes of TANF are to: provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes; reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage; prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families

TANF block grants are set amounts of money given to states each year for cash assistance and other qualified programs (i.e. child care, transportation and work supports) for people under 200% of the federal poverty line.

The TANF Contingency Fund is a part of the basic block grant and it is a finite pot of money ($2 billion) that was created to help states weather the storm of a recession. States qualify for this fund through the following triggers: . Increases in the unemployment rate that exceed 6.5% . Increases in Food Stamp Enrollment (food stamp enrollment levels must exceed those of 1994-1995)

The Emergency TANF Contingency Fund (ECF), however, is a separate pot of money, funded at $5 billion, in the ARRA. The purpose of the ECF is to “make its [TANF] basic assistance programs more accessible; expand short-term emergency help to needy families facing eviction, utility shut-offs, or the need to pay a security deposit to secure housing; and expand subsidized employment programs that can provide wage paying jobs when too few exist in the private labor market.” Under this fund, all jurisdictions (states, territories, and tribes) can receive 80% federal funding for spending increases for federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2009 and/or 2010 over FFYs 2007 and/or 2008 in the following TANF-related expenditure categories: . Basic Assistance . Non-recurrent short-term benefits . Subsidized employment

The 80% federal funding can be used to either reimburse actual expenditures or provide upfront funding for estimated new and increased program costs. The remaining 20% can be from state dollars, federal dollars (i.e. the regular TANF Contingency fund), local dollars, or third-party money (i.e George Soros back-to-school supplement described below).

According to recovery.gov, the goal of the ECF funds is to “increase the percentage of adult TANF recipients who become newly employed to 38 percent by FY 2009, and increase by 1.6 percentage points over the FY 2009 actual result by FY 2014.”

Like other TANF funds, the ECF is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA). Money flows to social services agencies in states, territories and tribes if they increase expenditures and apply for the money. For New York State, this fund flows to the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and is later distributed to local social service agencies who administer their programs and oversight. The New York State Context While NYS has drawn money from this fund, there has yet to be federal reporting on national expenditures to date.

All jurisdictions nationwide are eligible to draw down up to half of their annual TANF block grant over two years. This means that NYS can potentially draw down a maximum of $1.22 billion over two years because our current block grant is funded at $2.44 billion. Increased enrollment in the state’s food stamp program, which is now at all time high, triggered regular Contingency Funds, some of which have been spent to trigger ECF funds. As of August 2009, NYS has drawn down $407 million in regular Contingency Funds, and $20 million in ARRA’s ECF Fund for a new state transitional jobs program as well as $140 million for non- recurrent short-term benefits.

Basic Assistance In order to qualify for Emergency Contingency Funds, jurisdictions have to have experienced an increase in their caseload. Unfortunately, NYS has experienced a decrease in its caseload and is consequently not yet eligible to receive ECF funds for this category of assistance. In order to qualify, NYS would need to increase its caseloads for basic assistance for FYs 2009 and 2010. The Fiscal Policy Institute has suggested that NYS can increase its caseloads by: “addressing eligibility for or barriers to receiving ongoing basic assistance; and/or through providing some new or additional benefit that meets the TANF definition of basic assistance, thereby adding to the state’s assistance caseload.”

Non-Recurrent Short Term Benefits Thanks to the $35 million contribution from George Soros and the Open Society Institute (OSI), NYS was able to draw down $140 million ECF funds for a total of $175 million in back-to-school assistance supplements for more than 800,000 children in low-income families across the state. One-time, $200 grants were given per child to use on school supplies, clothing, uniforms, tutoring and other essential school items. This was administered by OTDA, the state welfare agency. Eligible families received their supplements on their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which are usually used to access public assistance and food stamp benefits. Other innovative and creative ideas like this can be used to leverage additional ECF funds for low-income families.

Subsidized Employment In FY 2010 budget, NYS allocated increased spending for five new and existing subsidized employment programs: Transitional Jobs Program; Green Jobs Corps; Health Care Jobs Subsidies; Nurse Family Partnership; and the Wage Subsidy Program. The Transitional Jobs Program, a new program in NYS, was allocated $5 million, which triggered $20 million in ECF funds for a $25 million state program. It is unclear, however, if the Green Jobs Corps’ and Health Care Jobs Program’s allocations already include ECF funds or if they were funded with the intention of leveraging additional resources through the ECF.1

Resources & Contacts Federal Recovery Website http://www.recovery.gov/transparency/agency/reporting/agency_reporting5program.aspx? agency_code=75&progplanid=7750

Local Social Service Districts: Contact your local social services districts for more information about how programs are rolling out on a local level because programs vary by district. For competitive grants, inquire with your county social services office for up-to-date information on proposals or anticipated funding.

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) www.otda.state.ny.us

1 We have heard from legislative and administrative staff that the latter situation is correct; however, OTDA materials online (used to help prepare this document) are either contradictory or unclear. Background Information (used to help prepare this document) Fiscal Policy Institute. New Federal Dollars for New York: The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Series. “Part III: How New York Could Use the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund” August 2009.

CHART: Subsidized Employment Programs that Currently or Could Potentially Receive ECF Funding in New York State (NY Stimulus Alliance -- Relevant Counties Only)2

Transitional Jobs3 Green Corps Jobs Health Care Jobs Wage Subsidy Subsidies4 Program5 (WS) & Transitional Employment (TE)6 Total Statewide $25 million $7 million $7 million $14 million Allocation (State, TANF, ECF) Allocation Method All Districts (with Competitive The 7 Largest Competitive the exception of a districts: Districts few who did not with over 1,500 apply) active adults in receipt of public assistance in households with dependent children Albany $286,000 $300,000 *** $551,430 (WS) $461,063 (TE) Dutchess County $111,111 --- *** --- (Poughkeepsie) Erie County $920,058 --- $349,614 --- (Buffalo) Onondaga County $370,087 $143,981 $203,334 $347,005 (WS) (Syracuse) Orange County $214,170 --- *** $689,565 (WS) (Newburgh) NYC $16,420,130 $3,500,000 $5,162,292 $8,493,567 (WS) $2,466,225 (TE) *** Ineligible for funding

2 Prepared by Taja Lindley, Community Voices Heard; no information available for the Nurse Family Partnership; only reported in the chart for those counties that included cities represented in the 10/31 press event 3 Local Commissioners Memorandum, Attachment B: “Transitional Jobs Program Local District Allocations” (09-LCM-11) www.otda.state.ny.us; $5million from regular TANF funds and $20 million ECF funds 4 Local Commissioners Memorandum, Attachment B: “Green Jobs Corps Funding Award Guidelines” (09-LCM-09) www.otda.state.ny.us; $2 million in state funds and $5 million in TANF funds, but it is unclear if this regular or ECF funds. Dutchess, Erie and Orange County were eligible to receive funds, however, because this was a competitive grant, it is likely that these counties either did not apply or applied and were denied. Check local DSS for details. 5 Local Commissioners Memorandum, Attachment B: “Health Care Jobs Program Local District Allocations” (09-LCM-10) www.otda.state.ny.us; $2 million in state funds and $5 million in TANF funds, but it is unclear if this regular or ECF funds. Orange, Albany and Dutchess counties were not eligible to receive this funding. 6 It is unclear if Dutchess and Erie County entities did not apply or were denied funding for the application(s) for the wage subsidy and transitional employment programs.