Pennsylvania's Welfare to Work Transportation Program
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Pennsylvania’s Welfare to Work Transportation Program OUTCOME REPORT FY 2002 – 2003 “With reliable transportation services, welfare recipients will experience success in the workplace, without it they will struggle to reach the job that could bring them economic security.” Joblinks 1 PENNSYLVANIA’S WELFARE TO WORK (w2w) TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM OUTCOME REPORT: FY 2002 – 2003 SECTION PAGE 1. W2W PROGRAM OBJECTIVES 3 2. MAP WITH W2W FUNDED SERVICES 6 3. STATE AND FEDERAL 2002-2003 FUNDING 7 4. COMPARISON OF 01-02 AND 02-03 SPENDING 7 5. NUMBER AND TYPE OF CLIENTS SERVED 8 6. TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES 9 7. COMPARISON OF SERVICES: 01-02 vs. 02-03 10 8. IMPACT OF W2W ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 11 9. W2W STATISTICAL OUTCOMES 12 10. GRANTEE 2002-03 AND PRIOR AWARDS 13 11. GRANTEE FUNDING EXPENDED: 2002-2003 15 12. FUNDS EXPENDED 1997-2003 17 13. KEY W2W ACTIVITIES/ACTIONS: 20 - OUTCOME REPORT 2001-02 22 - ANNUAL GRANTEE MEETINGS 25 - JOBLINKS COORDINATION COMMITTEE 28 APPENDICES A – GRANTEE PROJECT REPORTS 30 B – STATE PARTNERS: DPW, L&I, AND DCED 63 2 WELFARE TO WORK TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM OUTCOME REPORT 02-03 When Pennsylvania initiated its Welfare Reform activities in 1997, transportation and child care were identified as the two major barriers to employment for low-income residents. In order to connect recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income persons with jobs that are often located in suburban areas with minimal public transportation from urban and rural areas, appropriate and affordable transportation is essential. Therefore, the Departments of Public Welfare and Transportation (PENNDOT) established the welfare to work (w2w) Transportation Demonstration Program with these four Objectives: Formation of Partnerships - for cooperation and coordination between the transit provider and local organizations essential to the project. These organizations include county assistance offices, local economic development organizations, child care providers and other work support service providers, and local one-stop agencies such as the job center and private industry councils. The extent of collaboration required by the w2w program has been challenging to many of the community partner organizations since this is often the first time that they are partnering with a transportation agency, the county assistance office, the job center or the community and economic development agency. But this partnering/coordination/ collaboration is essential for w2w grantees to achieve their project’s objectives. PENNDOT has a longstanding policy of promoting coordination for its public transportation programs. The Department recognizes that a successful w2w project requires coordination for all the reasons cited in the National Governors’ Association publication entitled “Improving Public Transportation Services” where the benefits of coordination are summarized as follows: • Increased Transportation Availability and Access to Jobs • Enhanced System and Service Quality • Improved Cost Effectiveness • Elimination of Duplicative Efforts 3 Identification of solutions - to persistent transportation problems and barriers that face TANF and other low-income riders, such as transportation to second and third shift jobs as well as those on the weekend and in neighboring counties. Provision of transportation - that modifies or expands existing service and builds upon existing community resources and services. The majority of grantees and their subcontractors are also funded through other public transit grant programs, such as State operating assistance, Federal Transit Administration Sections 5311 (rural operating and capital assistance), 5307 (urban transit operating assistance program), 5310 (transit capital assistance for purchase of accessible small transit vehicles) and the State Lottery funded Shared-Ride Program. These w2w projects build on available transit resources that are administered by the local transit providers. This promotes coordination, cost-savings, efficiency and cost effectiveness. Development of plans to transition TANF recipients and low-income passengers from dependence on transportation subsidies to independently paying for service. These Objectives have guided the w2w program’s design and development. During FY 02-03, funding was provided to 33 grantee agencies for services in 43 counties. Grantee counties are identified on the Map located on page 6. These grantees implemented the w2w objectives by initiating a variety of innovative activities. Their activities, outcomes, and impact will be addressed in this report. Some highlights of these w2w grantee achievements include the following: HIGHLIGHTS OF w2w ACCOMPLISHMENTS Established Partnership Agreements with local organizations that have a stake in the project; Strengthened State departmental relationships (PENNDOT, DPW, L&I and DCED) to enhance the provision of coordinated services; Implemented new bus routes; Expanded transportation service to include second and third shift work hours as well as weekends and service outside of their county limits; Required co-pays from clients to promote self-sufficiency; and Sought financial assistance from employers and local organizations. 4 This report summarizes funding and statistical outcomes of the w2w program for fiscal year 2002-03. Summaries of funding allocated in previous years are also provided. In addition, there are highlights of some key activities which enhance the administration of the program, including: an interdepartmental review committee and a steering committee; previous outcome reports; annual meetings with grantees; and participation on a national Joblinks committee focused on promoting the coordination of employment transportation programs. Summaries of Grantee Projects are also provided as well as information related to our State partner organizations: the Departments of Public Welfare, Labor and Industry, and Community and Economic Development. If there are any questions about this report or the w2w program, please contact: Judith McCoy/John Levitsky Bureau of Public Transportation, PENNDOT P. O. Box 3151, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3151 Telephone: 717-772-1788 or 717-787-1206 [email protected]; [email protected] 5 Counties With w2w Funded Services (*) FY 2002-03 ERIE * SUSQUEHANNA WARREN McKEAN BRADFORD POTTER TIOGA CRAWFORD * * WAYNE * FOREST WYOMING VENANGO ELK CAMERON SULLIVAN LACKAWANNA MERCER LYCOMING * * PIKE * CLINTON * CLARION JEFFERSON LUZERNE LAWRENCE COLUMBIA MONROE MONTOUR CLEARFIELD * * * BUTLER UNION * CENTRE CARBON * ARMSTRONG * NORTH- * SNYDER UMBERLAND NORTHAMPTON BEAVER IN * SCHUYLKILL * * INDIANA FL IF LEHIGH M * * * * A * AT NI ALLEGHENY CAMBRIA BLAIR JU * PERRY DAUPHIN BERKS * LEBANON BUCKS WESTMORELAND HUNTINGDON * * * * * * MONTGOMERY WASHINGTON CUMBERLAND * * LANCASTER SOMERSET BEDFORD CHESTER * PHILADELPHIA (*) FULTON FRANKLIN YORK FAYETTE * * DELAWARE (*) GREENE * * ADAMS * * * * Total # of Counties 43 6 STATE AND FEDERAL FY 2002-03 FUNDING To accomplish the w2w program goals and objectives, DPW provided $11,320,000 in TANF funding during FY 2002-03. There was also $250,000 in General Funding appropriated. The distribution of these funds is presented in the following table. State-General Funding $ 250,000 Federal-TANF $11,320,000 - Rural Projects $2,160,000 - Non Rural Projects $2,000,000 - TEA-21 Match - Urban $7,410,000 TOTAL $11,570,000 COMPARISON OF FY 01-02 AND 02-03 SPENDING This table shows that, although the amount of TANF funding provided in 02-03 decreased from that appropriated in 01-02, there was an increase in the amount of funding expended by the w2w: $9,304,000 in 02-03 versus a total of $6,939,872 in 01-02. State General and TANF Funding FY 2001-02 FY 2002-03 Total State General - w2w Projects $ 249,999 $ 250,000 TANF – w2w Projects $ 5,000,000 $ 3,910,000 TANF - TEA-21 Match $ 7,000,000 $ 7,410,000 Total TANF $12,000,000 $11,320,000 Total Funding Appropriated $12,249,999 $11,570,000 Amount Expended $ 6,939,872 $ 9,304,000 Balance $ 5,310,127 $ 2,266,000 7 For additional information about the program during the 01-02 fiscal year and the prior 97-01 years, please see the two previous Welfare to work Outcome Reports for these time periods. These reports are available on our website which can be accessed at www.dot.state.pa.us. Under Find By Organization select Bureau of Public Transportation. On the left side on the page, select Bureau Reports and then Welfare to Work Outcome Report F.Y. 01-02 or 97-01. If viewing this report on our website, click on the fiscal year of the selected report for a direct link. During fiscal year 2002-03, the w2w provided service to a monthly average of 6,632 Current TANF recipients, Former TANF recipients, individuals who have Never Received TANF, and Other Low-Income clients whose TANF-status is unknown. Since an average of 3,293 clients were served monthly in the previous 01-02 fiscal year, the program expanded 101% between fiscal years 01-02 and 02-03. The table below is a comparison of clients served monthly during 01-02 and 02-03 and the figure that follows provides the number and percent of the four categories of clients. COMPARISON OF W2W CLIENTS IN 01-02 AND 02-03 By Number And Type (Individuals Per Month) FY TANF FORMER NEVER OTHER AVERAGE % TANF TANF LOW- NO. OF CHANGE INCOME CLIENTS * SERVED MONTHLY 01-02 1,199 417 1,677 ** 3,293 02-03 1,164 540 1,823 3,105 6,632 + 101% * Rural and small urban clients who used fixed route service that was subsidized with w2w funding and whose TANF status