NH
CARES Issues on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
Child & Family Services of NH and NH
Children’s Lobby - 3/23/09
Division of Family Assistance HB1 Pages: Page 1405 and Page 1412, Line 501.
|
Page |
Class |
FY08 |
FY09 |
FY10
Gov |
FY10
Req |
FY11
Gov |
FY
Req |
|
1405 |
501 |
28,688,761 |
33,877,197 |
23,254,181 |
25,375,479 |
23,254,181 |
25,375,479 |
|
1412 |
501 |
1,425,059 |
823,233 |
3,644,079 |
4,246,079 |
3,654,298 |
4,256,298 |
|
Total
TANF |
30,113,820 |
34,700,430 |
26,898,260 |
29,621,558 |
26,908,479 |
29,631,777 |
|
|
Elim Section 57 in HB 2 & SSI
Deduction |
2,800,000 |
|
2,800,000 |
|
|||
Pages 1405 and 1412
make up the TANF Program. Page 1405 is
the traditional TANF paid from the federal TANF block grant. Page 1412 is paid to people who have a
seriously disabled family member, are unable to “participate” in TANF
employment activities and are funded from state-only funds so as not to
jeopardize NH’s over-all participation rate for employment and the TANF block
grant.
TANF funding in the Governor’s Budget
is likely to be inadequate because even with increasing TANF enrollments, the
Governor’s FY 2010 TANF budget is $3,215,560 less than FY 2008 and FY 2011
is $3,205,341 less (see above). Please eliminate Section 57 of HB 2 and
insist that the Division of Family Assistance provide sufficient caseload data
to allow adequate funding for TANF - which is likely to be at the FY 2008
actual spending level at a minimum.
The shortfall is presumably accounted
for by the proposal in HB 2 sec. 57 to include SSI income in determining
eligibility for TANF and the amount of any TANF grant. According to the Dept.
of Health and Human Services, this will reduce TANF expenditures by $2.8m in
SFY 10 and SFY 11. These are families in which either the parent or a child
receives SSI from Social Security because of their disability.
If the average SSI assistance is
approximately $600/month, the impact of this proposal will be to reduce
benefits for some of the neediest families in the state by 50%. Approximately
35 families will lose their benefits completely. A typical family
affected will see their income drop from approximately $1200 a month to $600 a
month. Although the entire state is facing a serious budget challenge, these
families, among the most vulnerable in the state, have been facing the equally
serious challenges. Parents with disabilities, or who must stay home to care
for a seriously disabled child, cannot leave TANF and enter the workforce. They
must attempt to raise children over the long term on incomes that, according to
the report of the HB 1461 Commission on TANF, are already inadequate to meet
basic needs.
Jack Lightfoot, Child and Family
Services, LightfootJ@cfsnh.org (603) 518-4145