Ten years ago, President Clinton signed a bill designed to change welfare to a work-oriented program known as TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.  To mark the tenth anniversary of this law, many articles have been written about the success and failure of this plan.  However, in recent weeks, new regulations have again changed welfare, and not necessarily for the better. 

The new regulations provide a “work first” approach to welfare by redefining many TANF activities and decreasing educational opportunities.  The new rules may prevent Pennsylvania’s TANF families from receiving the training needed for well-paying jobs, and may preclude the Commonwealth from instituting or keeping innovative programs to help those families. 

Below is a brief description of the new regulations and their possible effect on families in Pennsylvania.  For more analysis of the new regulations, please visit http://www.clasp.org/publications/final_tanf_rules_analysis.pdf.

Reducing Job Search and Job Readiness: Through job search and job readiness, TANF recipients participated in job searches and received the counseling and life skills training some needed to find and hold a job.  States often combined these components with other programs, in part because research shows a blend of activities best helps TANF recipients. 

States can no longer combine job search and readiness with other activities, and must limit job search and readiness to four consecutive weeks with only six weeks total per year.  This change severely limits TANF recipients’ ability to move past their disabilities and work barriers into employment.

Redefining Community Service: Recipients may also participate in community service work as part of their TANF activities.  While studies show that community service provides little assistance in preparing recipients for paid employment, this activity helps recipients provide services to their community on a flexible schedule and for some recipients is an introduction to office environments.

States can now only provide community service if the skills involved lead to employment, and if the service is in a structured environment.  However, many service projects may continue to offer little opportunity to provide employable skills, or may disappear entirely.  In addition, many clients may be shifted from job search and readiness into community service work.  Under the new plan, service must be monitored daily, creating a burden for service providers and possibly ending flexible scheduling for recipients. 

Restricting Educational Activities: Previously, TANF regulations allowed participants to receive education and job skills training as part of subsidized employment or work experience.  Students pursuing baccalaureate or advanced degrees were allowed to do so.

States are prevented from allowing students on TANF to pursue baccalaureate degrees.  In addition, if students wish to use study time as part of their participation in TANF, this time must be monitored and documented hourly.  Basic skills training and English as a Second Language (ESL) cannot be considered vocational education unless it is limited and is a necessary part of the vocational training.

States have until October 1 to submit plans showing how their welfare programs will conform to the new regulations.  In a recent hearing on welfare issues, Pennsylvania Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle Richman announced that the department planned to create separate state programs to cover two-parent households and disabled TANF recipients.  These programs will offer the same services as TANF, but recipients will not be counted in the state work participation rate.  In addition, a separate state program may also cover TANF clients pursuing a baccalaureate degree in Pennsylvania.  

Comments to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the recent TANF changes were due August 28, 2006.  Click here to see comments from PathWaysPA.

What can you do?  Write your state representatives to ask them to set eligibility levels at 150% of poverty. 

Gun Violence

The city of Philadelphia and other cities in the state have been experiencing a serious increase in gun violence over this year.  As of August 30, 2006, shootings in Philadelphia were up by 13% compared to the number of shootings in the previous year at the same date.  The number of murders in the city is set to outpace 2005. 

To combat the violence, representatives are set to convene a special session of the legislature to discuss gun violence on September 26.  Many organizations are planning to gather in Harrisburg to draw more attention to the issue as legislators debate and vote on various methods of stemming the tide of gun violence.

To introduce the 2006 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania, PathWaysPA will hold several policy forums across the state in conjunction with community partners.  The 2006 Self-Sufficiency Standard is the latest edition in an ongoing project to determine what families need to be self-sufficient in Pennsylvania. 

The first forum will take place on September 21, 2006, in Pittsburgh, with Just Harvest as our co-host.  This forum will focus on the Self-Sufficiency Standard in addition to the Earned Income Tax Credit from a national perspective and its impact on local communities.  To see a list of speakers, click here.

In Philadelphia, our forum will take place on October 31, 2006.  This forum will detail the Self-Sufficiency Standard, but will also focus on federal policy issues involving welfare and other supports for low-income families.  To see a list of speakers, click here.

The 2006 Self-Sufficiency Standard is tailored to families of all shapes and sizes in every Pennsylvania county.  Through the Standard, families can learn not only what they need to be self-sufficient, but also what supports are available to help them make ends meet.  Please join us as we promote the Standard, and learn how to use it for yourself and for those in need.  

Want to see the 2006 Standard for yourself?  You can also visit the Self-Sufficiency Budget Worksheet to find supports for low-income families.  For a fact sheet on the Standard, click here.

On July 26, Chicago’s city council passed a bill requiring “big box” stores to pay a living wage plus benefits to their employees.  This wage would reach $10 an hour by 2010, with an additional $3 per hour in benefits.  Only companies with sales over $1 billion who operate stores larger than 90,000 square feet must comply.  Affected businesses such as Wal-Mart and Target are threatening to close current stores and halt further expansion in Chicago if the bill should become law.  In response to this pressure, Mayor Daley vetoed the bill on September 11.  While the city council initially had enough votes to override the veto, some may have since changed their mind, setting the stage for an interesting override vote on September 13.

You can find updates on the ongoing debate at Living Wage Initiative: Brennan Center for Justice.

Want to register to vote? Registration ends on October 10 this year.  Visit the Commissions, Elections, and Legislation webpage located on Pennsylvania’s State Department website.  Not sure if you are already registered, or need to find your polling place?  Click here for county contact information. But remember, registration is only the beginning of the voting process.  Don’t forget to get informed and get out there on November 7 to vote!

Project Home's "Vote for Homes" website offers helpful tips on voting rights as well as links to voter’s guides for various issues involved in Pennsylvania’s campaigns.  9to5, the National Association for Working Women, also offers a voting guide for working women that looks at the issues that affect working women the most.  You can find this guide here.

Finally, do you need information on using the new voting machines? Ready.Set.Vote can help you learn how to use the machines designed for your county with their interactive website.