P&P August 2016

“pathway to self-sufficiency.” We’ve all talked about guiding and assisting TANF participants along such a pathway. When we think of a pathway, we picture a pretty meadow on a lovely afternoon, with one clearly marked path heading off into a beautiful sunset. The reality is the people we serve are not on that idyllic pathway. They are navigating a concrete, mul- tilane, super-highway with many on ramps and off ramps and many lanes of traffic where clients can be lost or run over by the very system(s) that purport to help them. As we begin to have honest and open conversations about the reali- ties TANF parents face on the modern “superhighway” economy, we can also think about that superhighway as an opportunity to help people navigate toward the best opportunities those lanes present while supporting them with basic needs (cash, food, housing), barrier-removal activities (mental health, chemical dependency, domestic violence) and development of social capital and social networking skills. If we successfully help each person navigate using an individualized map, they will gain enough social capital, education and training, and workforce attachment that their momentum will launch them toward job retention, and career and wage progression. Reference Notes 1. We think this book should be required reading for any health and human service manager. Mullainathan, Sendhil and Shafir, Eldar. Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much. 2013. Times Books: New York, NY 2. Since PRWORA was implemented by states and counties across the country, welfare rolls dropped to historically low levels and stayed relatively low, even during the Great Recession. For example, in August 1997, Washington’s TANF caseload was 88,975 (only 19.5%were child only cases), and by December 2015, that caseload had fallen to 31,630 (with nearly 46% of that caseload being child only). 3. As stated in a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities look at TANF (dated March 29, 2016 Chart Book: TANF at 19) , “When TANF was enacted, nationally, 68 families received assistance for every 100 families in poverty; that number has since fallen to just 23 families receiving assistance for every 100 families in poverty.”

progression. TANF performance measures are not aligned with other federally funded workforce devel- opment programs. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) gives us an opportunity to refocus outcome measures on job placements and wage progression. The original intent of TANF and the movement from an entitlement program to a block grant was to give states flexibility in delivery of a wel- fare-to-work systemwhile ensuring that children are able to remain sup- ported in their own homes. It was also beneficial to have metrics to measure the success of such a shift in policy. As has been shown in the workforce system, however, outcome metrics, not process metrics, can demonstrate the success of such programs much better. WIOA provides a great opportunity to align welfare-to-work programs like TANF and SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) programs with other federal and state-funded workforce development programs. By aligning the outcome metrics of TANF, SNAP E&T, and the WIOA, we provide a greater opportunity to leverage the resources of the entire system, allowing states to use the appropriate program with little to no additional adminis- trative burden, because the outcome metrics are the same—employment, job retention, and career and wage pathway for low-income families and individuals to move incrementally through the education and workforce system at a pace that allows them to find stability (economic and social) at each phase of their journey. From an income eligibility perspective, this could be accomplished by expanding initiatives like broad-based categorical eligibility across programs. We should also explore options to make braided funding easier. The “benefitting meth- odology” requirements that apply to most fund sources can be perceived as a barrier to client-focused services. As we saw when that standard was relaxed with implementation of the Affordable Care Act, states will use funds appropri- ately if given the flexibility. Those of us working in health and human services have heard the term progression. Such alignment can also produce a more streamlined

programs and service delivery systems to be more focused on serving the job-seeker. However, fewer families in poverty are being served by the program than in 1996. 3 In Washington in 2012–2013, fewer than 40 families received assistance for every 100 families in poverty. including intentional connections to the rest of the workforce development spectrum, so more low-income families can be served and achieve the promise of a job, a better job, and a career. We have opportunities to use modern technology and social media to engage with participants (as described in $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing by Edin and Shaefer). It’s also time to have a national conversation about the effectiveness of the five-year time limit on assistance and whether or not it still makes sense given the new infor- mation and research relative to brain science, and the detrimental, cumula- tive, and long-term adverse impact of toxic stress. 3. Rethink TANF performance measures—especially the Work Participation Rate (WPR)—so they don’t discourage education. Block grants were designed to give states flexibility on the “how,” but the WPR is a process measure, not an outcome measure, so it drives the how, resulting in an overemphasis on “countable components” instead of preparing low- income parents for work in a modern economy. The WPR is a component of the five-year lifetime limit on assis- tance. It was designed to make sure states and counties were truly providing services to low-income parents who were subject to a new limit, rather than just let them ride out their five years and then terminate their case. In practice, the WPR has restricted what services states and counties can offer participants and still meet their WPR requirements, especially when it comes to higher education—one of our primary tools to deliver on the promise of a better job and a career. As a result, some TANF programs lean toward helping low-income parents quickly find employment in low-skill, low-wage jobs. 4. Refocus outcome measures on job placements and wage We need to improve the TANF program and service delivery,

August 2016   Policy&Practice 45