Transcript County Sponsored Subsidized Employment

ARRA TANF Emergency
Contingency Fund: NonRecurrent Short Term Benefits
Community Collaboration Opportunities
KIDS Network General Membership Meeting
October 7, 2009
Presented by
Maria Gardner, Program Support Division Chief
Department of Social Services

Background - ARRA

Section 2101 of the American Recovery &
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) created
a new Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency
Fund (ECF)
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Background - ARRA

Provides federal funding through
September 2010 for spending increases in:

Basic assistance (CalWORKs grants)

Subsidized employment

Non-recurrent short-term benefits
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DSS PWEX: An ARRA-Funded
Subsidized Employment Program
Partner Agency identifies
workplace need and
contacts DSS PWEX
Coordinator
DSS is employer of record and
responsible for:
New Hire Paperwork
Background Check
County Physical (if needed)
Workers’ Comp Insurance
PWEX employee pay ranges from $8
to $12.49 per hour in a special Extra
Help classification—placements are
six months to one year long
Santa Maria:
Victoria Arce, 614-1361
Santa Barbara:
Cheryl Mikkonen, 681-4565
Lompoc:
Gerardo Jimenez, 735-3261
DSS establishes MOU
with Partner Agency
and Training Site
Agreement with
employee and Site
Supervisor
PWEX Coordinator
provides Partner
Agency with résumés
for selection interviews
Partner Agency makes
selection and works with
PWEX Coordinator to hire
Partner
Agency brings
PWEX
employee on
board
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Population Served


Expanded eligibility
“Needy families”
include those with
income less than
200% of the federal
poverty level
DSS Public Assistance
Effects of Expanded Eligibility
CalWORKs
Food
Stamps
Medi-Cal
From 5,000 to 17,000 Families
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Four TANF Goals




Assisting needy families so that children
can be cared for in their own homes
Reducing the dependency of needy
parents by promoting job preparation,
work and marriage
Preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancies
Encouraging the formation and
maintenance of two-parent families
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Non-Recurrent Short Term
Benefits



Defined as payments that are “designed to
deal with a specific crisis situation or
episode of need”
Not intended to meet recurrent or ongoing
needs
Will not extend beyond four months
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80 Percent Federal Funding


DSS will be surveyed quarterly as to our
intended use of TANF ECF funds for the
upcoming months
DSS will submit a quarterly claim to the
state detailing 100% of the TANF ECF
program costs and will receive 80%
reimbursement for services already
rendered
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20 Percent Matching Funds

DSS CalWORKs Single Allocation
Leveraging allocation for our new subsidized
employment (PWEX) program


Third Party Option

Obtaining vendor discounts for tangible goods
Leveraging existing qualified community
expenditures

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Examples of Ways TANF ARRA
Funds Can Be Used

Vouchers for food, clothing, utilities
DSS “in-reach” strategy to distribute to needy
families on public assistance by 12/31/09:


$100 grocery vouchers per family

$100 clothing voucher per child
DSS will be seeking 20% discount on the
vouchers to meet the match requirement

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Examples of Ways TANF ARRA
Funds Can Be Used

Provide extra food packages

Repair cars

Payment of past-due rent or utility bills

Payment of security deposits


Find new housing – if lost own home or
rental home due to foreclosure
Improve energy efficiency of homes
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Forming ARRA/TANF ECF
Partnerships
Already serving
“needy families”?
Already meeting
one of the four
TANF goals?
Can you meet
the 20% required
match?
Already providing
non-recurrent
short term benefits?
TANF ECF defined
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Next Steps



Seeking partnerships for TANF ECF
qualified program expenditures
Interest deadline: December 1, 2009 for
January – March 2010 quarter
Program funding ends September 30, 2010
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DSS Contact Information

Management Sponsor:


Maria Gardner, Program Support Division Chief
 [email protected]
 (805) 346-8289
TANF ECF Coordinator:

Lina Bickel, Department Business Specialist



[email protected]
(805) 346-8213
DSS Contracts:

Judy Doughty, Contracts Coordinator


[email protected]
(805) 346-7302
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TANF ECF Resources

Emergency Contingency Fund:
Informational website
https://emergencycontingencyfunds.wikispaces.com

Center for Law and Social Policy :
TANF ECF Policy and
Implementation Guidance
Documents
www.clasp.org
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TANF ECF Opportunities

Questions?
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