Transcript Text

900 Lydia Street, Austin, Texas, 78702
www.cppp.org
Keeping Budgetary Commitments to the
Poor? Texas and the Welfare Block
Grant, 1996-2000
Eva De Luna Castro, Budget and Policy Analyst, CPPP
[email protected]
International Budget Project, Third Annual Conference, India
6 November 2000
Contents
• Background: Texas’ Assistance for
the Poor, 1995
• Federal Welfare Reform
• Texas After Welfare Reform
– Outcomes at State Level
– Outcomes at Local Level
• Advocate Response
• Resources
1
1995: Assistance for Texas Poor
In Millions
3.5
3
2.5
3.3 million Texans
living below the
official poverty line
2.64
2
1.5
1.5
1
0.75
0.5
0.063
0
Cash Assistance
2
Health Insurance
Food
Day Care
Who Was Receiving
Assistance?
• Typical welfare client
was a 30-year old female
with 2 children
• For cash assistance,
eligibility was very strict
(<20% of poverty)
• Most cycled off and on
welfare; adult lacked
education or job skills to
find/keep a good job
3
Federal Welfare Reform
1996: Congress passes Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act
•Replaced state/federal funding (national government
paid 50 to 78 percent of costs) with capped block grant
called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
•TANF grant to states would be provided at a fixed
amount for next 6 years (1997-2002); new grant for
child care
•TANF funding for US > $99 billion, including
4 incentives. Texas share is at least $3 billion (about
$900 per poor person) for the six years of the grant.
Federal Reform (continued)
More Flexibility for States
•Aiding needy families
(children in own homes)
•Ending dependence on
government by promoting
job preparation, work, and
marriage
•Preventing/reducing outof-wedlock pregnancy
•Encouraging formation of
2-parent families
5
State Responsibilities
•Maintaining historic
levels of spending on
cash assistance, welfarerelated child care, training
(TX=$251 million/year)
•Deciding which families
are eligible & what amount
of benefits they will
receive; how work
requirements and time
limits are enforced
•Using federal funds
legally
1999: Texas After Welfare
Reform
In Millions
3.5
3
2.5
2
3.0 million Texans
living below the
official poverty line
1.457
1.5
1.14
1
0.5
0.37
0.093
0
Cash Assistance
6
Health Insurance
Food
Day Care
Texas’ Version of Reform
•Emphasis on reducing caseload (2/3 of whom
were children) for cash assistance, not on
reducing poverty or making people more selfsufficient
•Unintended immediate consequence: fewer
families getting food or medical benefits
•With falling caseloads, surpluses of federal
TANF accumulated; state used these dollars for
some improvements, but also to replace state
spending on other programs
7
Outcomes at State Level
Falling welfare caseloads made more federal money available; state officials
decided to use most of it for child care subsidies rather than education or job
training...
Cash Grants
Million $
Child Care
Million $
$600.0
$600.0
$400.0
$400.0
$400.0
State
$200.0
State
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
$200.0
1997
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
2001
State
$-
$-
$-
Federal
Federal
Federal
$200.0
Job Training for Welfare Recipients
Million $
$600.0
1998
1999
2000
2001
…State also used federal money for less directly related services that have
been long-neglected, instead of providing more state general revenue.Total
supplantation thus far (through 2000) is about $300 million, or more than 10
percent of federal grant dollars.
Million $
Eligibility Determination
Child Protective Services
Million $
$600.0
$600.0
$600.0
$400.0
$400.0
$400.0
Federal
$200.0
State
$-
Federal
$200.0
State
$1997
8
1998
1999
2000
2001
Foster Care
Million $
Federal
$200.0
State
$1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Outcomes at Local Level
Where the Poor Live
9
vs.
Where Federal TANF is Spent
What Advocates Have Done
•Legislative/policy briefings
and testimony
•http://www.cppp.org/products/reports/beyondwelfare.html
•http://www.cppp.org/products/policypages/91-110/91110html/PP95.html
•Work with local-level social
services organizations
•Work with national groups
and federal agencies
•Talked to the media
•Work with state and local
government agencies
10
Fiscal Analysis Resources
• www.census.gov (Census Bureau - comparisons of state and
local government finances; Federal Funds Reports by county
and other geographical subareas; demographic and economic
data)
• www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/ (U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Family Assistance; TANF spending by states)
• www.cbpp.org (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
www.lbb.state.tx.us (Legislative Budget Board; budget
instructions; budget overviews; appropriations act)
• www.cpa.state.tx.us (Comptroller - state spending and revenue
information, including county-level spending data)
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