Street roots
T
Feb. 3, 2012
Families in need stretch
Oregon’s safety net
Last year’s budget cuts, unemployment,
hamper efforts to get off public assistance
BY JOANNE ZUHL
STAFF WRITER
id to Oregon families in need is at its
highest level since welfare reform
took effect in 1997, according to the
state Department of Human Services,
it’s burning a $44 million hole in the state’s
self-sufficiency programs.
That will be the challenge for lawmakers
as they convene in Salem to “rebalance” the
two-year budget enacted last year, which
means more cuts loom for the state’s
overstretched program for poor families.
As of October 2011, there were 33,759
Oregon families - more than 90,000 people,
including 60,000 children — enrolled in the
state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program, or TANF. Last year, the
state’s overall TANF caseload increased 16
percent, 35 percent among two-parent
families.
“The program cannot withstand any more
cuts,” says Xochitl Esparza, TANF program
manager with DHS. “Further reductions are
going to be detrimental to the program.
What we have seen over time is it has
impacted families, impacted outcomes, and
any further reductions will likely have a
negative affect on both.”
Those cuts, combined with the poor
economy, lagging job opportunities and the
absence of Recovery Act funding that
buoyed the program in 2009, are
A
c o n trib u tin g to th e h ig h n u m b e rs by k e ep in g
people from moving off the program.
TANF provides cash assistance to low-
income families with children while they
strive to become self-sufficient. The
program’s goal is to reduce the number of
families living in poverty, through
employment and community resources. To
qualify for TANF, families must have very
few assets and little or no income. The
current maximum monthly benefit for a
family of three is $506.
Last year, in crafting the 2011-12 DHS
budget, legislators cut the employment and
training component of TANF by 51 percent.
The JOBS program, which stands for Job
Opportunity and Basic Skills, not only
offered training and placement services, but
helped cover transportation costs and child
care costs through the Employment Related
Day Care, or ERDC. DHS has also frozen
staff levels, even as enrollment increases,
placing greater challenges on case worker
capacity. (The state already has three
federal TANF-related penalties, $27.7 million
worth, for not achieving work participation
program was launched. TANF replaced
Ruirements,”
targets in three consecutive years.)
the Aid to Families with Dependent
iotek says.
But lawmakers will have to adjust the
Children, or AFDC, bringing with it a
Looking forward, Kotek, who has been a
budget to cover the $44 million need from
greater emphasis placed on securing and
outspoken defender of social services, says
the General Fund, which is only a portion of maintaining employment.
she hopes the state and rise above the
and the total $300 million the state budget
Like Oregon, states across the nation
status quo.
needs to balance.
have made cuts to their TANF programs,
“I think we keep fighting to restore
People who work with TANF recipients
some far more drastic to the point of having
money to that program. The reality is that
say last year’s elimination of most child care
a two-year limit on receiving assistance.
unless people have a pathway off the
and transportation support is keeping
Oregon currently has a five-year maximum
caseload — if we don’t help them become
people from
limit. One option to
more job ready — we’re going to continue to
getting off the
cut costs would be to
have a budget challenge to that program,”
program and
deny TANF to families
Kotek says. “It really does matter to those
going back to
that have reached
families to help them get back to work.”
"We've
gel
a
d
a
i
w
ith
a
four-
work.
their five-year limit in
The increase in the caseload to TANF
“The goal of
y e a r-o li ch ild who was out
another state. Even
shouldn’t come as a shock, says Alison
TANF JOBS
larger cuts could be
McIntosh, policy and communications
lo o lm g lo r work. They Ieoh
program is to
made by removing
director with Neighborhood Partnership.
away
his
ch
ild
care
resources^
help people exit
more families from
This is how the system is supposed to work,
his
transportation
assistance,
TANF as quickly
child care assistance.»
with people getting help during the greatest
as they can by
Regan Grey, policy
so the Impact on him Is he
economic crisis. One of Neighborhood
providing the
hastrt bee» able to fin d work? director with Children Partnerships primary projects is the Bridges
resources they
First For Oregon says
to Housing program, which serves TANF
W A R C J O L lh l
need to become
the way the budget
families.
E X E C U T IV E D IR E C T O R , J O IN
self sufficient. If
was crafted undercuts
“Here in Oregon, we’ve put basic safety-
you eliminate that
the intentions of the
net programs in place like TANF to help
piece of the
programs.
protect families with children during a
service package,
“They removed all
recession, and to help them get back on
then families are going to be stuck on TANF of the supports for a parent who would be in their feet as the economy improves,”
until they hit their five-year mark, and
McIntosh says. “Right now, families are
the JOBS program,” Grey says. “So we’ve
struggling to survive even with TANF
they’re going to be cut off,” says Rachel
supplied then with classes, but they don’t
support, facing choices like paying rent or
have transportation costs or child care costs
Post, director of Supportive Housing and
buying food and medicine. TANF caseloads
covered so they can’t utilize the JOBS
Employment at Central City Concern,
have
grow n d u rin g th is re c e ssio n , as th e
program.”
Portland’s largest low-income service
Grey says using the ERDC budget to back program meets its basic purpose. We need
provider “They risk going back to being
to maintain these basic safety net programs
fill the TANF hole is counterproductive
homeless, back into addictions, children
like TANF - they aren’t a luxury, but a life-
because it will only increase the number of
back into foster care, back into the criminal
raft for kids and families.”
families - who might otherwise be in the
justice system.”
John says the program cannot absorb any
workforce with the assistance — turning to
“We have families with young children,
more cuts without seeing more people
TANF for support.
single-parent households, and that parent
struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
“It’s not good for children, and it’s not
needs to get out, and their ability to get out
Post says an even larger concern is the
good for the state’s budget either,” Grey
and find work is limited by (cuts to child
impact the cuts have on children.
says. “It costs more to serve a family in
care assistance),” says Marc John, executive
“The families we’re seeing, which are
TANF than in ERDC. It’s not a wise use of
director of JOIN, which helps people secure
families who are initiating treatment
dollars, nor is it the best benefit for the
and maintain housing.
because they want to get clean and sober,
child.”
“We’ve got a dad with a four-year-old child
they want to be reunited with their children.
who was out looking for work. They took
They want to be responsible parents. They
away his child care resources, his
want to take care of their families. They’re
ep. Tina Kotek, D-North/Northeast
transportation assistance, so the impact on
doing everything that they can,” Post says.
Portland, says she and the Democratic
him is he hasn’t been able to find work,”
caucus are going to try to preserve services “These are very strong, courageous,
John says. “So we’re having to help by
resilient families who are working really
and prevent the cuts from going any deeper.
continuing to subsidize his rent.”
hard and getting through treatment and now
However, budget limits are hard and fast,
they have no means to secure income
with no deficit allowed.
because they have kids at home to take care
“I don’t think we’re going to do a lot of
cross the nation, TANF benefits for poor
of. It impacts the development of the
new harm, but we can’t restore what’s been
families are below the levels they were
children.”
happening because of the budget
in 1996 (adjusted for inflation) when the
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