The Road to Self-Sufficiency

Food security and education, two milestones on the road to self-sufficiency, appear to be moving up the priority list at the Department of Public Welfare (DPW).

On June 13th DPW Secretary Feather O. Houstoun filed a request with the Governor’s Budget Office seeking approval to reallocate $1.0 million (half state and half federal) from the recently passed General Appropriations Act of 2000 for “a Food Stamp Education Project”. Secretary Houstoun stated the Project would “help ensure that various individuals (especially seniors, the disabled, low-income wage earners, and persons just leaving TANF) are aware of their Food Stamp entitlement”. The Project was described in other DPW documents “as a support that will aid their efforts to retain employment and retain their independence”.

Sometime around July 1 the request was tentatively approved in “budget reserve” status. Deputy Budget Secretary Robert E. Greenwood stated “budget reserve” means the money isn’t available for spending until more specific information is provided by DPW. Ed Zogby, Director of the Bureau of Policy at the Division of Income Maintenance, said he expects that will be a relatively simple matter to complete. Zogby also reported that the request for federal matching funds will be filed with the USDA during August.

Nancy Poindexter, who coordinates the daily operations of the Food Stamp Program for DPW, already has been meeting with staff at the Office of Aging and at the Social Security Administration in an effort to reach more low-income seniors. Plans in regard to low-income wage earners are not as far along. Indeed, outreach to working families may constitute the most difficult challenge DPW faces, in part because USDA rules and local eligibility processes present so many barriers for those who are already employed.

The second milestone, education, is addressed in a proposed DPW Operations Memorandum that details the circumstances in which a parent who has received TANF for 24 months or more may count her time in school or training toward the 20-hour per week work requirement. (See June Hunger Advocate for additional background.)

This most recent DPW proposal reflects more flexibility than prior policy statements.

For example, it states that a parent may be granted “good cause” to attend an approved education or training program for an additional six months if she has participated in 270 hours of combined instructional time, laboratory hours or work during a 12 month period. This 12-month period need not be continuous, and a parent who worked 270 hours during her first 24 months on cash assistance could qualify.

In addition, during the 6-month “good cause” period, the parent will be able to meet the 20-hour per week requirement exclusively through education hours. It will not be necessary for the parent to obtain a degree or certificate during the 6-month extension so long as continued participation will lead to the completion of a defined program that will make the parent more employable.