In Attendance

Sarah Brenna, Department of Workforce Services (DWS)
Pat Nielson, Utah Issues Board, League of Women Voters
Helen Thatcher, DWS
Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson, Social Research Institute (SRI), University of Utah
Diane Cunningham, SRI
Lois Kelson, Community Action Services, Provo
Sheila Walsh-McDonald, Salt Lake Community Action Program (CAP)
Karen Silver, Salt Lake CAP
Tim Schultz, Utah Issues
Bill Walsh, Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies (WWRPS)
Shirley Weathers, WWRPS

Congressional Delegation Meetings on Welfare Reform

    Shirley Weathers explained that UREAP representatives provided a four-page handout to Utah's Congressional Members with whom they met over the past month. She said, though, that the bulk of the actual discussion at those meetings centered around our efforts to learn their perspectives on whether/when Welfare Reform Reauthorization would occur in this Congressional Session. She then asked a UREAP participant who had attended each of the meetings to share what was learned.

    Lois Kelson described the visit with Congressman Chris Cannon as being cordial and informative. Representative Cannon said he appreciated our information and listened carefully. He said he has observed a process operating in this Congress whereby the House first passes a bill--often fairly quickly--after which the Senate takes considerably more time to pass its own bill. When the Conference Committees meet, the result tends to favor the Senate version. He predicted that Reauthorization would pass this year, but perhaps not until the Special Session after the election. Dr. Mike Seipel, Bill Walsh, and Shirley Weathers also attended the meeting with Congressman Cannon.

    Bill explained that Representative Jim Hanson had declined to meet with us. His staff person said the Congressman believes that Welfare Reform Reauthorization will be decided by the next Congress, not this one.

    Sheila Walsh-McDonald described the meeting with Senator Bob Bennett. Senator Bennett said he values the work on welfare reform and believes it is important. He supports the WORK Act. He said that, unfortunately, Welfare Reform Reauthorization will be denied its due in this Session. He charged Senator Daschle with allowing election-year politics to drive his scheduling of bills for Floor debate and there would be political reasons that he would likely choose to prevent debate on the WORK Act. We shared what we knew of a "Dear Colleague" letter by Senators Snowe and Lincoln asking Senator Daschle to schedule the WORK Act for Floor action this Session. He suggested that he would sign such a bill and advised that Senators Snowe and Lincoln could approach members informally with success. He agreed that funding for welfare reform innovations such as those in the WORK Act may be harder to come by next year. Dee Rowland, Shirley, and Bill also attended this meeting.

    Shirley relayed that Mark Greenberg at CLASP appreciated receiving UREAP's information gathered in our visits, but expressed some pessimism about Reauthorization's chances for passage. The Senate has too much to do in too short of a time period. Shirley also said that Robin Arnold-Williams had reported that Becky Shipp, Senator Hatch's welfare reform staff person, is working as though Welfare Reform Reauthorization will come up before Congress adjourns for the elections. Robin was at an APHSA meeting during this UREAP meeting so was not present to provide a further update.

    Pat Nielson and Karen Silver reported on the meeting with Rep. Jim Matheson. He said he could not predict whether or not Reauthorization would come up, but that a Continuing Resolution seems like a possible scenario, likely during a Lame Duck Session. He also agreed that new funding for Reauthorization items may not be available next year. He noted that President Bush is a very important player in this issue and has not yet indicated any support for the Senate Bill. In fact, he has been openly critical, suggesting that the WORK Act would have a difficult time coming up, passing, or succeeding in Conference.

    Bill reported that UREAP is on the "pending" list for a meeting with Senator Hatch or Becky Shipp. Senator Hatch's scheduler offered a meeting with Patty DeLousch, Senator Hatch's Health Aide, but Bill and Shirley had decided to decline and hold out for a meeting with either Senator Hatch or Becky. They reasoned that the type of information we need to share and obtain at this point in time is unlikely to be productively discussed with a staff specialist in another area.

    The meetings with Utah's Congressional Delegation did not provide definitive answers, but were still very worthwhile. It is clear that all of Utah's Congressional Delegation (except Congressman Hanson, whose opinion we did not obtain) have interest in welfare reform reauthorization, understand the experiences Utah has to offer, support the provisions of the WORK Act as it now stands, and agree that reauthorization should happen this year. The group determined to keep working for Welfare Reform Reauthorization that best serves those in need. Shirley said that UREAP staff would send thank-you notes to those we met with, and attempt to contact Senator Hatch and/or Becky Shipp to learn more about their perspectives.

Recent Welfare Reform Reauthorization Press

    Shirley noted some of the recent press on Welfare Reform Reauthorization, much of it tied to the Anniversary of PRWORA. Karen said she thought the most recent Utah Foundation report on welfare programs had some bad information. Sarah Brenna thought it was accurate if considered under the topic of work supports. Karen said she would note her concerns and share them at a later time.

    The subjects of  education and training were discussed. It was noted that the Administration discounts their impact while promoting more hours of work, but at the same time holds up as welfare success stories individuals who utilized extra education to reach their goals.

    Tim Schultz's article on Welfare Reform bills was acknowledged. The Utah Children/Utah Issues press conference got good print coverage. JEDI released their position in a press release. The Salt Lake League of Women Voters is again studying welfare reform. The Deseret News did an Editorial on "Deadbeat Parents."

Social Research Institute Study

    Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson and Dianne Cunningham reported on the most recent SRI study on long-term welfare leavers and the Intervention Project. They provided a handout, The Dynamics of Leaving Welfare: A Study of Long Term Welfare Recipients in Utah, to the group and said they have been busy reporting to DWS State and Regional people. They are scheduled to visit many local offices in the future. The 162-page study is available at http://www.socwk.utah.edu/pdf/dynamics.pdf.

    All timelimit closures and those on the system for two years or more were interviewed--nearly 1,500--at different timeframes. Many earlier findings were confirmed. The importance of the case closure process and the relationship between worker and client emerged in this study as key points. Eight hundred and thirteen people were part of the longitudinal study. It showed that sticking with a job, even below poverty levels, can pay off eventually in escaping poverty, but work supports are needed and yet not often available. Many people lost jobs and unemployment is common. Twenty respondents studied as "success cases" said consistently that housing, child care, transportation, promotion at work, Food Stamps and Medicaid, and access to Mental Health made the difference for them. Many of these people were aware of challenges facing DWS. They had positive attitudes. SRI made six new recommendations in this study.

    The Intervention Specialist Demonstration Project worked with some of the fragile people/families referred by interviewers in the study. Many were in desperate condition, not ready for work, and disconnected from resources. The Project tried to assist them. There were 47 cases, all in Salt Lake. Most lacked a telephone, transportation, and a support system. A range of intervention efforts and times were recorded. There were no program funds so the Specialist had to find community resources, in much the same way a person in crisis does.

    Group discussion covered assessments, LCSW availability, crisis services, child welfare, mental health, coordination, Medicaid "de-linking," and DWS and community resources. The degree of trust and rapport is necessary to make needed connections. Follow-up on case closures is still needed in many cases. Many people interviewed stated that "two months" more (of services) is all they really would have needed to make it. The next study will analyze services delivered and their effectiveness. SRI will continue to share their study with DWS and has a community meeting scheduled for August 28.

What will a One Year Continuing Resolution Mean to Utah?

    Helen Thatcher responded to this question. The main concern is meeting the Participation Rate, even under the current law, because the financial penalties are severe. Present DWS policy and practice is not to bother the workers or clients with this issue, rather to encourage them make individual plans that make sense for the family. Most Utah families are participating in activities in their plans, but the problem is that only certain activities "count" for purposes of calculating the federal Participation Rate. To date, the 50% Participation Rate required for 2002 has been offset in Utah by credits so that the actual 30% of caseload that is "countable" via the federal definitions is not a problem. However, the situation for the near future is being analyzed because Utah is now close to penalty. Financial penalties conceivably could amount to over $4 million. DWS may be able to simply "tweak" the system to solve the potential problem. They do not want to make major changes, especially knowing that more changes will have to happen after Reauthorization.

    Another concern is developing workfare sites, if the House Bill dominates. DWS does not have the infrastructure for this. The bureaucracy is waiting for direction from Congress.

    Helen stated that her worst fear is that Congress, in a Lame Duck Session, will rescind TANF spending and take back any state surpluses, as has been the case with DOL program funding.

Announcements

    A Single Mother Conference will be held at Granite High School on September 14. Call Karen Silver , 801-359-2444, for details.

Next Meeting

The next UREAP meeting will be September 24, same time and place.