The Campaign to End Family Homelessness

 

Contact:             Phyllis Gilberti, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Phone: 202-638-1526, ext                   108, Email: pgilberti@naeh.org

 

Current Priority: S 1523: “Pathways to Independence Act of 2003” – legislation that will significantly improve the ability of states to

meet the needs of families on TANF with disabilities,

including mental illness and addiction

 

Why is this important?

If the current proposal to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is enacted, States will be forced to move a higher percentage of TANF recipients into the workforce.  This means that States will be under considerable pressure to move families with barriers to work, particularly those with a disabled, mentally ill or addicted member (a child or an adult), into the workforce or other work activities before they are prepared to be successful.  This will increase the chances that families will be sanctioned and lose their welfare benefits, putting them at greater risk of housing instability and homelessness.

 

S 1523 will make considerable progress on preventing homelessness by improving the capacity of state TANF programs to respond to the needs of families with the most significant barriers to employment.   It is a pragmatic strategy to improve TANF for families that include adults and children with disabilities. 

 

What will S 1523 do?:

S 1523, introduced in the Senate on July 31, 2003, by Senators Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), James Jeffords (I-Vermont), and Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), would:

1)                Allow a state to count a TANF recipient’s participation in rehabilitative services[1] beyond three months as meeting the work requirement, while the individual progressively engages in work activity.  During the second three months, the state would require a small amount of work activity as well as rehabilitative services. After six months, the state could receive partial credit for a person with a disability who is combining rehabilitative services with work.

In contrast, H.R. 4 and Senator Grassley’s TANF proposal would “cap” the amount of time a state could count rehabilitative services as meeting the full work requirement at three months.  After three months, TANF recipients would be required to work 24 hours before allowing any additional hours of rehabilitative services to count toward the work requirement.

2)                Allow states to count as a work activity the time that the adult in the family spends caring for a child with a disability or an adult relative with a disability.

 

So what’s next:

Ask your Senator to co-sponsor this legislation. 

·        Call the DC office (call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be transferred if you don’t know the number) and ask to speak with the staff person who handles family issues or welfare.

·        Introduce yourself, your organization and the city in which you work.

·        Say: “I am calling you about the Senator’s support of S 1523: Pathways to Independence Act of 2003 which was introduced by Senators Smith, Jeffords, and Conrad.  This bill would significantly improve the ability of states to meet the needs of families on TANF with disabilities, including mental illness and addiction.”

·        Tell your Senator how this would specifically affect you – ie, do you have specific numbers of the increase in family homelessness?; would this decrease your caseload significantly?; do you have a story of a homeless person who can’t get TANF because of a mental illness, addiction, or the need to provide care to a disabled family member?; what can you say that will show how this affects the Senator’s state?

·        Ask: “Will the Senator co-sponsor this legislation?” and get an answer. 

o      If the answer is no, find out why.  This will enable us to develop a more effective strategy to reach your Senator.

 

 


[1] “Rehabilitation services” or “barrier removal activities” are intended to cover the range of activities that could help a parent with a serious barrier, such as a disability or substance abuse problem to better function in a competitive work environment.  Examples include: substance abuse treatment; mental health counseling and treatment; participation in the state’s vocational rehabilitation program; literacy classes for a learning disability.