Issue Summary:

•  TANF STATE PLAN : Public comments to the TANF State Plan included concerns about sanctions and support for Pay-After-Performance as a motivational tool. There was concern that a recipient could terminate, subject to sanctions, and reapply at a later time with no sanction. It was reiterated in committee that Pay-After-Performance will be written in to policy to prevent “revolving-door” situations.

•  State Appeals Decisions in Hardship Cases : Based upon an informal tally of Work First Hardship appeals heard by State Hearing Offices, a total of 12 cases have been heard and the following decisions were rendered: (a) 7 – In favor of the county; (b) 4 – No shows; (c) 1 – Reversal of county decision. There has been no data kept on Work First Hardship appeals. This data will be captured in the future.

Position or Policy Recommendation for Board Action:

MRA Non-Compliance Sanction Policy : After much discussion regarding sanctions and Pay-After-Performance as a policy initiative, the committee voted to recommend the following change to the Sanctions Policy of the TANF State Plan in regard to MRA Noncompliance: Delete the statement on page 27; “Second and subsequent instances of noncompliance will result in ineligibility for three months or until compliance, whichever is longer.” Change the last sentence on page 26 to; “ ANY noncompliance will result in ineligibility for one month or until compliance.”

General Information for Dissemination:

1. ABAWD FUNDING SURVEY : Of the 70 counties who received the letter requesting feedback on interest in ABAWD funding, a total of 30 have responded. Of those 30, 11 counties are interested in pursuing Federal funds to serve at-risk ABAWDS, and 19 counties are not interested in participating in the initiative. A final decision on State participation in the initiative will be made after all eligible counties have responded.
2. WORK FIRST CASELOAD : There was another slight decrease in the Work First caseload from March to April, with a decrease of 84 cases to a total of 41,210. This is still the lowest caseload figure since Work First began in North Carolina.
3. WORK FIRST COUNTY PLANS : Feedback on Work First County Plans has been sent to all counties. Items that need to be reviewed include: (a) Having a current MOU with ESC; and (b) Having a definition of “emergency” as part of Emergency Assistance policy in the Plan.
4. WAIVERS : Committee members discussed possible requests for waivers by North Carolina to the new TANF reauthorization. The Committee expressed its support for consideration of waivers to help meet participation rates and other requirements, as well as to do innovative activities.