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Amendment to Addendum 1 of the
Wisconsin State Plan
for
Administration of the
Block Grant to States for
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
FFY 1998
December 23, 1998
Prepared by:
Wisconsin Department of Workforce
Development
Division of Economic Support
1 W. Wilson Street, P.O. Box 7935
Madison, WI 53707-7935
Paternity Acknowledgment through Hospitals (PATH)
The state intends to use TANF funds to provide funding for the hospital-based paternity establishment program for the purposes of coordinating and consolidating efforts to procure child support from non-custodial parents, and to promote co-responsibility for the child.
The PATH program provides a $20.00 financial incentive to hospitals who file the voluntary paternity establishment form with the state registrar within 60 days after the child’s birth. The financial incentive is meant to offset the costs to the hospital of explaining the acknowledgment process, providing notary services and obtaining cooperation from the non-married parents of the child.
The current hospital based paternity establishment program requires that the party that files the birth certificate must give the mother information regarding how to add the name of the father to the birth certificate through voluntary paternity acknowledgment or paternity action (provided that the parents were never married), the legal and medical significance of having the father’s name on this document, and the alternatives to the acknowledgment process.
The filing party must also give the mother a copy of the form that establishes voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. If the form is completed while the mother is a patient and within five days after the birth, this form is sent by the filing party directly to the state registrar.
Use of TANF funds to support this program furthers the goals of paternity establishment, family responsibility and family formation.
The Milwaukee Jobs Initiative
Milwaukee is one of six cities in the nation participating in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Jobs Initiative demonstration project. The project is a partnership model, working with employers, central city residents, community-based organizations, government, and public and private training institutions to connect unemployed and underemployed central city residents with permanent, family-supporting employment. These residents are being trained in soft and hard skills to prepare them for identified employment opportunities. The goal is not only to connect people to entry-level positions, but also to keep them employed and to provide opportunity for advancement within the firms that hire them or the industry of which those firms are a part.
The central city of Milwaukee has the highest concentration of Wisconsin’s W-2 recipients. The primary focus of this initiative will be to move a substantial number of those recipients into full-time, permanent employment. Tailoring training to existing jobs within the community fulfills the needs of central city employers while achieving the goal of W-2 recipients to find family-supporting employment and end dependence on welfare benefits.
Wisconsin’s TANF funds assist the project in meeting its long-term goals of improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and families and enhancing the economic health of their community. Providing training and good job opportunities within the central city will divert many families from dependency on public welfare to economic self-sufficiency.
Passports for Youth
The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee’s Passports for Youth program is designed to guide low-income youth toward making successful choices for their futures. The three core areas of focus are: 1) School success/academic support; 2) Career exploration and training; and 3) Social and personal development. The program will also address the key TANF goals of ending welfare dependency and reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock and teenage pregnancies.
High school aged students who meet federal income-eligibility guidelines for the USDA Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program (those students whose gross family income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level) will be selected to participate in the program. The program will focus on youth from needy families living in high risk environments and is designed to promote student success, long-term employment, and lifelong learning.
Each student will be assigned to a Passports for Youth advisor/case manager who will assist him or her in developing a learning/career plan and provide case management services to help the youth succeed with the plan. Case management services will include tracking and monitoring each student’s school performance and progress in meeting the individual’s planned goals, with additional support strategies to assist students who are not meeting targeted requirements. The program has a variety of components, including work skills, life skills, and academic support to prepare the youth for future careers and meaningful lifelong employment.
SSI Caretaker Supplement
Recipients of SSI have been determined disabled, incapable of supporting themselves through employment, and therefore not eligible to participate in the W-2 employment training program. As of December 1, 1997, Wisconsin began to pay a monthly benefit funded with TANF dollars to SSI recipients for the support of their dependent children who had been receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or who met AFDC eligibility criteria under s.49.19, Stats.
Under a provision of 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, a monthly $77 cash benefit called a Caretaker Supplement will be paid to an SSI caretaker for each dependent child. The $77 payments are made through an increase in the parent’s monthly state supplemental SSI check. An SSI caretaker will receive the child only payment if all of the following criteria are met:
- The child’s sole custodial parent receives SSI or the child lives with both custodial parents and both parents receive SSI. In either circumstance, the caretaker(s) would receive one $77 payment per child, per month.
- The child meets AFDC income and asset eligibility criteria under Wisconsin’s AFDC statute, s. 49.19, Stats. If the child passes the AFDC eligibility test, a $77 payment is made.
- The child does not receive SSI benefits.
The SSI Caretaker Supplement program is separate from the Wisconsin Works program and will be administered by Wisconsin’s Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Supportive Living.
Milwaukee Child Welfare Coordinator
Section 48.48(16m), Stats., as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, directs the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services to employ an individual to coordinate the state’s assumption of child welfare services in Milwaukee County with the implementation of the W-2 program to ensure that both programs interact effectively. Wisconsin intends to use TANF block grant money to fund this position. This person will work under the direction of the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) as the Director of the Office of Urban Development.
In Milwaukee County, many families having contact with the child welfare system will also be W-2 participants. Coordinating these services in Milwaukee County will help these families during the transition to W-2, and promote family responsibility.
Employment Transportation Program and Job Ride
Reliable, affordable, and efficient transportation is critical to self-sufficiency. Wisconsin has made it a priority to work with job seekers and employers to address transportation needs for TANF recipients. W-2 agencies are required to work with Community Steering Committees and Children’s Services Networks to identify existing public transportation systems, match those resources against the specific needs of W-2 participants, and develop a program to meet those needs. W-2 agencies use such innovative methods to meet participant transportation needs as arranging van pools, setting up volunteer driver programs, accessing loan resources for personal vehicle purchase and repair, and encouraging employer-based transportation programs, among others.
To improve low income families’ access to employment, Wisconsin will use TANF funds to expand transportation services available to these families under the Employment Transportation program. The Employment Transportation Program will provide transportation assistance to W-2 participants to improve access to jobs and all other TANF activities such as child care and work-related training, and may grant financial assistance to participants for transportation costs. Current and potential W-2 participants, food stamp recipients, and others receiving supportive services whose gross income is at or below 165 percent federal poverty level (FPL) are eligible for transportation assistance. The Employment Transportation Program focuses on the gap between the existing services and what is needed to facilitate the long-term and successful employment of TANF recipients.
The Employment Transportation Program is being facilitated through solicitation of a request for grant proposals to W-2 agencies. Each W-2 agency is eligible to apply for the grant, and local collaboration between the agency and job centers is required for needs assessment, plan development and local implementation. W-2 agencies must demonstrate a quantifiable need for assistance and develop a detailed action plan to serve the TANF population. This transportation assistance plan must include input from employers and must certify that TANF funding will not be used to supplant existing transportation resources.
In addition, Wisconsin will use TANF funds to expand the Job Ride Program in Milwaukee County to provide transportation assistance for W-2 participants in community service jobs, transitional placements, and other part-time employment. The Job Ride Program previously provided assistance only to those individuals with
full time, permanent employment. As a reverse commute service, Job Ride is intended to provide a transportation link between disadvantaged unemployed or underemployed persons living in urban Milwaukee County and job opportunities in suburban areas. The employers targeted are not currently accessible by public transportation or other means of regularly scheduled transit. Many inner city residents who have lost employment opportunities and have found it difficult to reach areas where new employment is occurring will have a better opportunity to obtain and retain employment with this enhanced transportation program.
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