Hawaii Senators Daniel K. Akaka and Daniel K. Inouye are working with the Senate Finance Committee and a bipartisan coalition of senators to maintain state waivers in the reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a key part of the 1996 welfare reform law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The Hawaii senators have written to Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee, to urge the extension of state waivers and reinstatement of recently expired state waivers. A waiver is essential for the continued operation of the State of Hawaii's Pursuit of New Opportunities (PONO) Program, a Section 1115 welfare reform demonstration project approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which will expire on September 30, 2004.
State waivers were authorized by the 1996 welfare reform law in recognition of significant welfare reforms that many States had been planning or already had in effect. Welfare reform reauthorization legislation passed earlier this year by the House of Representatives, H.R. 4, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act, fails to extend state waivers and state flexibility in administering welfare programs. The Senate Finance Committee is currently considering TANF reauthorization, and the Congress faces a September 30, 2003, deadline to extend or reauthorize the program.
The State of Hawaii would face substantial monetary penalties if it is not allowed to extend its waiver. The failure to meet proposed work performance requirements could cost the State $20 million in FY 2005, with noncompliance costs increasing annually. Hawaii's current exemption for the disabled and expanded definition of employment are imperative to the continued success of the state's programs for low-income individuals and families.
Since 1996, the State of Hawaii has operated the PONO Program under a state waiver which provides exemptions to a number of households, including disabled households, that are hindered by severe barriers to employment. These households need adequate time and extensive support services in order to reach self-sufficiency. Exempt households, which make up approximately 40 percent of families served by the Department of Human Services (DHS), still face participation requirements, such as vocational rehabilitation, substance abuse counseling, domestic violence counseling, and work experience placements. Participation in one of these activities is a condition of eligibility if it supports the effort toward self-sufficiency. "Current federal proposals that would limit such supports to three months would guarantee failure for many Hawaii families and the overall program, should Hawaii's waiver be allowed to expire," Akaka cautioned.
According to DHS, Hawaii has met all of its employment goals, despite a downturn in the state's economy that began in the late 1990s. The program currently has the largest percentage of its service population employed in its history. Hawaii currently recognizes as employment such activities as unsubsidized work, subsidized work, on-the-job training, education in conjunction with employment, job search, training, and work experience.
"We are looking to assist the State in continuing the program's success," Akaka said. "This will be very difficult, if not impossible, under the House-passed provisions that would allow state waivers, including Hawaii's waiver, to lapse."
