Untitled Document

Office of Family Assistance

Annual Report on State TANF and MOE Programs - 2004
Utah

Each State must provide the information indicated below on its TANF program regardless of the funding source -- i.e., no matter whether the State used segregated Federal TANF funds, segregated State TANF funds, or commingled funds to pay for the benefit or service.

If the State elects to report on other benefits or activities provided through other program funding streams, please mention it after the TANF-funded benefits or activities for each item.

(1) The State's definition of each work activity.
45 CFR 261.30 encompasses the 12 categories of work activities listed in Section 407(d) of the Social Security Act for purposes of determining the State's required minimum work participation rate(s). Each State defines the activities that fall under each of these 12 categories and provides them to us. This item is for that purpose. Therefore, your definitions should include the kinds of work activities that apply to each of the 12 categories. For example, what activities comprise "job skills training directly related to employment" in your State?

1. Employment Unsubsidized = Counts at either 30 hours per week or a combination of 20 hrs wk plus 10 training/schooling

Service Employment (Unsubsidized)
Summer Youth Employment Services
Youth Employment

2. Subsidized Private Employment = (Utah does not have any)
3. Subsidized Public Employment = (Utah does not have any)

4. Work Experience = Counts at either 30 hours per week or a combination of 20 hrs wk plus 10 training/schooling

Service Apprenticeships
Private Paid Internship
Public Paid Internship
Private Unpaid Internship
Public Unpaid Internship
Youth Internships/Worksite Learning
Youth Build

5. On-the Job training (OJT) = Counts at either 30 hours per week or a combination of 20 hrs wk plus 10 training/schooling
Service On-the-Job training

6. Job Search and Job Readiness = Counts at either 30 hrs for 4 consecutive weeks and a total of 6 weeks in any fiscal year or a combination of 20 hours wk plus 10 training/schooling.

Service Individual job Search
Pre-Employment Skills Training Workshop
Job Readiness
Job Retention Skills Training Workshop
Job Connection Activities
Intensive Employment Services
Choose to Work Expanded Services
Relocation Assistance
Out of Area Job Search
Employment Mentoring
Welfare to Work

8. Vocational Education Training = Counts at either 30 hours per week up to 12 months in a lifetime or a combination of 20 hours wk plus 10 in training/schooling.

Service Occupational Skills Training
Vocational Education
Associates Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
Employment-Related Training
Refugee Re-certification Training
Adult Education
Applied Technology
Other Employment Related Education

The next three are counted after 20 hours of above 9
10. Job Skills Training directly related to employment = Counts after 1st 20 hrs (this is limited to individuals with no GED or High School Diploma).

Service Basic Education
GED/HS Diploma
Basic Skills Remediation
English as a Second Language
Younger Youth Basic Skills Goal
Work Study

11. Education related to employment for individuals w/no GED or High School Diploma = Counts after 1st 20 hrs. If recipient is under age 20, an are participating in education directly related to employment for an average of at least 20 hours per week during the month, they count as engaged in work in the month.
Service Basic Education
Basic Skills/Remediation
Classroom Occupational Skills Training
Younger Youth Basic Skills Goals
English as a Second Language
Leadership Development

12. School Attendance for individuals w/ no GED or High School Diploma = Counts after 1st 20 hours. If recipient is under age 20, and they are maintaining satisfactory attendance at a secondary school, they count as engaged in work in a month.

Service GED/HS Diploma
Youth Tutoring/Dropout Prevention
Basic Skills/Remediation
Alternative School Services
Occupational Skills Training
Younger Youth Occupational Skills Goal
Youth Build

Not more than 30% of individuals engaged in work in a month may be included in the numerator because they are participating in vocational educational training, or participating in education related to employment and under age 20, or participating in satisfactory attendance at a secondary school and under age 20.

13. Other Participation Activities: These do not count for federal participation

Service Assessment
Formal Assessment
Assessment Review
DWS Social Worker
Problem Solving Assessment
Non-Participation Assessment
Cultural Assimilation
Initial/Comprehensive Assessment
Life Skills (Other)
Pursuing Disability Income
Resolving Transportation Issues
Resolving Child Care Issues
Resolving Housing Issues
Family Counseling
Resolving Court/Criminal Issues
Resolving Rural Location Issues
Youth Mentoring/Counseling
Youth Formal Assessment
Youth Assessment
Child Support Enforcement
Physical Treatment
Mental Health Treatment
Substance Abuse Treatment
Family Violence Treatment

(2) A description of the transitional services provided to families no longer receiving assistance due to employment.
Indicate the kinds of help provided to working families that received, but no longer receive, "assistance" as defined in 45 CFR 260.31.

Case management services will be provided to individuals for 24 months following a Family Employment Program (FEP) case closure. This provides follow-up and support during the transition to employment.

Supportive Services may be approved to reduce recidivism and with the provision that former recipients continue to participate in activities leading to increased family income.

Child Care
Individuals whose financial assistance is closed because of increased income with a least one dollar of earned income in the household can receive the first two months of child care after the financial case closure without having to pay any required out of pocket child care as long as there is an approved need for child care.

Transitional Medicaid and Transitional Food Stamps
A household that has received a financial assistance payment (including Diversion Assistance) may receive up to 12 months of Transitional Medicaid. The household may also be eligible for Transitional Food Stamps for a 24 months period. The food stamp eligibility requirements remain the same. FNS allowed the State to match the FEP asset exemption of the first $8,000 of the household’s vehicle.

(3) A description of how a State will reduce the amount of assistance payable to a family when an individual refuses to engage in work without good cause pursuant to 45 CFR 261.14 of this chapter.

When a FEP participant refuses to engage in work activities without good cause, a problem solving process is initiated. The process is called “conciliation”. There are three levels of conciliation. The following is a brief summary of each level.

• Level One consists of activities appropriate for a DWS Employment Counselor to carry out when it is determined that a customer is not participating. In most cases level one is successful in resolving the issue, but if level one is not successful conciliation moves to level two.

• Level Two formally brings in additional Department and/or allied staff to recommend ways that the participation issue might be resolved. A reduction in the household’s financial benefits cannot take place until level one and two of conciliation has been completed.

• Level Three of the conciliation process occurs after a parent has lost the $100 participation amount for not participating. Activities in level three include continued efforts to resolve the participation issue to avoid case closure, identification of resources available to the family if the parent continues to choose not to participate, and the determination if a trial participation period will be required if the parent reapplies after the financial assistance case has closed.

If the FEP customer fails to participate after two months of $100 grant reduction, the case is closed.

(4) The average monthly number of payments for child care services made by the State through the use of disregards, by the following types of child care providers:

A total of 1482 disregard allowances were allowed on 567 cases for fiscal year 2004. The average monthly number of disregard allowances per month is 124. A total of 228 cases had disregard allowances only on the initial month’s grants. The remaining 339 cases had the disregard allowances for more than one month.

(i) Licensed/ regulated in-home child care
(ii) Licensed/ regulated family child care (FP/FA/RC) 105
(iii) Licensed/ regulated group home child care (FG) 67
(iv) Licensed/ regulated center-based child care (GP/GA) 375
(v) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
in-home child care provided by a non-relative
(vi) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
in-home child care provided by a relative
(vii) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
family child care provided by a non-relative (FXN) 92
(viii) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
family child care provided by a relative (FXR) 798
(ix)
(x) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
group child care provided by a non-relative
(xi) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality) in-home child care provided by a relative
(xii) Legally operating (i.e., no license category available in State or locality)
center-based child care (CX) 45

(5) If the State has adopted the Family Violence Option and wants Federal recognition of its good cause domestic violence waivers under 45 CFR 260.50-58, then provide (a) a description of the strategies and procedures in place to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive appropriate alternative services and (b) an aggregate figure for the total number of good cause domestic waivers granted.

All employment counselors who do employment planning must complete "Domestic Violence Awareness Training." The training is offered quarterly to all new employment counselors and eligibility specialists and covers basic domestic violence information as well as service pathway instructions specific to the Department of Workforce Services. The training is presented in collaboration with the Division of Child and Family Services, local law enforcement agencies, victim advocates, shelter representatives and other local domestic violence coalition members.

Employment Plans are specifically developed to ensure the victim is not placed in further jeopardy of domestic violence. Employment Plans are developed by employment counselors and Licensed Clinical Therapists (LCT) trained in domestic violence. Specially developed screening questions, TALE (Threatened, Annoyed, Lost a friend, Emotionally injured), identifying potential domestic violence issues are incorporated into the assessment interview at the time the customer applies for Family Employment Program benefits. If the customer answers yes to one or more of the TALE questions, a mandatory referral is made to the LCT for further evaluation.

(6) A description of any non-recurrent, short-term benefits (as defined in 45 CFR 260.31(b)(1)) provided, including:

(i) The eligibility criteria associated with such benefits, including any restrictions on the amount, duration, or frequency of payments;

Y Funds: Are funds used to reimburse an individual for work and training related expenses. They may be used to assist the customer to alleviate circumstance(s) that impede the individual’s ability to begin or continue employment, job search, training or education. There is not a limit on the amount of Y funds a customer may receive. However, payments greater than $1,000 must be staffed and approved by a supervisor.

Y Funds may not be used as a reimbursement for normal living expenses such as rent or utilities. Y Fund’s alleviate an emergency need, not an ongoing expense.

Emergency Assistance (EA): Provides for immediate short-term help to destitute families. Services may be provided to families for up to 30 consecutive days in any 365-day period. Services provided by this program including rent, mortgage, utility payments, and/or legal services to avoid eviction. The family must be able to secure housing, utilities, or be able to prevent the eviction, foreclosure, or utility shutoff, with this one time payment.

The family must demonstrate the ability to resolve past due payments and pay future months’ rent, mortgage, or utility payments after resolution of the crisis. The household must be FEP eligible to qualify. No disregards are allowed.

(ii) Any policies that limit such payments to families that are eligible for TANF assistance or that have the effect of delaying or suspending a family's eligibility for assistance; and
Described above under (i)

(iii) Any procedures or activities developed under the TANF program to ensure that individuals diverted from assistance receive information about, referrals to, or access to other program benefits (such as Medicaid and food stamps) that might help them make the transition from welfare to work.

Utah has numerous contracts statewide to address emergency episodes for TANF households. We offer Medicaid Assistance by reviewing all categories of Medicaid available for each household member. We work closely with the Department of Health-Bureau of Eligibility Services (DOH-BES) to ensure all individuals who might be eligible for Medical coverage will receive a review of their eligibility. Such reviews occur when a TANF case is denied, closed, or the family is approved for Diversion rather than receive ongoing assistance.

A description of the grievance procedures the State has established and is maintaining to resolve displacement complaints, pursuant to section 407(f)(3) of the Social Security Act. This description must include the name of the State agency with the lead responsibility for administering this provision and explanations of how the State has notified the public about these procedures and how an individual can register a complaint.

The Department of Workforce Services is the state agency with the lead responsibility for administering this provision. DWS has a complaint manual that is in every Employment Center (EC). The EC Manager and Supervisor are familiar with the policies that must be adhered to. The names and telephone numbers of the Customer Relations Specialists are posted in each EC, as well as many other resources including DWS’ forms located in each EC.

The fair hearing process is identified in the State Administrative Rules. The Administrative Rules are posted on the Internet at www.rules.state.ut.us.

A summary of State programs and activities directed at the third and fourth statutory purposes of TANF (as specified at 45 CFR 260.20(c) and (d) of this chapter).

a. Summarize below, the State programs and activities directed at preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establishing annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies (TANF purpose 3):

DWS provides out of wedlock prevention services to target groups that will reduce the rate of out of wedlock pregnancies by 3%. Efforts to achieve that reduction rate include a wide variety of abstinence focused programs and activities listed below:

o In school: Health/reproduction information and education provided by school nurses and guest speakers
o After school programs: Life skills, leadership, employment, career planning, “smart choices,” equestrian, and peer support groups.
o Community activities: Parade floats promoting abstinence, information booths at fairs and special events, dances, and parent meetings.
o Media/promotion efforts: Billboards, movie theater ads, newspaper articles, posters, pens, key chains, mirrors, and brochures.
o Special emphasizes: Preventing second pregnancy occurrences.

These program services have been successful in maintaining Utah’s status as leading the nation in with lowest percent of live births to unmarried mothers in the nation. According to Utah’s 2003 Vital Statistics Report, Utah’s percent of out of wedlock births is 17.07%. This is a reduction of .02% from 2002. In 2002 the National percentage was 33.8%.

b. Summarize below, the State programs and activities directed at encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families (TANF purpose 4):

In FFY 2004, the Governor’s Council of Marriage moved under the umbrella of Department of Workforce Services, the TANF block administrator. This allows a close relationship and united effort in addressing marriage and formation of two-parent families. The Marriage Commission targets engaged couples education, develop and distribute curriculum mentoring & encouraging marriage. The Commission sponsored a Marriage Conference and sponsors marriage preparation classes. See data under (10) below. Also, Out-of Wedlock initiatives include services to fathers to help reinforce importance of child well being when two parents are involved in the child’s life.

(9) An estimate of the total number of individuals who have participated in subsidized employment under §261.30(b) or (c) of this chapter.

Utah has no subsidized employment participants
(10) Utah funded a number of initiatives to stabilize and support employment of TANF eligible families with various needed services. Some of the initiatives include:

• Marriage initiatives reached approximately 48,705 families & individuals
          817 individuals took PREP class
          1,500 attended the February conference
          24,000 received marriage booklet w/their marriage licenses
          17,241 unique users accessed utahmarriage.org
          5,147 fragile family packets distributed

• Mental Health services for approximately 661 TANF eligible individuals

• Pregnancy Prevention initiatives reaching approximately 226,186 individuals

• Legal Services and intensive employment services 606 individuals

• Transportation help

• Various education and training projects approximately 9,460 individuals

• Intervention Specialist to ensure 190 families received the appropriate DWS services, access community resources to prevent recidivism, and support stability after leaving cash assistance

• Literacy project to encourage early successful education as a means to prevent future dependency on cash assistance

Provide the following information for each program (according to the nature of the benefit or service provided) for which the State claims MOE expenditures. Complete and submit this report in accordance with the attached instructions.

Family Employment Program (FEP)
Two Parent Program (FEP-TP)
Eligible Legal Alien (ineligible for TANF) (Alien)

FEP – Family Employment Program

The Family Employment Program provides cash assistance to qualifying single or incapacitated two parent families. The major benefits and services include cash payments, Food Stamps, Medicaid, training and child care needed to engage in employment activities. The employment counselor and the parent negotiate an employment plan that outlines activities that takes into consideration the applicant’s interests, skills, abilities needed to obtain and retain employment. If the customer is job-ready, activities may include on-site job connection room and immediate employment referral. If the customer has barriers to employment, activities in the employment plan are negotiated that address the barriers that prevent the customer from obtaining employment. These activities may include participation in counseling for substance abuse and/or domestic violence, workshops, or training. The employment Counselor monitors the customer’s progress in the negotiated participation activities to ensure success in the customer’s employment plan goal. Supports are provided to the customer while they are participating in the plan activities. Once the FEP family is no longer receiving cash assistance, support services may continue. Case management can continue up to 24 months to prevent recidivism and support families until such time as they are self-reliant or no longer need support services. Support services may include food stamps, discretionary funds, medical, child care, etc.

FEP-TP – Family Employment Program – Two Parent Program

The FEP Two-Parent Program serves two-parent households, where neither parent is incapacitated. This program serves unemployed and underemployed households where a child (or an unborn child) has at least two parents who reside in the household, and those parents are both capable of earning at least $500 a month. Except where noted below, FEP-TP follows FEP eligibility rules.

FEP-TP provides financial assistance on a short-term basis. The program allows cash assistance for seven of any thirteen-month period. FEP-TP contains very strict participation standards to help ensure that households become self -supporting as soon as possible with the number of participation hours pre-set for each parent. Both parents are required to develop an employment plan. Participation includes activities such as: community work sites, job search activities, short-term skill training, and basic adult education.

Both parents must understand the FEP-TP requirements and the consequences of not meeting the requirements. Families receiving FEP-TP may also receive Medicaid under this program type.

Aliens –Eligible Legal Aliens
Refer to #2 above.

The family must have a dependent child who is either a U.S. citizen (this includes customers who have been naturalized) or an alien who is lawfully admitted to reside permanently in the U.S. Aliens granted legal temporary or legal permanent status under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act are not eligible for TANF funding for five years from their adjustment date. These families are served with state funds.
Generally, FEP rules apply. The primary person on the grant has an expectation to participate in employment planning activities. Participation requirements may include such activities as ESL, working towards citizenship.

FEP – The purpose of FEP is to provide temporary cash assistance and other supportive services offered by DWS until the customer can obtain employment in the labor market or other means available to become self reliant.

FEP-TP & Aliens – The purpose these services is temporary cash assistance and other supportive services offered by DWS to assistant the recipients towards employment in the labor market or other means available to become self-reliant.

FEP-TP & Aliens These programs are separate State programs and funded by State general funds

5. Description of Work Activities (Complete only if this program is a separate State program):

FEP-TP– Two Parent Program participation activities include community work sites, job search activities, short-term skill training, and basic adult education. Hours of participation required are 40 hours for the primary parent, 20 hours for the secondary parent.

Eligible Legal Alien – Participation activities include job search activities, short-term skill training, ESL classes, appropriate cultural assimilation workshops.

6. Total State Expenditures for the Programs for the Fiscal Year 2004: $ 24,889,035

7. Total State MOE Expenditures under the Programs for the Fiscal Year2004: $24,889,035

8. Total number of families served under the Program with MOE Funds:
FEP – 9,535
FEP-TP & Aliens - 44

This last figure represents (check one):

9. Financial Eligibility Criteria for Receiving MOE-funded Program Benefits or Services:

FEP – Income at or below 100% of poverty, child support enforcement, $2000 or less assets, $8000 equity vehicle asset, participation in employment planning and appropriate activities.

FEP-TP – Same criteria, in addition one parent must participate 40 hours a week and the other parent participates 20 hours a week
Aliens – Same criteria as FEP

10. Prior Program Authorization: Was this program authorized and allowable under prior law? (check one)

Yes _X_ No ___

11. Total Program Expenditures in FY 1995: _________________________
(NOTE: provide only if response on question 10 is No)
This certifies that all families for which the State claims MOE expenditures for the fiscal year 2004 meet the State's criteria for "eligible families."