One state lawmaker wants to make what he calls incremental mid-course corrections to the state's financial assistance program, known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.
Critics say there is nothing incremental about the new legislation.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports.
New Hampshire, like every state, converted its welfare program in the mid-90's- into a program that trained people to obtain and retain employment.
Under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, people have to work 30 hours a week, but states have the flexibility to define what exactly qualifies as work.
In New Hampshire, adult basic education, English as a second language, post-secondary education and vocational education all count.
But Weare Representative Neal Kurk says those are exactly the kinds of provision that are inefficient uses of taxpayer dollars.
He says a study out of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggests there is plenty of room to improve New Hampshire's TANF program.
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:48 it was determined that NH, between '96 and '03...that NH experienced a 34% decline in its welfare rolls, which is quite an achievement. However, we were 45th in the nation. In other words, all of the other states saw a greater decline in their welfare rolls...than in NH.
Kurk says his bill, which he introduced in the House Health and Human Services Committee, will get people to work more quickly.
In addition to eliminating vocational education and other similar programs as activities that count towards weekly work goals, he would make it easier to kick someone out of TANF.
And possibly the bill's showcase provision- which Kurk admits is largely symbolic- would not allow a mother to receive additional aid if she had a child while in the program.
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2:38 the extent that some of these may seem more like sticks than carrots, I would suggest to you, that it's appropriate for NH to adopt what I would call a tough love policy with respect ot welfare.
Representative Hilda Sokol called the bill punitive.
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1:03 it would be the parent who is required to work 30 hours a week, that it can't include getting education, getting English language help, and even secondary education help; b/c that will make it possible for them to get the jobs that they need.
Sokol and others worry absent training, TANF recipients couldn't secure good enough paying jobs to get their families out of poverty.
Representative Kurk says lawmakers have an obligation to focus just as much on the tax payer as the person getting aid.
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2:12 when we are spending people's money, to provide benefits to other people and we are transferring money from one group to another group of citizens, it has to appear fair to the payers...And perceiving it's fair in this case is if a citizen is in fact working...that we don't have situations- and I know this doesn't exist, I am exaggerating- a four year college degree at the state's expense b/c they are on welfare.
Kurk says he is concerned about the people barely scarping by, but not eligible for TANF.
Maryann Broshak recently retired as director of the Division of Family Assistance at HHS.
She is also the architect of the state's original TANF program.
Broshak says most of those people currently scrapping by have probably received TANF in the past.
On top of that, she says state services are available to everyone.
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:09 There are programs under the workforce investment act at the NH one-stop centers that are available to all NH residents for training, post-secondary education, job placement, resume writing, help in doing interviews, and those are available to everyone.
And Broshak disputes Kurk's premise that the Cato Institute study reveals weaknesses in the state's program.
W
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:32 ... The assertion that NH was number 45 in the nation for reduction in TANF caseloads, the thing to remember about caseload reduction is when we started, we had one of the lowest per-capita rates...in the country, and when you are good, it's hard to have a high percentage of improvement.
The Department of Health and Human Services is not taking a position.
HHS attorney Lisa Britt Solsky says, however, she's not sure TANF has problems that are identified in the bill.
If anything, she says, TANF is working well.
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1:05 ... So much so that in 4 of the last five years, we have been awarded performance bonuses, and that is not just a plaque on the wall. That's money. Bonuses have totaled over 30 million dollars in the last 5 years. 3 of those bonuses were for success in the workforce.
The Legislature is expected to debate measure over the coming weeks.
But Solsky points out neither side should get too attached to any plan, Congress is also expected to make changes in the near future.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
