Virginia Department of Social Services

Virginia Department of Social Services Overview of the Division of Benefit Programs for the State Board of Social Services December 10, 2014

Mission To design and implement financial assistance programs that provide quality services to assist needy low-income Virginians.

Organization • Virginia is a state-supervised, locally administered social services system • State develops policy and regulations and provides training, technical assistance and sub-recipient monitoring • Localities determine eligibility for assistance based on state developed policy and regulation • 120 local social services agencies in Virginia

Assistance Programs • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamp) • Medical Assistance • Medicaid • Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) • Energy Assistance • General Relief

TANF • Provides cash and other assistance to eligible needy families with children • Funded through an annual $158 million federal block grant • The state has flexibility to design programs that address the needs of Virginia’s low-income families. • State is required to spend $128 millionannuallyin state funds (Maintenance of Effort.) • This represents 75% of the amount the state spent on welfare spending in 1994.

TANF • TANF programs must meet the following federal requirements: • Must assure children can be cared for in their own homes or homes of relatives; • Must end dependence of parents on government benefits by promoting work and marriage; • Must reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and • Must encourage the formation of two-parent families.

TANF • There is a 60-month federal lifetime limit on receipt of cash assistance; 2-year state limit. • Recipients must participate in a program to enhance their employability as a condition of eligibility for assistance, unless exempt. • Virginia’s work component is the Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW.) • State must have 50% of recipients in an allowable work activity or face federal sanctions. • Most TANF benefits are issued through a debit card or direct deposit.

TANF • TANF was reauthorized in 2005 – Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), should have been reauthorized again in 2010 – currently operating on a Continuing Resolution • Last reauthorization implemented significant changes in work requirements – narrowly defined work activities. • Changed the baseline for the caseload reduction credit.

TANF • TANF income eligibility threshold is eligibility is about 19% of the federal poverty limit ($320 for a family of 3.) • Virginia’s benefits are 15th lowest in the nation, only states like Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia being lower. • By comparison, Virginia ranks 8th highest in per capita income.

TANF • Funding for TANF is dependent on the state meeting a 50 percent work participation rate (WPR) – having 50 percent of all adults in an approved work activity. • Failure to meet the WPR results in a 5 percent reduction in the TANF block grant - $7.9M. • Additionally, the state must increase its MOE from 75 to 80 percent - $8M.

TANF • States can offset their 50 percent WPR with a caseload reduction credit – a percent reduction in the required WPR for each percentage reduction in the caseload since 2005. • FFY 2011, the most recent data available, Virginia’s WPR was 44 percent. • The revised target based on the caseload reduction credit was 37.8% percent. • Virginia has met the WPR every time the feds have released numbers, most recently in April 2014 when the 2011 numbers were released.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) • SNAP is intended to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by permitting low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet through normal channels of trade. • SNAP benefits may be used at federally approved grocery stores to purchase food or food products for home consumption, including seeds and plants that will produce food. • In Virginia, SNAP can also be used at approved Farmers’ Markets and direct marketing farmers.

SNAP • SNAP benefits are accessed electronically through a card similar to a debit card. • SNAP Benefits are 100% federally funded. • The average monthly caseload for SFY 14 was 451,000 households. • For SFY 14 SNAP expenditures exceeded $1.4 billion. • According to USDA, every $5 in SNAP expenditures generates $9.20 in total economic activity in a community.

SNAP • Between July 2007 and August 2013 the SNAP caseload increased over 98 percent, from 232,000 cases to over 460,000 cases. • Nearly 1 million Virginians rely on SNAP each month to meet their nutritional needs – nearly I of every 8 Virginians • Virginia has been under a court order since 1991 to process 97 percent of all SNAP applications timely.

SNAP • Congress passed the Agriculture Act of 2014 in February reauthorizing the Farm Bill for 5 more years. • The biggest change was a change to the “Heat and Eat” provision.

SNAP • In 2012, Virginia was awarded a $2.3M high performance bonus by USDA for having the most improved payment error rate in the nation in FFY 2011. • In 2013, we received another $2M high performance bonus for having one of the best payment error rates in the nation in FFY 2012. • In 2014, Virginia received a $1.7M high performance bonus for having the best payment error rate in the nation at .44%

Medicaid Program • Provides medical insurance to income eligible individuals who meet one of the following categories: • Individuals who are aged (over 65), blind or disabled; • Individuals in need of long-term (nursing home) care; • Families with children; • Pregnant women

Medicaid Program • The Department of Medical Assistance Services is the single-state agency responsible for the Medicaid Program – they have regulatory authority for the Program. • Local departments of social services determine eligibility under an MOU between DSS and DMAS. • The cost of the Medicaid Program is shared between the federal and state government. • The state’s share of the cost is determined by a federal formula that compares the state’s per capita income to the national per capita income.

Medicaid Program • The federal share will never be less than 50% of the costs. • In Virginia, the federal government pays 52% of the costs. • In SFY 2012, total program expenditures will be nearly $8 billion.

Medicaid Program • The Patient Protection and Affordable and Affordable Care Act proposed to cover 400,000 additional Virginians through an expansion of the Medicaid Program. • The expansion would eliminate categorical eligibility requirements and cover all Virginians between 19 and 64 with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty limit. • The federal share of the cost of the expansion group is 100 percent the first 2 years, decreasing to 90% in 2020.

Medicaid • The Supreme Court ruled that states could not be mandated to expand their Medicaid Programs. • Virginia has opted not to expand Medicaid, appointing a Commission to monitor the implementation of “comprehensive, value-driven, market based reforms of the Virginia Medicaid/FAMIS Programs” that will control program costs. • Stanley amendment prohibits Medicaid expansion without General Assembly approval.

Medicaid • Overdue Medicaid renewals are a problem in Virginia. • Due to the caseload increase in SNAP, some local departments of social services did not complete Medicaid renewals in order to process SNAP applications timely. • The majority of the problem is confined to 9 local agencies (73%).

Medicaid • Challenges: • Timely Application Processing • Timely Renewal Processing

Medicaid • Challenges primarily in response to the implementation of the ACA, especially in Northern VA • 62% increase in applications in the first 9 months, largely influenced by Medicaid expansion in Maryland and DC • Also challenges with implementing a new eligibility system

FAMIS • FAMIS is Virginia's program that provides the children in working families who are not eligible for Medicaid with health insurance (Virginia’s SCHIP Program.) • DMAS is the regulatory authority. • Children are eligible if their family income is below 200% of the federal poverty level. • The federal government pays 65% of the cost of FAMIS, the state pays the balance. • The majority of FAMIS cases are processed by a central processing unit.

FAMIS • Governor McAuliffe’s Healthy Virginia Plan • Expands FAMIS eligibility to the children of low-wage state employees.

Energy Assistance • There are three components to the Energy Assistance Program • Fuel Assistance helps pay for winter heating costs • Crisis helps pay for repair or replacement of heating equipment (November – March) • Cooling helps pay for summer cooling costs (June 15 – August 15)

Energy Assistance • The Energy Assistance Program is funded through a federal block grant. • For FFY 2014, Virginia received $90 million.

General Relief • The GR program is a local option designed to provide maintenance or emergency assistance that cannot be provided through other assistance programs. • Due to budget reductions all components of the GR Program except for Unattached Children – children living with a non-relative – were eliminated.

General Relief • General Relief is funded through a combination of state (62.5%) and local (37.5%) funds. • In SFY 2014, expenditures for General Relief were $ .5 million.

Issues • Eligibility Modernization • TANF – General Assembly enacted legislation restrict the use of TANF benefits at undesirable location and for undesirable purchases. • SNAP participation

Virginia Department of Social Services