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Rhode Island’s Caseload Reduction Credit in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (RI Works) Program

Rhode Island’s Caseload Reduction Credit in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (RI Works) Program. FFY12 [ffy11 data] . Caseload Reduction Credit (CRC). The Caseload Reduction Credit is/are the credit(s) states receive for reducing TANF caseloads from year to year.

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Rhode Island’s Caseload Reduction Credit in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (RI Works) Program

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  1. Rhode Island’s Caseload Reduction Credit in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (RI Works) Program FFY12 [ffy11 data]

  2. Caseload Reduction Credit (CRC) • The Caseload Reduction Credit is/are the credit(s) states receive for reducing TANF caseloads from year to year. • The CRC earned by each state is applied toward the national performance measure targets for TANF: the Work Participation Rate (WPR). • The minimum required WPR = 50% for “all families” and 90% for “two-parent families”.

  3. CRC Basics • When a state’s credit(s) are subtracted from the required WPR, actual parent participation in TANF countable activities must meet or exceed the difference. • Example: if a state’s “all families” CRC = 35%, actual parent participation must meet or exceed 15% to achieve the 50% target. • States are subject to potential financial penalties for failing to meet minimum WPR.

  4. CRC Basics (2) • The Caseload Reduction Credit has two components: actual caseload decline from year to year, discounting any policy changes that contributed to the decline, and an extra credit when the state funds programs serving low income families above its required minimum, called Maintenance of Effort (MOE). • RI’s required MOE = $64,391,515.

  5. Extra Credit for Excess MOE • In FFY 11, RI identified excess MOE of $172,636 total, of which $45,020 was attributable to assistance categories. • The “extra credit” is derived by dividing the excess MOE on assistance by the cost per case on assistance, which was $5,076. • $45,020/$5,076 = 9 cases (which are credited as if they were part of a caseload decline).

  6. Caseload • To calculate caseload decline, FFY 2005 is the federally established baseline. FFY 2005 caseload = 13,250 FFY 2011 caseload = 6,547 Decline = 6,703 Extra MOE Credit = + 9 Adjusted FFY11 = 6,712 Caseload Decline

  7. Net Policy Changes (1) • Since 2005, five policy changes were made affecting eligibility, and therefore, caseload. 1. October ’06 – Employment Plan was made a Condition of Eligibility 2. September ’06 and March ’10 – Full Family Sanction months reduced

  8. Net Policy Changes (2) • October ’08 – Elimination of Cash Assistance to Families in which both Parents and Children had exceeded 60 months of assistance. • July ’09 and June ’10 – New Time Limits (implementation first occurred for families exceeding the 48 month lifetime limit; then for those exceeding the 24 months in any 60 months periodic limit)

  9. Net Policy Changes (3) • July ’09 – Hardship criteria’s new flexible category utilized to assist unemployed families • The effect of 5 policy changes combined = a monthly average impact of 95 cases (which are deducted from the adjusted caseload decline as the cases would have been in the caseload were the policies never changed).

  10. Caseload Net Policy Impact Adjusted FFY 2011 Caseload Decline = 6,712 Net Policy Changes = - 95 Final Adjusted Decline = 6,617 CRC = the Final Adjusted Decline divided by the 2005 Caseload (6167/13,250) = 49.9%

  11. Actual Parent Participation • The “all families” minimum required participation rate = 50%; the “2-parent” rate = 90%. • RI’s Caseload Reduction Credit = 49.9%, leaving a difference of .1%. • The difference between the CRC and the minimum required rate(s) must be covered by the actual parent participation rates or the state is subject to potential penalty.

  12. Work Participation Rate (1) • Parent participation in TANF countable activities must average 20 or 30 hours per week in a month, depending upon the age of the youngest child, in single parent households, or average 35 hours per week in 2-parent households. • Those who participate for their average hours (minus excused absences) constitute the numerator of the WPR.

  13. Work Participation Rate (2) • The denominator of the “all families” WPR = all one-parent and two-parent families, excluding those one-parent families caring for a child under the age of one and excluding those families in sanction status. • Families with parents receiving SSI or families with kinship care arrangements where the relative is not receiving cash assistance are also excluded from the denominator.

  14. Work Participation Rate (3) • The FFY11 Parent Participation Rate calculation is official only through the Administration for Children & Families. • RI’s estimate of the FFY11 “all families” and “2-parent” participation rates is 10.0%. • RI is expected to meet the “all families” WPR target for FFY11 but miss the “2-parent” target.

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