FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, April 11, 1995
Contact: Michael Kharfen (202) 401-9215
HHS APPROVES CALIFORNIA WELFARE DEMONSTRATION
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today approved California's "AFDC and
Food Stamp Compatibility Demonstration Project," a statewide welfare
demonstration project that cuts welfare red tape and encourages work.
This is the second waiver demonstration for California approved under
the Clinton administration.
"California's demonstration is aimed at making welfare and food stamp
rules more compatible and providing additional financial incentives
for work," said Secretary Shalala. "This is the 28th welfare waiver
approved by the Clinton administration, with the goal of giving states
more flexibility in welfare reform."
Under California's demonstration, rules for welfare and food stamp
eligibility will be more uniform. The new rules will allow recipients
of Aid to Families with Dependent Children and food stamps with self-employment
income to deduct 40 percent of that income in determining eligibility
and benefit amounts. Participants in both programs will also be able
to exclude college assistance and work-study funds from the resource
limit.
The project also allows AFDC participants more reliable transportation
to and from work by allowing them to deduct $4,500 from the equity value
of a vehicle when figuring resources. It allows California's counties
flexibility in determining the method of setting the equity value, including
the use of bills of sale, state motor vehicle licensing fee schedules,
"blue book" listings and newspaper advertisements. Additionally, the
demonstration allows both AFDC and food stamp families to exclude up
to $100 in gift income each quarter.
"This project offers the opportunity to move the welfare bureaucracy
toward spending more time on recipients and less on rules," said Mary
Jo Bane, assistant secretary for children and families. "The California
welfare offices can now use these new work incentives and simpler eligibility
rules to better move recipients from dependency to self-sufficiency."
The demonstration will operate for five years, and will include a rigorous
evaluation.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials
are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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