FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 2, 2002
Contact: ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215

HHS AWARDS $200 MILLION IN BONUS PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR LEADERSHIP IN "WELFARE TO WORK"

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $200 million in bonus payments to states which performed best in helping welfare recipients move toward employment in fiscal year 2000. Secretary Thompson also announced more than 931,000 welfare recipients found new jobs during the fiscal year 2000 performance year.

The $200 million in bonuses this year will go to 26 states and the District of Columbia. The annual bonus was enacted as part of the 1996 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Bonuses are awarded to the top 10 performing states in each of four work measures related to moving welfare recipients to work and sustaining their success in the workforce. These measures are: job entry rate, success in the workforce rate (combination of a job retention rate and an earnings gain rate), improvement in the job entry rate, and improvement in the success in the workforce rate.

Overall, 46 percent of unemployed adult welfare recipients entered the work force in fiscal year 2000 compared to 43 percent in 1999.

"The hard work and investments in helping welfare recipients move toward self-sufficiency continues to pay off," Secretary Thompson said. "As the administration and Congress move toward reauthorization of the TANF program, I encourage states to redouble their efforts to reach those faced with more barriers to employment and provide them with the help they need to support themselves and their children."

The states ranked the highest in each category were Montana (job entry), Arizona (job retention and earnings), Iowa (largest improvement in job entry) and Nevada (largest improvement in job retention and earnings gain).

"With the help of our state partners and new partnerships with employers, we have been able to dispel this myth that adults on welfare don't want to work," said Wade Horn, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "It is crucial that as we move toward reauthorization that we maintain the momentum of these past five years and find creative ways to encourage and help adults access the skills and services needed to become self-sufficient."

Dr. Horn also noted that: "This report defies the predictions that the remaining people on welfare would be harder to employ and less likely to go to work. This clearly hasn't happened, and we should keep our focus on investing in people. State investments in activities such as job training, child care, substance abuse treatment, transportation and career counseling can continue to reduce the welfare rolls and increase the number of parents working to support their children."

The bonus must be used to carry out purposes of the TANF program, including a range of supportive services to overcome barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.

The states receiving bonuses and the amount of their bonuses are:

STATE	BONUS AMOUNT
Arizona	$ 2,484,131
California	$ 41,701,720
Connecticut	$ 13,339,405
District of Columbia	$ 4,630,491
Hawaii	$ 4,945,239
Idaho	$ 1,080,734
Indiana	$ 10,339,955
Iowa	$ 6,575,248
Kentucky	$ 9,064,383
Louisiana	$ 8,198,599
Minnesota	$ 2,993,030
Missouri	$ 10,852,587
Montana	$ 2,276,700
Nebraska	$ 648,101
Nevada	$ 2,198,838
New Hampshire	$ 430,231
New Mexico	$ 6,305,158
North Dakota	$ 1,319,990
Rhode Island	$ 4,751,079
South Dakota	$ 740,843
Texas	$ 24,312,838
Utah	$ 3,841,461
Vermont	$ 2,367,659
Washington	$ 13,681,956
West Virginia	$ 5,508,816
Wisconsin	$ 14,320,736
Wyoming	$ 1,089,072

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.