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Date: Monday, June 10, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Kharfen (202)401-9215
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced approval of "Welfare to Work," a statewide welfare demonstration project for Maine. Maine is the 39th state to receive approval for a welfare waiver under the Clinton Administration.
Welfare to Work will test provisions designed to promote work by able-bodied adults and reduce the amount of time families are dependent on welfare. It extends critical child care and health care services to support the transition to work, and requires teen parents to live with a parent or another responsible adult.
"Maine's project reflects the President's principles for welfare reform: requiring work, promoting parental responsibility and protecting children," said Secretary Shalala. "While the Clinton Administration remains committed to national reform legislation, we will continue to grant states the flexibility they need to achieve welfare reform now."
Welfare to Work requires Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients to sign a personal responsibility contract outlining commitments to work, cooperate with child support enforcement, attend parenting classes, and ensure health check-ups and immunizations for their children. There are sanctions for failure to comply.
Unmarried parents under 18 will be required to live in an adult-supervised setting. Benefits will be issued in the form of
vouchers paid directly to individuals or companies to cover the cost of rent and utilities, with the remainder going to a responsible adult on the teen parent's behalf. When there are no rent or utility costs, the entire AFDC cash benefit will be paid to the responsible adult.
To encourage the transition to work, AFDC recipients who get jobs will be eligible for up to 12 months of transitional Medicaid and child care benefits after one month on AFDC. There will be a nominal, flat-rate fee for transitional child care services. Families may own one automobile, regardless of value.
To help families otherwise eligible for AFDC get through a financial crisis without needing to rely on welfare, families can opt to receive a one-time lump sum voucher payment equal to up to three months' AFDC cash benefits.
A second component of Welfare to Work, "ASPIRE-Plus," will be piloted in nine counties. It will help AFDC recipients move into private sector jobs by combining the cash value of their AFDC and Food Stamp benefits to partially subsidize job placements for up to six months. Also, child support payments will be sent directly to the family and, except for the first $50, counted as income.
"Maine is giving welfare families a real chance to support their children," said Mary Jo Bane, assistant secretary for children and families. "This promising plan will help Maine families turn a welfare check into a paycheck."
Maine's waiver will operate for five years and include a rigorous evaluation.