FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1993
Contact: David Siegel (202) 401-9215
Illinois Welfare Demonstration
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today approved a welfare reform demonstration
in Illinois which seeks to encourage adults receiving welfare to become employed
or increase their existing earnings while receiving benefits under the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.
The demonstration is intended to "encourage welfare families to work by letting
them keep more income than is generally allowed under existing AFDC rules and
regulations," Secretary Shalala said. "This represents a key goal, shared by the
Clinton administration, to make work pay for low-income families. We are committed
to working closely with the state to make this effort a success."
The demonstration will enable the state to continuously disregard two-thirds
of the income earned by a working AFDC recipient when monthly AFDC benefits are
calculated. The current rules disregard $30 and one-third of such income for a
maximum period of four months and $30 for eight additional months. Support services
such as child care and transportation will be included in the demonstration to
facilitate a recipient's work effort.
Mary Jo Bane, HHS' assistant secretary for children and families, said, "The
effect of this demonstration will be to let working AFDC families keep more of
their earned income, increasing the benefits of work. I look forward to reviewing
the results of the Illinois demonstration in the days ahead."
The Illinois demonstration will operate for a period of four years and will
include a rigorous evaluation utilizing random assignment to control and experimental
groups.
HHS also approved a waiver today to allow Virginia to conduct an AFDC demonstration.
Since Jan. 20, the department has approved seven AFDC and Medicaid waivers, including
approvals for Wisconsin, Georgia, Wyoming, Iowa and Vermont.
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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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