New Grant Opportunity Supports Job Creation for Low-Income Individuals

A new grant opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services seeks to create job opportunities for low-income individuals. Providing up to $16 million in grants to Community Development Corporations (CDCs), the Community Economic Development(CED) fund seeks to support projects that create employment and business opportunities to address the economic needs of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals and families.

Under the CED program, all businesses and positions created must support a service area with unemployment and poverty rates that are at or above the State or national levels. The CED program also seeks to fund projects that address the personal and community barriers that must be overcome to help low-income individuals become self-sufficient. In addition, the CED program allows grantees to use funds to create start-up businesses provided that the expenditures result in the creation of positions that can be filled with low-income individuals.

ACF plans to implement a federally sponsored evaluation strategy to assess the success of CED demonstration projects funded through this grant program. The Federal evaluation strategy will include grantee-level documentation of activities, outputs and outcomes. All funded grantees will be required to participate fully in a Federal evaluation(s) and to follow all evaluation protocols established by ACF.

The application due date for this exciting funding opportunity is July 11, 2011. 

Lessons Learned from TANF Emergency Fund Support of Subsidized Employment

CLASP and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently released a report, Creating Subsidized Employment Opportunities for Low-Income Parents: The Legacy of the TANF Emergency Fund, that is based on their telephone survey of the subsidized employment programs funded all or in part with the TANF Emergency Fund. These programs, many of which were in operation for less than two years, were able to place about 260,000 low-income individuals in subsidized jobs.   Thirty-nine states and D.C. had created new subsidized employment programs or expanded existing ones by the time the TANF Emergency Fund expired on September 30, 2010.

The report hihglights specific policy implications based on lessons learned from state experiences:

It is possible (though challenging) to get large-scale, countercyclical job creation programs up and running relatively quickly and to engage the private sector in creating job opportunities.


Subsidized jobs targeted to disadvantaged individuals benefit not only participating workers and businesses but also entire communities and society at large.


Flexibility makes success possible in many different environments.


New targeted funding can provide the catalyst for innovation and increased collaboration.


Subsidized employment programs can be implemented at reasonable cost.


Subsidized employment programs serve a variety of purposes; their performance should be judged on measures that are consistent with their purpose.

 For more information.

The End of a Crucial Support for Children and Families

Marking the end of a crucial support for children and families, the TANF Emergency Fund officially expired on September 30, 2010. Since December 2009, the Financing Community Change blog has documented the importance of the TANF Emergency Fund in creating jobs, fighting unemployment rates, and providing short term, non-recurrent aid to families in times of need. 

Led by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Robert Casey (D-Penn) and John Kerry (D-Mass), a stop-gap measure was proposed on September 28^th to extend the program for three months. The bill would have also provided $500 million for the TANF opportunity. Unfortunately, the Senators were unable to garner “unanimous consent” as Republican leadership in the Senate refused to include the measure in the Continuing Resolution, which extends government operations until all FY2011 budget bills pass.

Some states, however, are still expected to continue their TANF efforts despite the recent setback. In Illinois, Governor Quinn will use state money to support subsidized jobs program until the end of November. The Governor is hopeful that the Senate will reconsider the TANF Emergency Fund extension after recess. 

Find out more about the TANF Emergency Fund from the Center for Law and Social Policy. 


Resources: 
Walking Away from a Win-Win-Win, The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities 

Short-term uses for TANF Emergency Funds

Though the deadline for using TANF Emergency Funds is approaching, States still have the opportunity to use these funds for short-term non-recurrent supports that would be critical to struggling families at this time. Authorized through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the TANF Emergency Fund provides additional funding to states for increased expenditures in basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, and subsidized employment for federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Funds can be used to provide any benefits and services to families that comply with the four statutory purposes of the TANF program, which are: 1) to provide assistance to needy families so that children may be care for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; 2) to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; 3) to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and 4) to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

States may submit initial applications for funding from the Emergency Fund for federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010 at any point until September 1, 2010. As of July 22, 2010, 47 states have already been awarded a total of $4.056 billion from the Emergency Fund.

At this stage, states that still have money available should consider using funds for short-term non-recurrent benefits. Some examples of these benefits are supporting families with children going back to school with school supplies, providing for back to work expenses such as tools and uniforms, or assisting with education and trainings costs. States can also provide lump sums to clients needing emergency assistance such as rent & utility payments, shelters, car repairs, and domestic violence services. Recently, ACF also provided guidance for using TANF to support local food banks in the Questions and Answers for the TANF Emergency Fund.

For additional information, please see the following resources:

Ten Ways to Use Short Term TANF Benefits and (Mostly) Federal Money to Help Low-Income Families and Children, NCSL

The Role of TANF as a Safety Net, Statement by Carmen Nazario, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, before the Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, March 11, 2010

Renewed Support for the TANF Emergency Fund

The TANF Emergency Fund was given new life recently with H.R. 5893, introduced July 28, 2010. Under the “Investing in American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010”, the fund will be renamed The Emergency Fund for Job Creation and Assistance. According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, states could receive up to 30 percent of their adjusted block grant during FY 2011. The provision is expected to cost $3.5 billion over 10 years.

Find out how much your state could receive under H.R. 5893 here.

Helping Families Avoid Homelessness through the TANF Emergency Fund

A new report, Using TANF Emergency Funds to Help Prevent and Address Family Homelessness, authored by Liz Schott, describes the opportunity for states, localities, and service providers to combat homelessness using the TANF Emergency Fund. Providing specific state by state examples, the report describes how 15 states are drawing on TANF Emergency Fund reimbursements to provide short-term, non-recurrent aid to families in the form of case management services, rent or mortgage payment assistance, and re-housing assistance. For example, through the TANF Emergency Fund, New Jersey was able to expand its’ existing Social Services for the Homeless (SSH) program, which provides much needed support for residents who are at risk of homelessness but are ineligible for cash assistance. Unfortunately, the TANF Emergency Fund is set to expire on September 30, 2010. Congress is still considering a one-year extension to this vital support for children and families.

Healthcare Employment Training Grant for Low-income Individuals

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants to Serve TANF Recipients and Other Low-income Individuals is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the health reform legislation signed into law by President Obama in the spring). Administered by DHHS’s Administration for Children and Families, this grant provides an opportunity to develop demonstration projects that will provide education and training to state TANF- eligible and other low-income individuals (as defined by the applicant) in the healthcare sector.


The application deadline is August 5, 2010.

Competitive applications will describe programs that would:

• Offer targeted training in health care occupations that pay well and are either expected to experience labor shortages or will be in high demand.

• Support career pathways

• Result in an employer- or industry- recognized certificate or degree

• Provide support services (such as transportation and child care) and integrate basic skills training with occupational training to help participants overcome barriers to successful program participation and employment

• Be accessible to participants

Applicants are strongly encouraged to design projects that meet the needs of the target populations they serve and to investigate other program models that have been proven to result in positive outcomes for participants. Successful applications will also include partnerships entities including employers, vocational training providers, nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and foundations. Applicants are also required to show that they have consulted with the state agency administering TANF, the Local Workforce Investment Board, and the State Apprenticeship Agency.

Importantly, this funding is for new programming. 51 million dollars have been made available under this grant, with grants ranging from 1 million to 5 million. Applicants have to show that the grant, if received, would not be used to supplant other Federal, State, or local funds that would have otherwise been made available. Nor can the applicant seek to simply expand or augment a current federally or grant funded program.

Eligible applicants are states, local workforce investment boards, institutes of higher education, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, tribal colleges and universities, a sponsor of a registered apprenticeship program, and community- based organizations.

The full announcement can be found here.

What's Next for the TANF Emergency Fund Extension?

TANF Emergency Fund supporters everywhere were disappointed last week when the jobs (“extenders”) bill failed to pass in the Senate. With a vote of 57 to 41, the $100 billion-plus package included a crucial extension of the TANF Emergency Fund beyond September 30, 2010-the fund's expiration date. Over the past few months, supporters have consistenly argued that states will begin to wind down programs supported by these funds if TANF is not extended. This will ultimately affect work placement and training, summer jobs programs, and other vital supports to families including utility and food assistance. It is unclear whether the bill will be picked up again after the Fourth of July recess.

To follow the progress of the TANF Emergency Fund, go to CLASP's page on this issue.

TANF Emergency Fund Extension Still Pending

On May 28, 2010, by a vote of 215 to 204, the House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act(H.R. 4213), which extends the TANF Emergency Fund beyond September 2010. On June 8th, the Senate released its' amendment to the bill providing $2.5 billion for FY 2011 and allowing states to access up to 30 percent of their block grant. This is great news for advocates as the TANF Emergency Fund has been widely regarded as a vital support for families all across the country. States have been using additional funding from the TANF Emergency Fund to increase expenditures in basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, and subsidized employment.

Find out more about the TANF extension and visit the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance website for the full text of the amendment.

TANF Emergency Extension May be Linked to Unemployement Insurance Extension

Funding for two vital supports for poor and working families may be part of a single bill moving through the Senate in the next month. Look for the jobs (“extenders”) bill to include both the extension of Unemployment Insurance and COBRA benefits, as well as the extension of the TANF Emergency Fund. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities issued a statement earlier this week explaining that the two would likely be linked together as the best strategy to keep the TANF Emergency Fund extension moving forward.

An extension of the TANF Emergency Fund passed the House last month as part of a small business jobs bill (H.R. 4849). At this point, there are Democratic leaders in the Senate who plan to advance a Senate version of the bill during the month of May or later in the summer. In March, the House and Senate both passed a two-month extension of Unemployment Insurance and COBRA benefits through June 2, 2010 as part of the jobs bill. The final jobs bill is expected to be finalized before Memorial Day. Because this time line is more accelerated, advocates are urging legislators to add the TANF EF extension to the jobs-related bill.
It is particularly important that both Unemployment Insurance Benefits and TANF Emergency funds are extended now. Unemployment Benefits are paid directly to out of work Americans from State Unemployment Insurance Trust Funds. Unemployment Benefits were extended under ARRA to provide more support to states and extend the time families out of work could receive this critical benefit. Millions of Americans are out of work and relying on Unemployment Benefits to pay for mortgages, food and health care.

The extension of the TANF Emergency Fund is also critical to states and to low income and working people. The TANF Emergency Fund reimbursed states up to 80% for short-term, non re-occurring benefits or subsidized employment for eligible households. If the TANF emergency is not extended by June 1st, states will stop making new placements and begin to wind down programs supported by these funds. This may affect work placement and training, summer jobs programs, and other support to families including utility and food assistance.
To follow the progress of the TANF Emergency Fund, go to CLASP's page on this issue. To follow action on Unemployment Insurance Benefits, go to the National Employment Law Project.

The House Passes the TANF Emergency Fund Extension

Yesterday, by a vote of 246-178,the House passed H.R. 4849, “The Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010,” which will provide a full one year extension of the TANF Emergency Fund.

Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the TANF Emergency Fund provides additional funding to states for increased expenditures in basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, and subsidized employment for federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The TANF Emergency Fund is being used in 35 states and is reportedly on track to put over 160,000 Americans back to work. Although the TANF Emergency Fund has been a valuable tool for providing assistance to needy families, the funding opportunity is set to expire on September 10, 2010 and has become a major priority amongst policymakers.

Here are the TANF Emergency Fund provisions in H.R. 4849:

• The House Bill provides $2.5 billion dollars for a full year extension of the TANF Emergency Fund, which matches the President’s 2011 Budget Proposal.
• The maximum amount that a state can receive under the TANF Emergency Fund or the regular Contingency Fund for 2011 is 30 percent of the state's Block Grant amount.
•  The House provision does not include all of the changes that the President's budget proposal had included; specifically, it does not raise the subsidized employment reimbursement to 100 percent and it does not add a fourth category of employment services.
• The provision also specifies that the subsidized employment category can include a member of a needy family (whether or not receiving TANF cash assistance) or an individual that has exhausted or will soon exhaust all Unemployment Insurance benefits and who is needy (regardless of whether the household includes a child). This will allow states to serve childless adults as part of their TANF ECF-funded subsidized employment programs.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill after next week's recess and we'll be closely tracking the bill's progress.

For more information.

Creating Jobs with the TANF Emergency Fund

To fight high unemployment rates in their communities, many states are accessing the TANF Emergency Fund to provide jobs to their residents. Authorized through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the TANF Emergency Fund provides additional funding to states for increased expenditures in basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, and subsidized employment for federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Financed through public funds, subsidized employment is designed to provide a bridge to future, permanent employment by providing employees with needed work-place training, work experience, and connections to employers.

This provides an enormous opportunity for states to get creative in meeting the employment needs of struggling families. States receive reimbursement for 80 percent of subsidized employment costs over their base period for the full range of expenses related to a subsidized employment program. States can claim reimbursement for subsidized employment positions for TANF families or a state can choose to serve a broader group of low-income families with children, including noncustodial parents. The reimbursable costs include the actual wage subsidy as well as the costs of workplace benefits, supervision and training, and administrative costs.

To meet the twenty percent portion of the increase that is not reimbursed by TANF ARRA funds, states may partner with “third-party” organizations. HHS has stated that expenditures from entities other than the state can count as state expenditures for the purpose of the TANF “maintenance-of-effort” (MOE) requirement. Since TANF Emergency Funds are available to reimburse states for increases in TANF or MOE spending, states can use this “third-party MOE” option to partner with local government entities and nongovernmental organizations to provide benefits or services to families. Claiming third-party spending as MOE does not require that the services or funds be transferred to the state; rather, the state must have a written agreement with the third-party allowing the state to count the expenditure toward its MOE requirement.

Several states and localities are creating or expanding subsidized employment programs using the TANF Emergency Fund. Some states are choosing to focus job creation efforts on areas of high unemployment while others are using funds to expand jobs in particular sectors. Los Angeles County’s Transitional Subsidized Employment (TSE) program has enrolled over 3000 participants in its program, providing up to 12 months of subsidized employment at a $10 per hour wage rate with non-profit and public agencies and 6 months with private entities (with the possibility of an additional six months of on-the-job training). San Francisco County has also received significant attention for its efforts through the JOBS NOW program which has placed more 1000 residents back to work since May 2009 and plans to reach 3000 by September 2010. In both cases, the cost of the employer supervision and training is used to meet the State’s 20 percent match and MOE requirement. The added benefit of designing the program in this way is that if a State assumes that supervision and training costs equal no more than 25 percent of the employee’s wage cost, HHS will accept the State’s assumption without additional documentation.

For more information on using the TANF Emergency Fund to support subsidized employment, please see the following resources:

HHS FAQs on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program Emergency Fund, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/recovery/tanf-faq.htm

The Emergency Fund for TANF Programs, Policy Announcement, TANF-ACF-PA-2009-01, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/policy/pa-ofa/2009/pa200901.htm

Clarification that third party cash or in-kind may count toward a State’s or Territory’s TANF maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement, Policy Announcement, TANF-ACF-PA-2004-01, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/policy/pa-ofa/2004/pa200401.htm

Opportunities Under the TANF Emergency Fund Created by The Federal Recovery Act, http://www.cbpp.org/files/7-29-09tanf.pdf

CLASP TANF Emergency Fund Resources,
http://www.clasp.org/issues/pages?type=temporary_assistance&id=0001

TANF Emergency Fund Update

What's the Opportunity?

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the Emergency Contingency Fund for State TANF Programs was established to support work and work activities for families. Funds are available until the end of fiscal year 2010 and require a 20% qualifying expenditure at the local level.

What are the implications for our work?

• The new funds can greatly increase services provided to your communities, much of which are TANF allowable services.
• Track the sites that are receiving funding at the Office of Family Assistance.
• Contact your State agency to make sure State officials are aware of Making Connections linkages with the target population and inquire about how to draw down allowable services.

For more information visit our TANF page.