A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK PREPARED BY: ROBERT SILVERSTEIN, J.D. DIRECTOR, THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY AND ADVANCEMENT OF DISABILITY POLICY IN THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER January 27, 2000 This paper was funded by grants from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the United States Department of Education supporting the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workforce Investment and Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities (No. H133B980042) and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on State Systems and Employment (No. H133B30067), and a grant from the The Public Welfare Foundation. The opinions contained in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education or the Public Welfare Foundation. This Paper may be reproduced for noncommercial use without prior permission if the author Robert Silverstein and the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy (CSADP), Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workforce Investment and Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on State Systems and Employment are cited. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert Silverstein, J.D. Director of The Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy. Mr. Silverstein is known nationally for his work in the area of disability policy. As staff director and chief counsel for the Subcommittee on Disability Policy of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U. S. Senate (1987-1997) and counsel to the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives (1985-1987), he was a behind-the-scenes architect of more than 20 enacted disability-related bills (including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and the 1997 Amendments to IDEA) and numerous disability-related amendments to other bills concerning health, education, welfare, job training, and civil rights. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Mr. Silverstein was co-founder of a law firm that focused on public policy analyses for Federal, State, and local officials and representation of persons with disabilities and their families. He was also the staff director of a congressionally-mandated study of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act at the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Mr. Silverstein holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. TABLE OF CONTENTS: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIIP BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK INTRODUCTION 1 A. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT 1 B. RESEARCH APPROACH AND ACTIVITIES 3 C. REPORT STRUCTURE 3 OVERVIEW OF THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK 5 A. INTRODUCTION 5 B. HISTORICAL CONTEXT 5 C. CORE PRECEPT 5 D. OVERARCHING GOALS 5 E. CORE POLICIES 6 1. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 6 a. Individualization 6 b. Genuine, Effective, and Meaningful Opportunity 7 c. Inclusion and Integration 8 2. FULL PARTICIPATION 8 a. Involvement and Choice by the Individual in Decisions Affecting the Individual 8 b. Involvement and Choice by the Individual's Family in Decisions Affecting the Individual 9 c. Involvement by Individuals and Families at the System Level Active Involvement in Policy Decisions at the System Level, Including 9 3. INDEPENDENT LIVING 10 a. Independent Living Skills Development and Specialized Planning 10 b. Long-Term Services and Supports, Including Personal Assistance Services and Supports 10 c. Cash Assistance and Other Forms of Support 11 4. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY 11 a. Systems Providing Employment-Related Services and Supports 11 b. Cash Assistance and Other Programs of Assistance 12 c. Tax Policy Providing Incentives 12 F. METHODS OF ADMINISTRATION 13 1. STATE PLANS, APPLICATIONS,WAIVERS 13 2. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 13 3. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS 13 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESULTS (OUTCOME MEASURES) 14 5. REPRESENTATION AT THE INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMS LEVELS 14 6. SINGLE LINE OF RESPONSIBILITY/COORDINATION AND LINKAGES AMONG AGENCIES 15 7. SERVICE COORDINATION (CASE MANAGEMENT) 15 8. FINANCING SERVICE DELIVERY 15 9. PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, ACCESS TO RECORDS, INFORMED CONSENT 16 10. COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT 16 11. RESPONSIVENESS TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY 16 12. FISCAL PROVISIONS 16 13. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING 16 G. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT 17 1. SYSTEMS CHANGE INITIATIVES 17 2. TRAINING OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES 17 3. TRAINING OF PERSONNEL REGARDING PROMISING PRACTICES 17 4. RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, INFORMATION DISSIMINATION 17 HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CORE PRECEPT AND OVERARCHING GOALS OF TANF 18 A. THE FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 18 B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CORE PRECEPT AND OVERARCHING GOALS IN TANF 21 EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 22 A. FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 22 B. POLICY ISSUES RELATING TO EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 27 1. At the Federal Level 27 2. At the State Level 28 GOVERNANCE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL 31 A. THE FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 31 B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING FEDERAL GOVERNANCE 32 STRUCTURE OF THE TANF PROGRAM, AUTHORIZED USES 33 A. FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 33 B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE STRUCTURE OF USES OF TANF, FUNDS 35 GOVERNANCE AT THE STATE LEVEL, INCLUDING THE STATE PLAN 36 A. OVERVIEW OF THE STATE PLAN 36 B. OVERALL PURPOSE AND CONDUCT OF THE PROGRAM 36 1. Federal Legal Framework 36 2. Policy Issues Concerning the Overall Purpose and Conduct of the Program 36 C. ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER DETERMINATIONS 37 1. The Federal Legal Framework 37 2. Policy Issues Concerning Eligibility and Other Determinations 37 D. INITIAL ASSESSMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY PLANS 39 1. Federal Legal Framework 39 2. Policy Issues Concerning Assessments and Individual Responsibility Plans 40 E. WORK AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS 42 1. Federal Legal Framework 42 2. Policy Issues Concerning Work and Participation Requirements 45 F. TIME LIMITS 46 1. Federal Legal Framework 46 2. Policy Issues Concerning the Time Limits 47 APPENDIX: POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK INTRODUCTION A. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT Historically, people with disabilities have faced attitudinal, physical, and institutional barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the mainstream of life in this country, including access to public services and employment. Recognizing these barriers, our Nation's policymakers over the last quarter of a century have enacted new laws and amended existing laws designed to break down these barriers and replace them with ladders and ramps of opportunity for persons with disabilities. The centerpiece of this effort is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), an omnibus civil rights statute. The ADA, however, is more than a civil rights statute. The ADA articulates our Nation's goals regarding public policy relating to people with disabilities: * Equality of opportunity * Full participation * Independent living * Economic self-sufficiency. On March 13, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13078, which created a Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. Recognizing the important role of the ADA the overarching purposes of the Task Force are two-fold: * To increase the employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and * To support the goals articulated in the findings and purpose section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Title I of the Act creates a new welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The overall goals of TANF include: * Providing assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives * End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. Section 2(b) of the President's Executive Order directs the Task Force to report to the President on the work of the Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services with the States and others to ensure that TANF is carried out in accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA. To date, no conceptual framework exists for reviewing and determining the extent to which TANF, as interpreted by HHS and implemented by the states and local communities, ensures the effective delivery of services to individuals with disabilities consistent with our Nation's goals relating to persons with disabilities as articulated in the ADA. The purpose of this paper is to use the basic conceptual framework of Federal disability policy described in a paper entitled Federal Disability Policy Framework: Our Nation's Goals for People with Disabilities (1999) as a lens or guidepost for identifying: * Existing Federal policies directing or encouraging states implementing TANF and related state programs to address the special needs of persons with disabilities, and * Issues for policy development, oversight, and implementation of TANF and related state programs at the Federal, State and local levels. This paper is targeted at four audiences. First, this paper provides policymakers with a conceptual framework for designing and assessing the extent to which TANF reflects the Federal disability policy framework. Second, this paper provides researchers with a policy framework for studying the extent to which TANF reflects the Federal disability policy framework. Third, this paper provides individuals with disabilities, their families, and their representatives with tools that can be used to judge the adequacy of TANF policies and procedures developed at the Federal, State, and local levels from a disability policy perspective. Fourth, this paper may be used by administrators and service providers to design, implement, and evaluate the delivery of services to persons with disabilities. B. RESEARCH APPROACH AND ACTIVITIES The research methodology included a comprehensive review of TANF statute, regulations, legislative history, and guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. The disability policy framework described in a report entitled Federal Disability Policy Framework: Our Nation's Goals for People with Disabilities (1999) was used as the basic framework for framing policy issues. Key experts in the field, including policymakers at the Federal and State levels, researchers, persons with disabilities, their families and representatives, service providers, and other persons involved in welfare reform reviewed draft documents to validate the various components of the framework. Reviewers were then, in turn, asked to suggest additional experts to review the draft. This paper reflects the input from these experts. C. REPORT STRUCTURE This report has eight sections. Section I is the introduction. Section II outlines the core components of the disability policy framework derived from Appendix 1 of the paper entitled Federal Disability Policy Framework: Our Nation's Goals for People with Disabilities (1999). Section III describes the essential provisions in the TANF legal framework articulating the goals and purposes of welfare reform and then identifies key policy issues relating to the compatibility of TANF goals with the goals of disability policy articulated in the ADA. Section IV describes the essential provisions in TANF relating to the goal of equality of opportunity and then identifies key policy issues regarding the extent to which the policies relating to equality of opportunity reflect the Federal disability policy framework. Section V describes the essential provisions in TANF relating to governance at the Federal level and then identifies key policy issues regarding the extent to which Federal governance reflects the Federal disability policy framework. Section VI describes the essential provisions in TANF concerning the structure of the program and authorized uses and then identifies key policy issues regarding the extent to which authorized uses reflects the Federal disability policy framework. Section VII describes the essential provisions in TANF relating to governance at the State level and then identifies key policy issues regarding the extent to which State governance reflects the Federal disability policy framework. Appendix 1 includes the policy questions raised throughout the paper. AN OVERVIEW OF THE DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK A. INTRODUCTION This section provides an overview of the major components of the Federal disability policy framework, including: * Statement of Findings, Historical Context * Core Precept * Overarching Goals * Core Policies * Methods of Administration * Program Support B. STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT Every major piece of disability-specific legislation enacted into law since 1975 includes a "Statement of Findings." The "Findings" section is critical because it generally describes the historical context of the legislation including, for example, the historical treatment of persons with disabilities, the nature of the problem addressed by the legislation, why the issue is important and why change is needed, and the role of the Federal government. C. CORE PRECEPT Disability is a natural and normal part of the human experience that in no way diminishes a person's right to participate fully in all aspects of life, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of the individual. D. OVERARCHING GOALS According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure: * Equality of opportunity * Full participation (empowerment) * Independent living and * Economic self-sufficiency. E. CORE POLICIES 1. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY The goal of equality of opportunity (nondiscrimination) articulated in the ADA includes three core components: individualization; genuine, effective and meaningful opportunity; and inclusion and integration. a. Individualization. Make decisions on the basis of the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of each person with a disability, including individuals with significant disabilities. Treat a person with a disability as an individual based on facts and objective evidence; not on the basis of generalizations, stereotypes, fear, ignorance, prejudice, or pernicious mythologies. Use definitions and eligibility criteria that result in even-handed treatment of a person with a particular disability and other similarly situated individuals, including nondisabled persons and persons with other disabilities. Ensure universal access to generic programs for persons with disabilities satisfying the broad, nondiscriminatory eligibility criteria. In making fact-specific decisions, use interdisciplinary assessments performed on a timely basis by qualified personnel conducted across multiple environments and use information provided by the individual with a disability and the person's family or representative. Develop individualized plans that identify and describe needs, goals, objectives, services, and accountability measures. b. Genuine, Effective, and Meaningful Opportunity. Ensure that opportunities made available to persons with disabilities are genuine, effective, and meaningful. This includes: * Providing "appropriate" services and supports that address the unique needs of the individual, not the needs of the "average" person. * Making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures unless it would fundamentally alter the nature of the program. * Providing auxiliary aids and services unless it would result in an undue hardship to the covered entity. * Providing reasonable accommodations to employees unless it would result in an undue hardship to the covered entity. * Making programs physically accessible. * Providing accessible communications. c. Inclusion and Integration. Foster the inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities in programs, projects, and activities provided by covered entities; do not unnecessarily or unjustifiably isolate or segregate them and deny them effective opportunities to interact with nondisabled persons and to participate in mainstream activities. * Administer programs, projects, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual. * Provide services in the least restrictive environment (continuum of program options). 2. FULL PARTICIPATION The second goal of disability policy articulated in the ADA is full participation. This means empowering persons with disabilities, fostering self-determination, real and informed choice, and active participation in decision-making process at the individual and system level (including self-advocacy). a. Involvement and Choice By the Individual In Decisions Affecting the Individual. Active involvement and real and informed choice of the individual with a disability in decisions directly affecting the individual, including: * Opportunity to receive information about policies that affect the individual * Assessments to be conducted * Planning to be carried out * Services and supports provided (including the right to refuse or terminate services) * Selection of service providers * Measures of progress used. b. Involvement and Choice By the Individual's Family In Decisions Affecting the Individual. Active involvement and real and informed choice of family members (under appropriate circumstances) in decisions affecting the individual with a disability and the family, including: * Opportunity to receive information about policies that affect the individual * Assessments to be conducted * Planning to be carried out * Services and supports provided (including the right to refuse or terminate services) * Selection of service providers * Measures of progress used. c. Involvement by Individuals and Families at the System Level. Active involvement in policy decisions at the system level, including: * Opportunity to comment on agency proposals and have the agency respond to comments * Participation in governing boards/councils that make or recommend policies relating to the program * Joint-sign off between public agency and governing board/council. 3. INDEPENDENT LIVING The third goal of disability policy articulated in the ADA is to foster the ability and capabilities of individuals with disabilities to live independently. a. Independent Living Skills Development and Specialized Planning. Support for independent living skill development and specialized planning, including: * Training in individual and systems advocacy * Services related to securing food, clothing, and shelter * Management of personal assistants and other support personal * Use of assistive technology devices b. Long-term Services and Supports, Including Personal Assistance Services and Supports. Support for long-term services and supports, including personal assistance services and supports necessary to enable an individual to live independently in the community, including consumer-directed and agency-directed personal assistance services and supports. c. Cash Assistance and other Forms of Support. Support for cash assistance and other programs of assistance that enable the individual to live independently in the community include, for example: * Cash assistance * Health care * Transportation * Housing * Food. 4. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY The fourth goal of disability policy articulated in the ADA is to foster the economic security, stability, and productivity of persons with disabilities consistent with their actual (not perceived) capabilities, strengths, needs, interests, and priorities. a. Systems Providing Employment-related Services and Supports. Systems providing employment-related skills and supports include, for example: * Education * Training * Self-employment (entrepeneurship) * Ongoing assistance on-the-job. b. Cash Assistance and Other Programs of Assistance. Support for cash assistance and other programs providing assistance, including for example: * Cash assistance that include worker incentive provisions * Health care * Housing * Food. c. Tax Policy Providing Incentives. Tax policy that provides incentives to employers, consistent with business objectives, to hire people with disabilities and that provides deductions and credits for employment-related expenditures enabling an individual with a disability to work include, for example: * Incentives for Employers * Incentives for Individuals with Disabilities F. METHODS OF ADMINISTRATION In addition to including a common core of policies that effectuate the goals of disability policy articulated in the ADA, the Federal legal framework includes a core set of administrative/accountability provisions. These provisions are designed to maximize the likelihood that the rights afforded in the civil rights statutes and the obligations of covered entities under entitlement and grant-in-aid programs are implemented and enforced. 1. STATE PLANS, APPLICATIONS, WAIVERS State plans and applications describe how the public agency plans to satisfy the applicable requirements, including core policies and methods of administration. Waivers provide exemptions or alternative methods of implementation, including testing the provision of new services. 2. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Monitoring and enforcement maximizes the likelihood that recipients and contractors will comply with applicable requirements and implement the program to ensure results for persons with disabilities. This includes preparing monitoring instruments, conducting monitoring reviews, issuing reports, requiring corrective action, and imposing sanctions and securing remedies for individuals. 3. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS Procedural safeguards for individuals include: * The right to notice of rights * The right to examine records * The right to file a complaint * The use of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution * Administrative due process hearings and administrative review * Redress through private right of action in court, including remedies and the awarding of attorneys fees to prevailing parties. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESULTS (OUTCOME MEASURES) Accountability for results using standards and performance indicators that reflect the expected outcomes for recipients with disabilities and the use of sanctions for failure to meet expected outcomes and rewards for exceeding expectations. 5. REPRESENTATION AT THE INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMS LEVELS Public support for representation and advocacy at the individual and systems level to ensure meaningful involvement and choice. * Systems providing protection and advocacy at the individual and systems level * Self-advocacy training 6. SINGLE LINE OF RESPONSIBILITY/COORDINATION AND LINKAGES AMONG AGENCIES Placing accountability for the administration of a program in a single agency to avoid "buckpassing." At the same time, provide mechanisms for interagency coordination and collaboration to ensure that no one "falls between the cracks" and that agencies provide for the effective delivery of services. 7. SERVICE COORDINATION (CASE MANAGEMENT) Service coordination provided to assist individuals receive necessary services when a comprehensive array of services are required and such services are provided or paid for by multiple agencies. 8. FINANCING SERVICE DELIVERY Proscribing methods for financing services through the allocation of funds or the establishment of cost reimbursement schemes (including outcome-based reimbursement schemes) that have the effect of denying effective opportunities for persons with the most significant needs. 9. PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, ACCESS TO RECORDS, INFORMED CONSENT Protecting privacy, confidentiality, requiring informed consent minimizes the extent of government intrusion. Access to records assures that individuals have the necessary information to make informed choices. 10. COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT Personnel providing services to beneficiaries satisfy qualification standards in order to perform assigned tasks in an effective and efficient manner. Personnel knowledgeable about civil rights statutes as well as promising practices so that they provide state-of-the-art services to persons with disabilities. 11. RESPONSIVENESS TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY Services provided in a culturally competent manner that is responsive to the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, language, and behaviors of individuals receiving services and in a manner ensuring maximum participation in the program. 12. FISCAL PROVISIONS Public agencies use program funds to supplement and not supplant other sources of funding and must maintain their own fiscal effort. 13. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING Grant funds managed in such a way to ensure fiscal control and fund accounting. G. PROGRAM SUPPORT To ensure that civil rights laws are implemented and Federal-supported programs are "state of the art" and "cutting edge" the Federal legal framework often authorizes support programs (e.g., training, research, technical assistance) that foster the goals, policies, and methods of administration included in the legislation. 1. SYSTEMS CHANGE INITIATIVES Funding designed to assist public agencies develop and implement comprehensive reforms at the system or institutional level (policies, practices, and procedures). 2. TRAINING OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES Support model approaches for training individuals with disabilities and their families. 3. TRAINING OF PERSONNEL REGARDING PROMISING PRACTICES Support for personnel preparation and training, including training of specialists, generalists, and leadership. 4. RESEARCH ,TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, INFORMATION DISSIMINATION Support research, technical assistance, and information dissemination to ensure that programs are effective, state-of-the-art, and efficient. HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CORE PRECEPT AND OVERARCHING GOALS OF TANF A. THE FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Title I of PRWORA creates a new welfare program called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The new TANF program provides block grants to States. TANF went into effect on July 1, 1997, except in States that elected to submit a complete plan and implement the program at an earlier date. TANF repealed the existing welfare program (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), which provided cash assistance to needy families on an entitlement basis. TANF also repealed related programs, including the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance (EA). TANF expressly states that "this part shall not be interpreted to entitle any individual or family to assistance under any State program funded under this part." TANF does not, however, preempt a state from establishing an entitlement for welfare recipients under state law. The purposes of TANF are fourfold: * Provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives * End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage * Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies * Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the new law reflects a number of key principles: * Welfare reform should help move people from welfare to work * Welfare should be a short-term, transitional experience, not a way of life * Parents should receive the child care and health care they need to protect their children as they move from welfare to work * Child support programs should become tougher and more effective in securing support from absent parents * Because many factors contribute to poverty and dependency, solutions to these problems should not be "one size fits all." The system should allow States and localities to develop diverse and creative responses to their own problems * The Federal government should focus less attention on eligibility determinations and place more emphasis on program results * States should continue to make substantial investments of State funds in addressing the needs of low-income families. Under TANF, program funding and assistance for families is premised on a new set of expectations for recipients as well as States. Adults receiving assistance are expected to engage in work activities and develop the capability to support themselves before their time-limited assistance runs out. States are expected to assist recipients making the transition to employment. States are also expected to meet work participation rates and other critical program requirements in order to maintain their Federal funding and avoid penalties. Some important indicators of the change in expectations include: * Time limits governing the length of time an individual receives Federally-funded assistance * Higher work participation rates among recipients of assistance * Elimination of numerous exemptions from work participation requirements * The option for States to require individual responsibility plans. According to HHS, these provisions signal an expectation that States must broaden participation beyond the "job-ready." In meeting these expectations, States need to: * Examine their caseloads, * Identify the causes of long-term underemployment and dependency * Work with families, communities, businesses, and other social service agencies in resolving employment barriers. States may need to provide intervention services for families in crisis or may need to adapt program models to accommodate individuals with disabilities. TANF "provides States the flexibility they need to respond to such individual family needs. However, in return, TANF expects States to move towards a strategy that provides appropriate services for all needy families." On March 13, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13078, establishing the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The purpose of the Task Force is two-fold: to increase the employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and to support the goals articulated in the findings sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The goals articulated in the ADA are equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Section 2 of the Executive Order directs the Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services to report on their work with States and others to ensure that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (including TANF) is carried out in accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA so that individuals with disabilities and their families can realize the full promise of welfare reform by having an equal opportunity to employment. The Task Force recently released its first report, Re-charting the Course (November 15, 1998). The Work Group on PRWORA concludes that the major principle which needs to guide the implementation of welfare reform is that adults with disabilities should have equal opportunity to benefit from all aspects of welfare reform, "which includes having access to the proper support services to enable them to work and to keep their families healthy, safe, and intact." B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CORE PRECEPT AND OVERARCHING GOALS IN TANF * What is the historical treatment of persons with disabilities under predecessor programs? Is there a history of exclusion? Denial of effective and meaningful opportunity to participate in programs, such as JOBS? * What efforts have been made to ascertain the prevalence of persons with disabilities among the prospective pool of eligible recipients? * Are public agencies at the Federal, State and local levels taking into consideration the historical treatment of persons with disabilities in the development of new policies and procedures and methods of administration they use? * What are the respective responsibilities of Federal, State and local agencies to develop specific policies and procedures and methods of administration (e.g., training, monitoring, and enforcement) that ensure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities, including enabling adults with disabilities to "work and keep their families healthy, safe, and intact"? * Are the goals and purposes of TANF and the overarching principles of welfare reform as embodied in PRWORA consistent with the goals of the ADA and the core principles of disability policy? * What are the policy implications for adults with disabilities if a State uses the additional flexibility provided under TANF to devise a "one size fits all" approach rather than individualizing determinations to accommodate individuals with disabilities and as a result, such individuals do not receive appropriate services and supports? For example, as a matter of public policy, should States be required to extend requirements pertaining to work participation and time limits for adults with disabilities when they fail to provide "access to the proper support services to enable them to work and to keep their families healthy, safe, and intact?" EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY A. FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK TANF specifies that Section 504 and the ADA apply to any program or activity, which receives Federal TANF funds. On August 27, 1999 the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) issued two-part guidance on civil rights laws and welfare reform. These materials, titled "Civil Rights Laws and Welfare Reform -- Overview" (heinafter referred to as "Civil Rights Overview") and "Technical Assistance for Caseworkers on Civil Rights Law and Welfare Reform" (heinafter referred to as "Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers") explain how Federal civil rights laws apply to certain aspects of welfare programs. A report entitled Federal Disability Policy Framework Reflecting the Nation's Goals Relating to People with Disabilities as Articulated in the Americans with Disabilities Act (1999) includes a comprehensive overview of the core policy included in disability policy, consistent with the goals of disability policy articulated in the ADA. Set out below is a brief recitation of the major components of the regulatory framework applicable to the goal of equality of opportunity under title II of the ADA (pertaining to State and local governments) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The brief recitation includes references to OCR guidance set out in the Civil Rights Overview and the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers. Individual with a disability. The term means a person who has a disability. The term does not include, e.g., an individual, who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, when the public entity acts on the basis of such use. Disability means with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment. Examples include such diseases and conditions as orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental retardation, emotional illness, specific learning disabilities, HIV diseases (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic) tuberculosis, drug addiction, and alcoholism. Qualified individual with a disability. The term means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity. Self-evaluation. Public entities must evaluate changes to welfare policy resulting from the enactment of TANF in such areas as current services, policies, and practices, and the effects thereof, to determine whether they meet ADA requirements and then make necessary modifications. Interested parties must be given an opportunity to comment. Actions By State Agencies--Directly or by Contract or other Arrangement. Public entities may not discriminate directly or through contract or other arrangement. General categories of discrimination. A public entity, in providing any aid, benefit, or service may not, on the basis of disability: * deny a qualified individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service or afford such an opportunity that is not equal to that afforded others; * provide a qualified individual with a disability with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others; * provide different or separate aids, benefits, or services unless necessary to provide effective opportunity (and when necessary, the individual must still be permitted to receive services that are not separate or different); * otherwise limit a qualified individual with a disability in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving the aid, benefit, or service. According to the Civil Rights Overview, "some persons with disabilities may be eligible under some state programs for exemptions from work requirements or time limits. However, program providers may not refuse to allow a persons with a disability to participate in training programs or be employed because the person has a disability." According to the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers: * A welfare office may not exempt individuals with disabilities from work activities, education, or training opportunities based on assumptions that such individuals are not qualified to participate in training or work. * The director of a county day-care program for the children of welfare participants who are attending employment training programs may not refuse to accept into the program children who have emotional problems or who take medication for a disability. * A community college offering job-training for welfare participants may not require students with disabilities to provide medical histories if such histories are not required of all students. * An intake clerk may not create a hostile environment by mimicking a person with Tourette's Syndrome. * A county vocational training program may offer special training opportunities for people with visual impairments, but it may not require people with visual impairments to participate in the special program or refuse to permit them to participate in courses open to other program participants. Eligibility criteria. A public entity may not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any service, program or activity unless the such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the service, program, or activity being offered. According to the Civil Rights Overview, eligibility for participation in any benefit, service or program must be based on an individual assessment of each person's ability to meet the eligibility requirements rather than on stereotypes or assumptions about the effects of a type of disability. Thus, it may violate Section 504 and the ADA if a benefit provider refers persons with disabilities to placement opportunities inappropriately because of the failure to properly and individually take into account a person's known disabilities. It may also violate Section 504 and ADA for an employment agency (which contracts with a state agency to refer TANF beneficiaries to jobs) to rely on a policy that prohibits the referral of anyone who has ever had a back injury to jobs as nursing aids or home health workers, without any individual assessment of the beneficiary's ability to do the job. Most integrated setting appropriate A public entity must administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities. According to the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers, a county social service center that provides a hot lunch program for senior citizens may not require people with HIV to be served in a separate room from other participants. Surcharges prohibited A public entity may not place a surcharge to cover costs of measures identified in other sections. Association A public entity may not exclude or otherwise deny equal services, programs or activities to an individual or an entity because of the known disability of an individual with whom the individual or entity is known to have a relationship or association. Criteria and methods of administration A public entity may not utilize criteria or methods of administration that, among other things, have the effect of subjecting qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability or that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishments of the objectives of the public entity's program with respect to individuals with disabilities. Reasonable modifications to policies, practices, or procedures A public entity shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service program, or activity. According to the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers: * A welfare program with a complicated application will need to modify its application form or provide someone to help fill out the form when a person with a mental disability is unable to complete the form. * A state welfare agency may seek alternatives to the work participation requirements if an individual with a disability with or without reasonable accommodation, is not able to perform the essential function of any available job. * A state welfare course for welfare participants must extend testing time when a person with a learning disability requests extra time to complete the test because of his or her disability. The course provider may ask the individual who is seeking extra time to provide reasonable documentation of the learning disability and the additional time that is required. * A welfare office may not refuse to permit guide dogs and other service animals assisting individuals with disabilities to accompany those individuals into the office. Persons addicted to illegal drugs A public entity may not discriminate on the basis of illegal use of drugs against an individual who is not engaging in current illegal use of drugs and who has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program or has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully, is participating in a supervised rehabilitation program, or is erroneously regarded as engaging in such use. Program accessibility A public entity must operate its programs in existing facilities so that the program, when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. New construction and renovations must be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. According to the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers: * A welfare office that is located on the second floor of a building that has no elevator may make its services accessible to an applicant who uses a wheelchair by meeting with that applicant in an accessible ground floor office. However, if all the other participants met together for discussions on the second floor and they could not meet on the ground floor, the limited access would be insufficient. * A job training program that usually offers classes in an accessible second floor classroom may make its program accessible by relocating the class to an accessible classroom in another building. Communications A public entity must ensure that communications with persons with disabilities are as effective as communications with others and a public entity must also furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of a service, program, or activity conducted by a public entity. According to the Civil Rights Overview and the Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers, it could be a violation of Section 504 and the ADA if: * Information about job openings is available by telephone but is not available by TTYs or other effective means for individuals with hearing impairments. * A provider fails to provide reasonable accommodations in job training and other programs conducted by the agency, e.g., a trainee who is blind is not provided instructional materials on audiotape or in braille, or other means for persons with visual impairments. * Information is provided orally but a sign language interpreter or other form of effective communication is not provided for hearing impaired participants. B. POLICY ISSUES RELATING TO EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 1. At the Federal Level * In addition to the guidance provided in the Civil Rights Overview and Technical Assistance Guide for Caseworkers, what specific issues should the Secretary and the Director of the Office for Civil Rights address in regulations/guidance regarding implementation of TANF consistent with section 504 and ADA? For example, should the Secretary issue policy guidance concerning: * how to conduct a self-evaluation or develop a "methods of administration" plan? * Appropriate approaches for carrying out "diversion" and job search strategies? * Navigating the application process? Conducting screenings and assessments? * Work participation requirements, time limits, churning, and confidentiality? * The need for staff training, recipient training? * Notice of rights? * Data collection (including determinations of prevalence of disability in the recipient population)? * Linkages with other systems? * Responsibilities of State and local agencies with respect to monitoring, complaint resolution and enforcement? * What specific steps should the Secretary and Director of the Office for Civil Rights take with respect to developing ADA and Section 504 training strategies (including the preparation of training materials), preparing monitoring instruments, conducting on-site monitoring, and devising an enforcement strategy? * What specific remedies should be available to the Secretary to the extent States fail to adopt methods of administration to ensure compliance with section 504 and ADA? For example, may the Secretary direct State agencies to extend work participation and time limits when States fail to provide appropriate services to adults with disabilities pursuant to section 504 and ADA? 2. At the State Level * Has the State conducted a self-evaluation or a review of its "methods of administration," including a review of its policies and procedures regarding implementation of its welfare program for persons with disabilities? * How has the State defined disability for particular purposes e.g., comprehensive assessments, exemptions or waivers from time limits or work participation requirements? * Has the State developed procedures for determining the prevalence of persons with disabilities in the pool of applicants and recipients it serves? How has the State used this information? * Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning applying and eligibility for assistance and other determinations that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? * Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning initial assessments, individual responsibility plans, and the provision of appropriate services and supports that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? * Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning work and participation requirements that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? * Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning time limits that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? * Has the State taken steps to ensure there is a network of service providers adequate to address the needs of persons with disabilities receiving services? * Has the State reviewed its system for reimbursing service providers to determine whether it has the effect of denying opportunities for persons with significant disabilities to benefit because the system does not provide appropriate reimbursement for those with complex needs. In other words, does the State use a "risk adjustment" mechanism for reimbursing providers serving persons with significant disabilities? * Has the State developed policies and procedures for identifying persons responsible for compliance with section 504 and ADA e.g., Has the State assigned an individual at each welfare office or One-Stop office who is responsible for making decisions about reasonable modifications for persons with disabilities? * Has the State developed a data collection procedure that enables the State to ascertain whether the TANF program is providing equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in order to facilitate continuous improvement of the program consistent with section 504 and the ADA? * Has the State adopted procedures for ensuring interagency collaboration or other arrangements to ensure those qualified personnel provide appropriate services consistent with section 504 and the ADA? * Has the State adopted a procedure for providing training to staff and recipients (e.g., real-life examples) regarding responsibilities and rights, respectively, under section 504 and ADA? * Has the State developed policies and procedures regarding complaint resolution, monitoring, oversight, and enforcement of section 504 and ADA? GOVERNANCE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL A. THE FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK Under the TANF program, the Secretary of HHS has five primary responsibilities. It should be noted that under the new legislation, the Federal government is limited in its traditional regulatory and enforcement authority. The Secretary of HHS may not regulate State conduct or enforce any TANF provision except to the extent expressly provided by law. First, the Secretary must determine that the State's plan includes all the information required by the statute. The Secretary may not require that the State plan be implemented because there is no express authority to enforce the State plan. Second, the Secretary may issue regulations and guidance that is consistent with the statute. This authority is limited to two different types of situations: where Congress has explicitly directed the Secretary to regulate e.g., under the caseload reduction provisions and where Congress has charged the Department with enforcing penalties. Third, the Secretary makes grants to States and must track State performance, including imposing penalties and requiring corrective compliance plans when States fail to comply with certain performance-based program requirements and providing bonuses when States perform well in meeting new program goals. Fourth, the Secretary must conduct research on the benefits, effects, and costs of operating different State programs using TANF funds, including time limits relating to eligibility for assistance. Fifth, the Secretary is required to submit an annual report to Congress. In addition, the Secretary retains his or her unfettered authority and discretion to enforce the nation's civil rights laws, including section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA. These laws are applicable to programs and activities receiving TANF assistance. B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING FEDERAL GOVERNANCE * In addition to the initiatives taken at the Federal level with respect to implementation of Section 504 and the ADA and consistent with the general limitations in TANF regarding the issuance of regulations and oversight and enforcement of States, what specific strategies should the Secretary adopt under TANF to ensure that adults with disabilities are provided equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency? For example, should HHS include specific guidance relating to persons with disabilities in general guidance developed by the agency? STRUCTURE OF THE TANF PROGRAM, AUTHORIZED USES A. FEDERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK The TANF legislation permits States to use funds in any manner that is reasonably calculated to accomplish the four purposes of TANF (see above). In addition, States may use amounts received under previously authorized programs (e.g., AFDC, JOBS, EA). Further, States may transfer up to 30% of TANF funds to the Social Services Block Grant and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. States may (and all States do) use TANF to fund cash assistance programs to an eligible family that includes a minor child or to a pregnant women. Consistent with the three broad purposes, States, however, may explore and develop new, innovative ways to support low-income families and to address the goals of the TANF program. Some of these programs are beginning to look less like traditional cash assistance programs. For example, a State may also use TANF funds to support transportation or pay for training services provided by One-Stop operators under the Workforce Investment Act without providing cash assistance to an individual. The final regulations clarify the circumstances under which the use of TANF funds triggers compliance with key requirements (e.g., work participation, time limits, child support, data collection). States must comply with these requirements when they are using TANF funds to provide "assistance." The final regulations explain what is and is not considered "assistance." The term "assistance" includes cash, payments, vouchers, and other forms of benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs (i.e., for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, and general incidental expenses). The term "assistance includes such benefits even when they are: * Provided in the form of payments by a TANF agency, or other agency on its behalf, to individual recipients; and * Conditioned on participation in work experience or community service (or any other work activity). Except where excluded under the next paragraph, the term "assistance" also includes supportive services such as transportation and childcare provided to families who are not employed. The term "assistance" excludes: Nonrecurrent, short-term benefits that: * Are designed to deal with a specific crisis situation or episode of need * Are not intended to meet recurrent or ongoing needs; and * Will not extend beyond four months. Work subsidies (i.e., payments to employers or third parties to help cover the costs of employee wages, benefits, supervision, and training); Supportive services such as child care and transportation provided to families who are employed; Refundable earned income tax credits; Contributions to, and distributions from, Individual Development Accounts; Services such as counseling, case management, peer support, child care information and referral, transitional services, job retention, job advancement, and other employment-related services that do not provide basic income support; and Transportation benefits provided under a Job Access or Reverse Commute project to an individual who is not otherwise receiving assistance. When Congress enacted TANF, one of the concerns raised was that States might use the flexibility offered under TANF to reduce their own efforts to provide services to low-income families. To address this issue, TANF includes a "maintenance of effort" provision. A State may choose to satisfy the maintenance of effort requirement by using TANF funds to support the State's TANF cash assistance program and/or by supporting separate State programs outside of TANF. The maintenance of effort obligation is 80% (or if the State meets TANF participation rates, 75% of the amount the State spent in 1994 for programs specified in the legislation). Under TANF, States have broad flexibility on how to spend their maintenance of effort funds. TANF permits States to assist eligible families by expending maintenance of effort funds under "all State programs." Thus, a State may commingle its maintenance of effort funds with Federal TANF funds in a single program (and thereby subject all families to the key requirements in TANF). A State may also use State funds in a cash assistance program that also receives TANF but segregate some or all funds on certain individuals (and thereby limit the applicability of the TANF provisions to only those adults receiving TANF and State funds). In addition, a State may use State funds to create or expand a separate State program (and not subject the participants to any of the TANF requirements. B. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE STRUCTURE AND USES OF TANF FUNDS * To what extent has the State exercised its authority to use TANF funds for non-cash assistance programs that serve people with disabilities e.g., to provide funding for the vocational rehabilitation agency to conduct assessments and then provide services to welfare recipients who do not otherwise qualify for vocational rehabilitation services? * To what extent has the State exercised its discretionary authority to establish separate State programs in order for certain groups not to be subject to work participation rates and segregate or separate state funds to address time limits and whether the decision to make these policy decisions related in any significant way to the prevalence of persons with disabilities served? * If the State has a separate State programs serving people with disabilities, does the program support the purposes articulated in the ADA (equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency)? GOVERNANCE AT THE STATE LEVEL, INCLUDING THE STATE PLAN A. OVERVIEW OF THE STATE PLAN A State that wants to receive TANF funds must submit to the Secretary a State plan. Three provisions included in the legislation relating to the State plan are of particular relevance to implementation of TANF for persons with disabilities. These provisions are discussed below. In addition, this section describes State responsibilities/authorities that are not expressly included in the State plan section of the legislation but are of particular importance to the operation of the program by the State i.e., conducting an initial assessment and developing individual responsibility plans. B. OVERALL PURPOSE AND CONDUCT OF THE PROGRAM Federal Legal Framework The State plan must outline how the State intends to conduct a program designed to serve all political subdivisions (not necessarily in a uniform manner) that provides assistance to needy families with (or expecting children) and provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services to enable them to leave the program and become self-sufficient. 2. Policy Issues Concerning the Overall Purpose and Conduct of the Program * What are the purposes of the State program? Are these purposes reflected in a State statute? Regulations? Policy guidance? * Under section 504 and ADA, States must make reasonable modifications to policies unless they would fundamentally alter the nature of a State's program. When the State determines that it is not required to make a reasonable modification because it would result in a fundamental alteration in the program, is it applying the stated purposes of the legislation articulated in the State's plan? * With respect to each component of the State plan, does the State include specific policies and procedures or modifications applicable to persons with disabilities? For example, if the State plan includes a comprehensive system of personnel development, does the plan include specific reference for training personnel regarding the needs of persons with disabilities? If the State plan provides for a system of continuous program improvement, does the plan include specific reference to improvement in the delivery of services to people with disabilities? * Does the plan explain how people with disabilities and their representatives were involved in the process of developing the plan? * In addition to the inclusion of an assurance of nondiscrimination, does the plan include specific policies and procedures relating to implementation of the program consistent with section 504 and the ADA? C. ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER DETERMINATIONS The Federal Legal Framework The State plan must set forth objective criteria for the delivery of benefits and the determination of eligibility and for fair and equitable treatment, including an explanation of how the State will provide opportunities for recipients who have been adversely affected to be heard in a State administrative or appeal process. 2. Policy Issues Concerning Eligibility and Other Determinations * In developing policies and procedures of general applicability regarding eligibility and application for the State's welfare program, has the State taken into consideration the prevalence of persons with disabilities (diagnosed and undiagnosed) in the population of persons applying for assistance? * If so, has the State developed systemic policy responses that reflect the prevalence of disability in the population applying for assistance? For example, under section 504 and the ADA, public agencies must make reasonable modifications to the application process to ensure that otherwise eligible individuals are not denied needed benefits e.g., simplifying the process and/or providing individualized assistance in navigating the system. Has the State simplified the application and eligibility process for all applicants? Does the State policy specify that intake staff must offer help to all persons applying for assistance? Or must each individual with a disability document and prove the existence of the disability and the need for help and then affirmatively request help before such help is provided? * Does the State provide a notice to applicants about their rights, including their rights as persons with disabilities under section 504 and ADA? What is included in the notice and is it in a form that is useable for persons with a range of intellectual abilities? * Has the State adopted pre-application requirements (e.g. job search)? What is the purpose or function of these requirements? Are general exemptions to or modifications of policies included? How do these policies apply to persons with disabilities e.g., are the requirements waived when it is determined that they are futile for a particular individual? Has the State adopted reasonable modifications to these pre-application requirements to ensure that they achieve the purpose or function for which they were intended for individuals with disabilities e.g., assisting in planning and arranging how to carry out job search activities, modifying the types of activities that are considered acceptable, and providing adaptive equipment and auxiliary aids and services? * If the application process includes the completion of numerous forms and requests for verification of documentation, what procedures has the State adopted to ensure that these procedures do not have the unintended effect of denying participation in the program for persons with disabilities? * What screening procedures, if any, have been developed for determining whether specific applicants have disabilities? Does the system include adequate safeguards to encourage self-identification? Who performs the screens? What training is provided to staff on how to conduct screens and interpret the results? How is the information obtained from the screen used? What are the safeguards for ensuring confidentiality, including sharing information with other agencies? Is the screening voluntary? * Has the State developed a policy for making referral to the State agency responsible for determining eligibility under the SSI/SSDI programs? What happens during the period pending the determination of eligibility for these programs? * What procedures has the State adopted to ensure that persons with disabilities are not "sanctioned" for failure to follow certain requirements when the reason is related to the person's disability, including the failure of other public agencies to carry out their responsibilities. For example, should a person with a disability have to start the entire application process over because he or she failed to make an appointment on time when the paratransit system failed to pick the individual up in a timely fashion? * What data has the State collected to determine whether people with disabilities are being "sanctioned" or simply not completing the application process on the basis of disability rather than for legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons? D. INITIAL ASSESSMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY PLANS 1. Federal Legal Framework The State agency responsible for administering the State TANF program must make an initial assessment of the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each recipient of assistance under the program who has attained 18 years of age or has not completed high school or obtained a certificate of high school equivalency, and is not attending secondary school. The State agency may comply within 30 days (or, at the option of the State, 90 days) after the individual is determined to be eligible for assistance, in the case of any other individual. On the basis of the assessment made with respect to an individual, the State agency, in consultation with the individual, may develop an individual responsibility plan for the individual. The plan: * sets forth an employment goal for the individual and a plan for moving the individual immediately into private sector employment; * sets forth the obligations of the individual, which may include a requirement that the individual attend school, maintain certain grades and attendance, keep school age children of the individual in school, immunize children, attend parenting and money management classes, or do other things that will help the individual become and remain employed in the private sector; * to the greatest extent possible is designed to move the individual into whatever private sector employment the individual is capable of handling as quickly as possible, and to increase the responsibility and amount of work the individual is to handle over time; * describes the services the State will provide the individual so that the individual will be able to obtain and keep employment in the private sector, and describe the job counseling and other services that will be provided by the State; and * may require the individual to undergo appropriate substance abuse treatment. 2. Policy Issues Concerning Assessments and Individual Responsibility Plans * What is the nature and scope of the initial assessment that must be conducted under TANF to ascertain whether a person has a disability, the nature of the disability, and the implications of the disability on immediately securing employment, the need for reasonable accommodations, and the need for additional education and training? * What policies and procedures has the State developed to continuously review the progress the individual is making to ascertain whether the individual has a disability that is affecting progress? Should comprehensive assessments to ascertain disability be carried out for all recipients? For those who the State knows have an identified disability based on information provided by the individual? For those whom the State should have reason to believe have disabilities (based on screenings)? * Who may perform these assessments (what are minimum qualifications)? * What is the State's policy regarding the use of existing data provided by the individual? Confidentiality? Informed consent? * In those States that develop individual responsibility plans, what is the relationship between the initial assessment and the plan for adults with disabilities? * What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the employment goal and a plan for moving the individual immediately into private sector employment are individualized i.e., reflect the capabilities and interests of the individual with a disability? * What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the process for determining the obligations of the recipient are individualized i.e., reflects the capabilities of the individual? * Does the process include counseling regarding benefits and work incentives under the Social Security Act? * What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the process for determining what services are provided is individualized (based on sufficiently comprehensive assessments), the services provided are effective and meaningful in achieving the goal of employment, and the services are delivered consistent with the principles of consumer choice and control, including the selection of service providers? * Do state policies address supports necessary for job retention, particularly for persons with episodic disabilities? * Does the State have a policy or procedure that results in the tracking of persons with disabilities or certain categories of persons with disabilities into certain work opportunities or education or training opportunities? * Has the State adopted a performance-based reimbursement system that rewards service providers who serve persons with significant disabilities who might cost more than the average to place or has the State adopted a reimbursement system that has the effect of penalizing service providers that accept individuals who are hard to place and rewards creaming? * Has the State adopted policies and procedures to ensure that employment-related services that are provided to welfare recipients are provided in the most integrated setting appropriate and in an effective and meaningful manner for individuals with disabilities e.g., provide special aides, reduced class size, use of instructors with specialized training in how to use instructional or training strategies that will be of benefit to persons with disabilities? * What strategies has the state developed for training staff regarding disability-specific issues? * What procedures have been adopted by the State regarding the provision of employment-related services under TANF to persons with disabilities who are not served under the State vocational rehabilitation because they are not considered persons with the "most significant disabilities" under "order of selection?" * What procedures have been adopted by the State to link the welfare program to the One-Stop service delivery system established under the Workforce Investment Act? * What are the consequences for persons with disabilities if a State uses the additional flexibility under TANF to devise a "one-size fits all" approach rather than individualized assessments and plans and as a result individuals do not receive appropriate services? As a matter of public policy should States be required to extend requirements pertaining to work participation and time limits for receipt of cash assistance when they fail to provide equality of opportunity for adults with disabilities? * What data collection requirements (regarding process, outcomes, retention) apply to ensure that States have sufficient information to determine whether they need to make programmatic changes to ensure continuous improvement of their program for persons with disabilities? E. WORK AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS 1. Federal Legal Framework TANF has four work and participation requirements affecting parents and caretakers. First, the State plan must outline how the State intends to require a parent or caretaker receiving assistance under the program to engage in work (as defined by the State) once the State determines the parent or caretaker is ready to engage in work or once the parent or caretaker has received assistance under the program for 24 months (whether or not consecutive), whichever is earlier. If an individual refuses to engage in work, the State must reduce or terminate the amount of assistance payable to the family, subject to any good cause or other exceptions the State may establish. A State may not reduce or terminate assistance based on a refusal to work if the individual is a single custodial parent caring for a child who has not attained 6 years of age and the individual proves that the individual has a demonstrated inability (as determined by the State) to obtain needed child care. (Under TANF States may, but are not required to provide child care). States that fail to impose penalties on individuals may be subject to State penalties. According to HHS, States are also subject to penalties if they over-sanction i.e., imposition of a sanction when it should not have imposed one. Second, the State plan must outline how the State intends to require a parent or caretaker to participate in community service employment if he or she has received assistance for two months and is neither engaged in work (using the Federal standards under section 407) nor exempt from work requirements. The State must establish minimum hours of work and the tasks involved. A State may opt out of this provision if it chooses. Finally, the State plan must outline how the State intends to ensure that parents and caretakers receiving assistance under the program engage in "work activities" in accordance with mandatory work requirements specified in section 407 of TANF. Section 407 of TANF includes two-worked related provisions-overall and two parent families participation rates. The statute and regulations set forth detailed provisions concerning the types and amount of work activities for which an individual's participation will count toward meeting a State's required work participation rate. Twelve types of work activities that TANF allows to count toward meeting the participation rates are included in the legislation: unsubsidized employment; subsidized private sector employment; subsidized public sector employment; work experience (including work associated with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing) if sufficient private sector employment is not available; on-the-job training; job search and job readiness assistance; community services programs; vocational educational training (not to exceed 12 months with respect to any individual); job skills training directly related to employment; education directly related to employment, in the case of a recipient who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency; satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence, in the case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school or received such a certificate; and provision of childcare services to an individual who is participating in a community service program. For FY 2000, for purposes of the overall rates, the hourly requirements for categories (1) through (8) and (12) are 30 hours a week for parents and caretakers with children age 6 and above, and 20 hours a week for single parents or caretakers of a child under age 6. Involvement in vocational educational training can only count toward participation rates for not more than 12 months for an individual. In addition, not more than 30% of those counting toward participation rates may count through participation in vocational education training or by being a parent under age 20 engaged in school completion. Involvement in job search and job readiness is generally countable for only up to 6 weeks per year. States are authorized to define each category of activity and regulations require States to provide HHS with the definitions as well as a description of any work activities required in separate State programs. States may reduce their effective work participation rates based on welfare caseload declines. This is done through caseload reduction credits that lower the basic rates set out in TANF. For example, if FY1999, the maximum required overall rate for states are 35%. If, however, a State's caseload fell by 25% from FY 1995 to FY1998 for reasons other than changes in eligibility rules, the State's adjusted overall participation rate would be 10%, meaning that the state must have 10% of families that include an adult or caretaker receiving assistance engaged in one or more of the specific countable activities for at least the required number of hours each week. A State that fails to meet these requirements may suffer a penalty e.g., loss of a specified percentage of TANF funding. Before HHS may impose a penalty, it must provide the State with an opportunity to claim reasonable cause or enter into a corrective compliance plan. Penalty reductions are available for various reasons. 2. Policy Issues Concerning Work and Participation Requirements * Has the State exercised its discretion and adopted a broad definition of "engaging in work" that takes into consideration the abilities and capabilities of individuals with significant disabilities? For example, does the policy recognize part-time work? Has the State adopted a policy allowing for modifications to its general definitions of "engaging in work" for particular individuals with disabilities based on individualized determinations of capacity? * Has the State adopted a narrow definition of "engaged in work" that simply reflects the categories included in TANF for purposes of complying with the work participation rate requirements? * Does the State investigate the reasons for an individual's failure to engage in work on the basis of disability (e.g., failure of the paratransit system to get an individual with a disability to work on a timely basis) before using sanctions against an individual? Has a State developed a process for allowing an individual to provide an explanation without losing benefits? * Has the State exercised its authority to provide for good faith and other exemptions from the requirement to "engage in work" before sanctions are exercised i.e., assistance is reduced or terminated? What is the stated purpose or function of the general rule and the policy rationales for the good cause or other exemptions? Does the State include specific exemptions for persons with disabilities? How does the State define disability for purposes of the exemption? What is the conceptual basis for any exemption for persons with disabilities? Is it based on the notion that people with disabilities are "incapable of working?" Is it based on the notion that some people with disabilities need ongoing supports and services in order to "engage in work" and the State is unwilling to provide these ongoing supports and services beyond 24 months? Is it based on the notion that case workers require sufficient flexibility to make individualized determinations based on the initial needs assessment and individual responsibility plan? Is it based on notion that some people with disabilities may only be able to work part-time or on an intermittent basis? Is it based on the lack of appropriate childcare for a child with a significant disability who is older than 6? Other bases? * Does the State policy include specific exemptions for persons who have children with significant disabilities? * If an individual is eligible for an exemption, is the individual permitted to receive services and supports (e.g., education and training)? If they voluntarily seek such services, do they lose their exemption? * Has the State adopted a policy providing that an individual cannot be sanctioned for failure to meet work requirements if appropriate assessments have not been completed and appropriate employment related services and supports have not been provided by the State? * Has the State adopted a process that includes an independent review to ascertain the extent to which the State has failed to follow its own rules? F. TIME LIMITS 1. Federal Legal Framework Under the TANF program, a maximum length of time has been established for which a family may receive assistance funded by Federal TANF funds. Specifically, TANF stipulates that States may not use Federal TANF funds to provide assistance to a family that includes an adult who has received assistance for 60 months (whether or not consecutive). Some families may receive assistance from Federal TANF funds for more than 60 months based on hardship or if the family includes an individual who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. The average number of such families may not exceed 20 percent of the State's average monthly caseload during either that fiscal year or the immediately preceding fiscal year, whichever the State elects. The 60-month time limit applies to Federal funding; it does not set an upper bound on the amount of time a State could provide assistance to an individual family with State funds. Further, States are free to impose shorter limits on the receipt of assistance under their programs. They are also free to allow receipt for longer periods if the assistance is paid from State funds or if the family meets the criteria the State has chosen for extension and fits within the 20 percent limit. 2. Policy Issues Concerning Time Limits * What is the State's policy regarding time limits? Has the State adopted different time limits for separate State programs or for individuals only receiving assistance out of State funds? * Has the State adopted extensions, exemptions, deferrals, postponements based on hardship? What is the function or purpose of the general policy and exemption/extension policy? Does the exemption or extension specifically include persons with disabilities? * What definition of "disability" does the State use for purpose of qualifying for an exemption/extension? What is the policy basis for including people with disabilities? If people with disabilities are not included, do certain categories of people with disabilities fall within a more generic exemption or extension? * Does the State policy on granting exemptions/extensions take into consideration the need to make reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities in order to navigate the system e.g., assistance in documenting need for an extension or exemption or reasons for failing to meet certain conditions? * What is the relationship between the initial assessment, the individual responsibility plan, and the decision to grant or deny an extension or exemption? * What is the relationship between the State's policy on exemptions with respect to work requirements and time limits? * If an individual is granted an exemption or extension but desires to voluntarily accept services and supports, does the individual forego the extension or exemption? * Has the State adopted a policy granting automatic exemptions or extensions of time limits for individuals with disabilities or others where the State has failed to provide appropriate assessments and appropriate services i.e., tolling the running of the time limits because of failure to comply with the nondiscrimination requirements or other provisions of TANF? APPENDIX POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY ASSITANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY POLICY FRAMEWORK INTRODUCTION The purpose of this appendix is to set out the policy issues raised in the Report entitled A Preliminary Analysis of the Relationship between the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program and the Federal Disability Policy Framework. POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CORE PRECEPT AND OVERARCHING GOALS IN TANF 1. What is the historical treatment of persons with disabilities under predecessor programs? Is there a history of exclusion? Denial of effective and meaningful opportunity to participate in programs, such as JOBS? 2. What efforts have been made to ascertain the prevalence of persons with disabilities among the prospective pool of eligible recipients? 3. Are public agencies at the Federal, State and local levels taking into consideration the historical treatment of persons with disabilities in the development of new policies and procedures and methods of administration they use? 4. What are the respective responsibilities of Federal, State and local agencies to develop specific policies and procedures and methods of administration (e.g., training, monitoring, and enforcement) that ensure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities, including enabling adults with disabilities to "work and keep their families healthy, safe, and intact"? 5. Are the goals and purposes of TANF and the overarching principles of welfare reform as embodied in PRWORA consistent with the goals of the ADA and the core principles of disability policy? 6. What are the policy implications for adults with disabilities if a State uses the additional flexibility provided under TANF to devise a "one size fits all" approach rather than individualizing determinations to accommodate individuals with disabilities and as a result, such individuals do not receive appropriate services and supports? For example, as a matter of public policy, should States be required to extend requirements pertaining to work participation and time limits for adults with disabilities when they fail to provide "access to the proper support services to enable them to work and to keep their families healthy, safe, and intact?" POLICY ISSUES RELATING TO EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY A. FEDERAL LEVEL 1. What specific issues should the Secretary and the Director of the Office for Civil Rights address in regulations/guidance regarding implementation of TANF consistent with section 504 and ADA? For example, should the Secretary issue policy guidance concerning: * How to conduct a self-evaluation or develop a "methods of administration" plan? * Appropriate approaches for carrying out diversion and job search strategies? * Navigating the application process? Conducting screenings and assessments? * Work participation requirements, time limits, churning, and confidentiality? * The need for staff training, recipient training? * Notice of rights? * Data collection (including determinations of prevalence of disability in the recipient population)? * Linkages with other systems? * Responsibilities of State and local agencies with respect to monitoring, complaint resolution and enforcement? 2. What specific steps should the Secretary and Director of the Office for Civil Rights take with respect to developing ADA training strategies (including the preparation of training materials), preparing monitoring instruments, conducting on-site monitoring, and devising an enforcement strategy? 3. What specific remedies should be available to the Secretary to the extent States fail to adopt methods of administration to ensure compliance with section 504 and ADA? For example, may the Secretary direct State agencies to extend work participation and time limits when States fail to provide appropriate services to adults with disabilities pursuant to section 504 and ADA? B. STATE LEVEL 1. Has the State conducted a self-evaluation or a review of its "methods of administration," including a review of its policies and procedures regarding implementation of its welfare program for persons with disabilities? 2. How has the State defined disability for particular purposes e.g., comprehensive assessments, exemptions or waivers from time limits or work participation requirements? 3. Has the State developed procedures for determining the prevalence of persons with disabilities in the pool of applicants and recipients it serves? How has the State used this information? 4. Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning applying and eligibility for assistance and other determinations that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? 5. Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning initial assessments, individual responsibility plans, and the provision of appropriate services and supports that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? 6. Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning work and participation requirements that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? 7. Has the State developed policies and procedures concerning time limits that are consistent with section 504 and the ADA, particularly requirements concerning individualization, genuine, effective, and meaningful opportunity, and administration of the program in the most integrated setting appropriate? 8. Has the State taken steps to ensure there is a network of service providers adequate to address the needs of persons with disabilities receiving services? 9. Has the State reviewed its system for reimbursing service providers to determine whether it has the effect of denying opportunities for persons with significant disabilities to benefit because the system does not provide appropriate reimbursement for those with complex needs. In other words, does the State use a "risk adjustment" mechanism for reimbursing providers serving persons with significant disabilities? 10. Has the State developed policies and procedures for identifying persons responsible for compliance with section 504 and ADA e.g., has the State assigned an individual at each welfare office or One-Step office who is responsible to making decisions about reasonable modifications for persons with disabilities? 11. Has the State developed a data collection procedure that enables the State to ascertain whether the TANF program is providing equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in order to facilitate continuous improvement of the program consistent with section 504 and the ADA? 12. Has the State adopted procedures for ensuring interagency collaboration or other arrangements to ensure those qualified personnel provide appropriate services consistent with section 504 and the ADA? 13. Has the State adopted a procedure for providing training to staff and recipients e.g., real-life examples regarding responsibilities and rights, respectively, under section 504 and ADA? 14. Has the State developed policies and procedures regarding complaint resolution, monitoring, oversight, and enforcement of section 504 and ADA? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING FEDERAL GOVERNANCE 1. In addition to the initiatives taken at the Federal level with respect to implementation of Section 504 and the ADA and consistent with the general limitations in TANF regarding the issuance of regulations and oversight and enforcement of States, what specific strategies should the Secretary adopt under TANF to ensure that adults with disabilities are provided equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self- sufficiency? For example, should HHS include specific guidance relating to persons with disabilities in general guidance developed by the agency? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE STRUCTURE AND USES OF TANF FUNDS 1. To what extent has the State exercised its authority to use TANF funds for non-cash assistance programs that serve people with disabilities e.g., to provide funding for the vocational rehabilitation agency to conduct assessments and then provide services to welfare recipients who do not otherwise qualify for vocational rehabilitation services? 2. To what extent has the State exercised its discretionary authority to establish separate State programs in order for certain groups not to be subject to work participation rates and segregate or separate State funds to address time limits and whether the decision to make these policy decisions related in any significant way to the prevalence of persons with disabilities served? 3. If the State has a separate State programs serving people with disabilities, does the program support the purposes articulated in the ADA (equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency)? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING THE OVERALL PURPOSE AND CONDUCT OF THE TANF PROGRAM 1. What are the purposes of the State program? Are these purposes reflected in a State statute? Regulations? Policy guidance? 2. Under section 504 and ADA, States must make reasonable modifications to policies unless they would fundamentally alter the nature of a State's program. When the State determines that it is not required to make a reasonable modification because it would result in a fundamental alteration in the program, is it applying the stated purposes of the legislation articulated in the State's plan? 3. With respect to each component of the State plan, does the State include specific policies and procedures or modifications applicable to persons with disabilities? For example, if the State plan includes a comprehensive system of personnel development, does the plan include specific reference for training personnel regarding the needs of persons with disabilities? If the State plan provides for a system of continuous program improvement, does the plan include specific reference to improvement in the delivery of services to people with disabilities? 4. Does the plan explain how people with disabilities and their representatives were involved in the process of developing the plan? 5. In addition to the inclusion of an assurance of nondiscrimination, does the plan include specific policies and procedures relating to implementation of the program consistent with section 504 and the ADA? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER DETERMINATIONS 1. In developing policies and procedures of general applicability regarding eligibility and application for the State's welfare program, has the State taken into consideration the prevalence of persons with disabilities (diagnosed and undiagnosed) in the population of persons applying for assistance? 2. If so, has the State developed systemic policy responses that reflect the prevalence of disability in the population applying for assistance? For example, under section 504 and the ADA, public agencies must make reasonable modifications to the application process to ensure that otherwise eligible individuals are not denied needed benefits e.g., simplifying the process and/or providing individualized assistance in navigating the system. Has the State simplified the application and eligibility process for all applicants? Does the State policy specify that intake staff must offer help to all persons applying for assistance? Or must each individual with a disability document and prove the existence of the disability and the need for help and then affirmatively request help before such help is provided? 3. Does the State provide a notice to applicants about their rights, including their rights as persons with disabilities under section 504 and ADA? What is included in the notice and is it in a form that is useable for persons with a range of intellectual abilities? 4. Has the State adopted pre-application requirements (e.g. job search)? What is the purpose or function of these requirements? Are general exemptions to or modifications of policies included? How do these policies apply to persons with disabilities e.g., are the requirements waived when it is determined that they are futile for a particular individual? Has the State adopted reasonable modifications to these pre-application requirements to ensure that they achieve the purpose or function for which they were intended for individuals with disabilities e.g., assisting in planning and arranging how to carry out job search activities, modifying the types of activities that are considered acceptable, and providing adaptive equipment and auxiliary aids and services? 5. If the application process includes the completion of numerous forms and requests for verification of documentation, what procedures has the State adopted to ensure that these procedures do not have the unintended effect of denying participation in the program for persons with disabilities? 6. What screening procedures, if any, have been developed for determining whether specific applicants have disabilities? Does the system include adequate safeguards to encourage self-identification? Who performs the screens? What training is provided to staff on how to conduct screens and interpret the results? How is the information obtained from the screen used? What are the safeguards for ensuring confidentiality, including sharing information with other agencies? Is the screening voluntary? 7. Has the State developed a policy for making referral to the State agency responsible for determining eligibility under the SSI/SSDI programs? What happens during the period pending the determination of eligibility for these programs? 8. What procedures has the State adopted to ensure that persons with disabilities are not "sanctioned" for failure to follow certain requirements when the reason is related to the person's disability, including the failure of other public agencies to carry out their responsibilities. For example, should a person with a disability have to start the entire application process over because he or she failed to make an appointment on time when the paratransit system failed to pick the individual up in a timely fashion? 9. What data has the State collected to determine whether people with disabilities are being "sanctioned" or simply not completing the application process on the basis of disability rather than for legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING ASSESSMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY PLANS 1. What is the nature and scope of the initial assessment that must be conducted under TANF to ascertain whether a person has a disability, the nature of the disability, and the implications of the disability on immediately securing employment, the need for reasonable accommodations, and the need for additional education and training? 2. What policies and procedures has the State developed to continuously review the progress the individual is making to ascertain whether the individual has a disability that is affecting progress? Should comprehensive assessments to ascertain disability be carried out for all recipients? For those who the State knows have an identified disability based on information provided by the individual? For those whom the State should have reason to believe have disabilities (based on screenings)? 3. Who may perform these assessments (what are minimum qualifications)? 4. What is the State's policy regarding the use of existing data provided by the individual? Confidentiality? Informed consent? 5. In those States that develop individual responsibility plans, what is the relationship between the initial assessment and the plan for adults with disabilities? 6. What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the employment goal and a plan for moving the individual immediately into private sector employment are individualized i.e., reflect the capabilities and interests of the individual with a disability? 7. What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the process for determining the obligations of the recipient are individualized i.e., reflects the capabilities of the individual? 8. Does the process include counseling regarding benefits and work incentives under the Social Security Act? 9. What policies and procedures has the State adopted to ensure that the process for determining what services are provided is individualized (based on sufficiently comprehensive assessments), the services provided are effective and meaningful in achieving the goal of employment, and the services are delivered consistent with the principles of consumer choice and control, including the selection of service providers? 10. Do state policies address supports necessary for job retention, particularly for persons with episodic disabilities? 11. Does the State have a policy or procedure that results in the tracking of persons with disabilities or certain categories of persons with disabilities into certain work opportunities or education or training opportunities? 12. Has the State adopted a performance-based reimbursement system that rewards service providers who serve persons with significant disabilities who might cost more than the average to place or has the State adopted a reimbursement system that has the effect of penalizing service providers that accept individuals who are hard to place and rewards creaming? 13. Has the State adopted policies and procedures to ensure that employment-related services that are provided to welfare recipients are provided in the most integrated setting appropriate and in an effective and meaningful manner for individuals with disabilities e.g., provide special aides, reduced class size, use of instructors with specialized training in how to use instructional or training strategies that will be of benefit to persons with disabilities? 14. What strategies has the state developed for training staff regarding disability-specific issues? 15. What procedures have been adopted by the State regarding the provision of employment-related services under TANF to persons with disabilities who are not served under the State vocational rehabilitation because they are not considered persons with the "most significant disabilities" under "order of selection?" 16. What procedures have been adopted by the State to link the welfare program to the One-Stop service delivery system established under the Workforce Investment Act? 17. What are the consequences for persons with disabilities if a State uses the additional flexibility under TANF to devise a "one-size fits all" approach rather than individualized assessments and plans and as a result individuals do not receive appropriate services? As a matter of public policy should States be required to extend requirements pertaining to work participation and time limits for receipt of cash assistance when they fail to provide equality of opportunity for adults with disabilities? 18. What data collection requirements (regarding process, outcomes, and retention) apply to ensure that States have sufficient information to determine whether they need to make programmatic changes to ensure continuous improvement of their program for persons with disabilities? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING WORK AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS 1. Has the State exercised its discretion and adopted a broad definition of "engaging in work" that takes into consideration the abilities and capabilities of individuals with significant disabilities? For example, does the policy recognize part-time work? Has the State adopted a policy allowing for modifications to its general definitions of "engaging in work" for particular individuals with disabilities based on individualized determinations of capacity? 2. Has the State adopted a narrow definition of "engaged in work" that simply reflects the categories included in TANF for purposes of complying with the work participation rate requirements? 3. Does the State investigate the reasons for an individual's failure to engage in work on the basis of disability (e.g., failure of the paratransit system to get an individual with a disability to work on a timely basis) before using sanctions against an individual? Has a State developed a process for allowing an individual to provide an explanation without losing benefits? 4. Has the State exercised its authority to provide for good faith and other exemptions from the requirement to "engage in work" before sanctions are exercised i.e., assistance is reduced or terminated? What is the stated purpose or function of the general rule and the policy rationales for the good cause or other exemptions? Does the State include specific exemptions for persons with disabilities? How does the State define disability for purposes of the exemption? What is the conceptual basis for any exemption for persons with disabilities? Is it based on the notion that people with disabilities are "incapable of working?" Is it based on the notion that some people with disabilities need ongoing supports and services in order to "engage in work" and the State is unwilling to provide these ongoing supports and services beyond 24 months? Is it based on the notion that case workers require sufficient flexibility to make individualized determinations based on the initial needs assessment and individual responsibility plan? Is it based on notion that some people with disabilities may only be able to work part-time or on an intermittent basis? Is it based on the lack of appropriate childcare for a child with a significant disability who is older than 6? Other bases? 5. If an individual is eligible for an exemption, is the individual permitted to receive services and supports (e.g., education and training)? If they voluntarily seek such services, do they lose their exemption? 6. Has the State adopted a policy providing that an individual cannot be sanctioned for failure to meet work requirements if appropriate assessments have not been completed and appropriate employment related services and supports have not been provided by the State? 7. Has the State adopted a process that includes an independent review to ascertain the extent to which the State has failed to follow its own rules? POLICY ISSUES CONCERNING TIME LIMITS 1. What is the State's policy regarding time limits? Has the State adopted different time limits for separate State programs or for individuals only receiving assistance out of State funds? 2. Has the State adopted extensions, exemptions, deferrals, postponements based on hardship? What is the function or purpose of the general policy and exemption/extension policy? Does the exemption or extension specifically include persons with disabilities? 3. What definition of "disability" does the State use for purpose of qualifying for an exemption/extension? What is the policy basis for including people with disabilities? If people with disabilities are not included, do certain categories of people with disabilities fall within a more generic exemption or extension? 4. Does the State policy on granting exemptions/extensions take into consideration the need to make reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities in order to navigate the system e.g., assistance in documenting need for an extension or exemption or reasons for failing to meet certain conditions? 5. What is the relationship between the initial assessment, the individual responsibility plan, and the decision to grant or deny an extension or exemption? 6. What is the relationship between the State's policy on exemptions with respect to work requirements and time limits? 7. If an individual is granted an exemption or extension but desires to voluntarily accept services and supports, does the individual forego the extension or exemption? 8. Has the State adopted a policy granting automatic exemptions or extensions of time limits for individuals with disabilities or others where the State has failed to provide appropriate assessments and appropriate services i.e., tolling the running of the time limits because of failure to comply with the nondiscrimination requirements or other provisions of TANF?