 Truly Needy Stay on the Rolls Past Five Year Limit; Others Now Being Timed Out of Public Assistance July 03, 2002
"Since the State of Alaska initiated welfare reform in 1997, Alaska has reduced its overall caseload by 40 percent," said Gov. Tony Knowles. "Innovative programs designed to help families find and keep employment have helped thousands of Alaska families to leave welfare and achieve self-sufficiency through work, saving the state millions of dollars in the process." The proportion of families on welfare in Alaska is at its lowest point in decades. Spending on welfare payments dropped to $58.6 million in fiscal year 2002, down 49 percent from the $115.2 million spent in FY 97. By this gauge, savings from welfare payments for the past five years are estimated at over $228 million ($228,776,800). According to the news release, despite this success, there are still a small number of families, only 7% of the caseload in 1997 when the program began, who have not reached self-sufficiency and who have now used up the entire 60 months of assistance available to them. In July, 205 families will reach the 60-month time limit. The State estimates about 800 families will reach the 60-month limit in the next twelve months. The State's objective is to maintain a safety net for truly needy families while enforcing the 60-month limit. To achieve this, the welfare law provides for exemptions to the 60-month limit. The exemptions extend benefits for families with disabled parents or children, or victims of domestic violence and other hardships. To determine which families meet the criteria for exemption, the Division of Public Assistance developed guidelines that multi-disciplinary staffing teams have used to comprehensively review all cases approaching the 60 month limit. In recent months, these teams have met throughout the state to review the situations faced by over 400 families reaching the time limit beginning in July. The teams determined whether additional services are needed and if the family should be allowed an extension to the time limit. About 25% of these families have chosen to close their case when they reach the time limit. Many are accessing supportive services for working families, such as food stamps, medical coverage and subsidized childcare. Of the rest, almost 80% have been allowed extensions to the time limit. The majority of these cases include an adult or child with a physical or mental health problem that interferes with the ability to become self-sufficient. Parents who have received an extension must follow all program rules to continue to receive benefits. Extended time on assistance allows for additional intensive services so that the family can achieve self-sufficiency and eventually leave the program. The time limit does not apply to families where only a child receives assistance. Also, months of assistance do not count for adults living in economically challenged Alaska Native villages where at least half of the adults are not working. "Alaska's experience with Temporary Assistance has shown that the vast majority of families want to work and get off welfare to build better lives for themselves and their children," said public assistance director Chris Ashenbrenner. "Our agency's mission is to help them achieve their goals."
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