The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) provides low-income individuals and families with transitional services that promote responsibility and self-sufficiency. DTA administers five major programs of income assistance and other services: Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Assistance, Emergency Aid to Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC), the state supplement to the federal Supplemental Security Income program (SSI), and state and federal Food Stamp programs. The common focus of all DTA programs is to provide short-term assistance to individuals currently unemployed, and longer-term assistance to individuals who cannot work due to age, disability, or other factors. During Fiscal Year 2000, the Department will serve approximately 49,444 families in the TAFDC program, 167,057 DTA clients eligible for federal SSI, and 14,439 individuals and families eligible for EAEDC.

DTA will continue to implement the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in Fiscal Year 2000, with the primary focus on helping recipients into the workforce. In order to comply with federal law, and to reinforce the Cellucci/Swift Administration’s work-first approach to welfare reform, DTA will implement changes to the Commonwealth’s welfare law in Fiscal Year 2000. These changes will require new recipients to participate in a structured job search during the first 60 days of benefit receipt; increase the number of hours per week that recipients must work to receive benefits; and narrow the group of recipients who are exempt from the work participation requirement.

As welfare reform progresses in Fiscal Year 2000, DTA will monitor recipients who have reached their two-year time limit on benefits and are working towards self-sufficiency, and will ensure that they are aware of their continued eligibility for Food Stamps, Medicaid benefits, and child care if they are working. DTA will also continue its efforts to help recipients overcome barriers to self-sufficiency, by working with other departments to coordinate a wide range of ongoing support services and by refining and expanding new programs such as mentoring for first-time workers. A major theme as welfare reform continues will be the development of more flexible, adaptable services that can help each TAFDC recipient with his or her unique barrier to employment.

Finally, during Fiscal Year 2000 DTA will take a major step in its implementation of the Benefit Eligibility and Computer On-line Network (BEACON), providing transitional assistance workers with quick and up-to-date information on benefit eligibility and payments and enabling DTA to reduce paperwork and more accurately identify client fraud.

Budget Recommendations

The Fiscal Year 2000 recommendation for DTA is $849.9 million. This recommendation includes $247.2 million of the $460.6 million that the Commonwealth will receive from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant in Fiscal Year 2000.

The Fiscal Year 2000 TANF amount is based on receipt of the Fiscal Year 2000 grant of $459.4 million, and $1.2 million of unspent funds from prior year grants. In addition to the $247.2 million in TANF spending at DTA, $75.5 million of the grant will fund child care programs for TAFDC recipients at the Office for Child Care Services; $91.9 million will be transferred to the federal Child Care Development Fund grant to provide child care for low-income working parents; and $45.9 million will be transferred to the federal Social Services Block Grant. There will be a $45.7 million increase in TANF grant spending on child care in Fiscal Year 2000, to ensure sufficient child care for TAFDC recipients who are making the transition to work.

The Fiscal Year 2000 recommendation includes an additional $10 million for job search services for recipients required to participate in a job search as a result of changes in the Commonwealth’s welfare law (4401-1000); an additional $2.4 million for shelters for homeless families and for homelessness prevention services (4403-2120); an additional $1.8 million for information technology workers and equipment to support the on-going implementation of BEACON (4400-1000); $1.4 million for 200 more transitional beds for homeless individuals (4406-3000); an additional $677,000 for domestic violence specialists at local offices (4400-1025); and $400,000 for additional staff at teen structured settings (4403-2119).

The Fiscal Year 2000 recommendation for the State Supplemental Food Stamp program is $5.6 million. This level of funding is based on a lower caseload than in Fiscal Year 1999 due to changes in federal Food Stamp eligibility requirements, and on intensified efforts to ensure that families of legal immigrants remain eligible for the maximum federal Food Stamp benefit.

In Fiscal Year 2000, the accounts that provide TAFDC benefits will be consolidated by moving funds from the child support revenues account (4403-2013) to the TAFDC benefits account (4403-2000).

These recommendations also include $849,266 to improve the salaries for the Department’s lowest paid, contracted, direct care workers. In Fiscal Year 1999, this funding was appropriated as part of a reserve account in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.

Budgetary Direct Appropriations

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION
4400-1000	For the operation of the department of transitional assistance, including the development and maintenance of automated data processing systems and services in support of department operations, and for the administration of department programs in local transitional assistance offices, including the expenses of operating a food stamp program	138,109,022
	General Fund 66.00% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 34.00%

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SPECIALISTS
4400-1025	For domestic violence specialists at local area offices of the department of transitional assistance; provided, that not less than $467,000 shall be made available for community-based programs to prepare victims of domestic violence who are recipients of benefits provided under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program for work; provided further, that said programs shall collaborate with providers of job training, including service delivery areas; and provided further, that said programs shall include, but not be limited to, domestic violence awareness education for staff of the department and job training providers under contract with the department, the identification and elimination of barriers to work for said victims, and the provision of job retention services to said victims	877,000

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES PROGRAM
4401-1000	For a program to provide employment and training services for recipients of benefits provided under the program of transitional aid to families with dependent children and the absent parents of said recipients; provided, that certain parents who have not yet reached the age of 18 years, including those who are ineligible for transitional aid to families with dependent children and who would qualify for benefits under the provisions of chapter 118 of the General Laws but for the deeming of the grandparents` income, shall be allowed to participate in the employment services program; provided further, that payments for the costs of transportation to an approved activity by means other than public transportation or private automobile shall be permitted only when transportation by said means is not reasonably available and affordable, and shall be subject to reasonable maximums determined by the department; provided further, that the department may require certain recipients participating in community service programs to participate in job search activities provided through the department in lieu of community service or, with the department`s assistance, to seek an alternative community service site; and provided further, that the department may allocate funds from this item to other state agencies, including community colleges, for the purposes of the employment services program	34,700,950
	Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 58.15% General Fund 41.85%

RESERVE FOR EMPLOYMENT SERVICES PROGRAM FOR CURRENT AND FORMER TAFDC RECIPIENTS
4401-1001	For a reserve to fund additional services for recipients of transitional aid to families with dependent children benefits; provided, that funds from this item may be expended on former recipients for up to one year after termination of their benefits due to employment or the provisions of subsection (f) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995	15,000,000
	General Fund 75.00% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 25.00%

TAFDC GRANT PAYMENTS
4403-2000	For a program of transitional aid to families with dependent children; provided, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, benefits from this item shall be paid only to citizens of the United States and to non-citizens for whom federal funds may be used to provide benefits; provided further, that the need standard shall be equal to the standard in effect in fiscal year 1989; provided further, that the payment standard shall be equal to the need standard; provided further, that the payment standard for families who do not qualify for an exempt category of assistance under the provisions of subsection (e) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 shall be 2.75 per cent below the payment standard in effect in fiscal year 1995, pursuant to the provisions of the state plan required under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, so called; provided further, that the department shall notify all teen parents receiving benefits from said program of the requirements in clause 2 of subsection (i) of said section 110 of said chapter 5; provided further, that a $40 per month rent allowance shall be paid to all households incurring a rent or mortgage expense and not residing in public housing or subsidized housing; provided further, that a non-recurring children`s clothing allowance in the amount of $150 shall be provided to each child eligible under this program in September 1999; provided further, that benefits under this program shall not be available to those families in which a child has been removed from the household pursuant to a court order after a care and protection hearing on child abuse, nor to adult recipients otherwise eligible for transitional aid to families with dependent children but for the temporary removal of the dependent child or children from the home by the department of social services in accordance with department procedures; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of chapter 118 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall render aid to pregnant women with no other eligible dependent children only if it has been medically verified that the child is expected to be born within the month such payments are to be made or within the three-month period following such month of payment, and who, if such child had been born and were living with her in the month of payment would have been categorically and financially eligible for transitional aid to families with dependent children benefits; provided further, that certain families that suffer a reduction in benefits due to a loss of earned income and participation in retrospective budgeting may receive a supplemental benefit to compensate them for such loss; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be expended by the department for child care or transportation services for the employment and training program; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be expended by the department for family reunification benefits or informal child care; and provided further, that the commissioner of transitional assistance is hereby authorized to transfer funds appropriated herein to item 4403-2002	297,641,589
	General Fund 51.78% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 48.22%

TAFDC GRANT PAYMENTS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
4403-2002	For a program of supplemental transitional aid to families with dependent children pursuant to the provisions of section 210 of chapter 43 of the acts of 1997; provided, that benefits under this item shall be provided only to persons who are not citizens of the United States, and for whom, pursuant to section 401, 402, or 403 of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 8 U.S.C. section 1611, 1612, or 1613, federal funds may not be used to provide benefits pursuant to chapter 118 of the General Laws, but who are qualified aliens within the meaning of section 431 of said Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 8 U.S.C. section 1641, or are otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law including provisions of this act to the contrary, no benefits under this item shall be made available to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that the need standard shall be equal to the standard in effect in fiscal year 1989; provided further, that the payment standard shall be equal to the need standard; provided further, that the payment standard for families that do not qualify for an exempt category of assistance under the provisions of subsection (e) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 shall be 2.75 per cent below the payment standard in effect in fiscal year 1995; provided further, that the department shall notify all teenage parents receiving benefits from said program of the requirements in clause 2 of subsection (i) of said section 110 of said chapter 5; provided further, that a $40 per month rent allowance shall be paid to all households incurring a rent or mortgage expense and not residing in public housing or subsidized housing; provided further, that a non-recurring children`s clothing allowance in the amount of $150 shall be provided to each child eligible under this program in September 1999; provided further, that benefits under this program shall not be available to those families in which a child has been removed from the household pursuant to a court order after a care and protection hearing on child abuse, nor to adult recipients otherwise eligible for supplemental transitional aid to families with dependent children but for the temporary removal of the dependent child or children from the home by the department of social services in accordance with department procedures; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of chapter 118 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall render aid to pregnant women with no other eligible dependent children only if it has been medically verified that the child is expected to be born within the month such payments are to be made or within the three-month period following such month of payment, and who, if such child had been born and were living with her in the month of payment would have been categorically and financially eligible for supplemental transitional aid to families with dependent children benefits; provided further, that certain families that suffer a reduction in benefits due to a loss of earned income and participation in retrospective budgeting may receive a supplemental benefit to compensate them for such loss; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be expended by the department for child care or transportation services for the employment and training program; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be expended by the department for family reunification benefits or informal child care; provided further, that in promulgating, amending, or rescinding regulations with respect to eligibility or benefits under said program, the department shall take into account the amounts available to it for expenditure from this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated herein; and provided further, that the commissioner of transitional assistance is hereby authorized to transfer funds appropriated herein to item 4403-2000	5,599,828

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE - RENT ARREARAGES
4403-2110	For expenses of the emergency assistance program directly attributable to rent liability; provided, that no funds shall be expended for heat or utility arrearages, so called; provided further, that the department may provide limited related services in the event of a disaster as defined by regulations promulgated by the department; provided further, that said services shall be defined as payments for advance rent, security deposits, sheltering, housing search, food, clothing, and housing supplies; provided further, that in promulgating, amending, or rescinding regulations with respect to eligibility or benefits under said program, the department shall take into account the amounts available to it for expenditure by this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated herein; provided further, that the department shall prepare and promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the provisions of this item and of item 4403-2120 to prevent abuse in the emergency assistance program; provided further, that said rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, a year-to-year cross check of recipients to determine if a person has received similar benefits in the previous 36 months; provided further, that if a person has utilized emergency assistance benefits more than once within 36 months, the department is hereby authorized and directed to place said person on a protective payment schedule for the entire period during which said person is receiving said benefits; provided further, that no advance payments shall be paid in fiscal year 2000; provided further, that benefits under this item shall be provided only to residents who are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the United States and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; and provided further, that no emergency assistance expenditures shall be paid from this item unless explicitly authorized by this item	12,424,757
	Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 60.00% General Fund 40.00%

TEEN STRUCTURED SETTINGS
4403-2119	For the provision of structured settings as provided in subsection (i) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 for parents under the age of 20 who are receiving benefits under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program	5,745,709

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE - FAMILY SHELTERS AND SERVICES
4403-2120	For certain expenses of the emergency assistance program as herein delineated: (i) contracted family shelters, (ii) transitional housing program, (iii) intake centers, so called, and (iv) voucher shelters, so called; provided, that no funds shall be expended for heat or utility arrearages, so called; provided further, that in promulgating, amending, or rescinding regulations with respect to eligibility or benefits under said program, the department of transitional assistance shall take into account the amount available to it for expenditure from this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated herein; provided further, that the department shall promulgate rules and regulations to prevent abuse in the emergency assistance program pursuant to the provisions of this item and of item 4403-2110; provided further, that said rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to a year-to-year cross check of recipients to determine if a person has received similar benefits in the previous 36 months; provided further, that if a person has utilized emergency assistance benefits more than once within 36 months, the department is hereby authorized and directed to place said person on a protective payment schedule for the entire period during which said person is receiving said benefits; provided further, that no advance payments shall be paid in fiscal year 2000; provided further, that the department is authorized to enter into an interdepartmental service agreement for an amount not less than $4,933,333 with the department of housing and community development for a program to prevent homelessness; provided further, that the department shall identify the total cost of housing search assistance services provided to families residing in shelters funded from this item; provided further, that the department, in collaboration with the department of housing and community development, shall determine the feasibility of consolidating all housing search assistance services as separately contracted services either at the department of transitional assistance or at the department of housing and community development, and shall submit a report regarding said cost and said determination to the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means by November 1, 1999; provided further, that benefits under this item shall be provided only to residents who are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the United States and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; and provided further, that no emergency assistance expenditures which are not explicitly authorized herein shall be made from this item	40,960,911
	General Fund 59.85% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 40.15%

STATE SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD STAMP PROGRAM FOR NON-CITIZENS
4404-1000	For a program of nutritional assistance to residents of the commonwealth who are qualified aliens within the meaning of section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, so called, and non-citizens otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the United States; provided, that such a resident shall be eligible for such benefits only if such resident: (1) is ineligible for federal food stamp benefits pursuant to the provisions of sections 401, 402, or 403 of said act, (2) would be eligible for federally funded food stamps, but for his or her citizenship status, and (3) has resided in the commonwealth for at least 60 days; provided further, that the benefit levels established for said program shall, to the extent feasible, replicate the equivalent levels in effect for the federal food stamp program as of June 30, 1999, but shall be reduced by a consistent percentage across all benefit levels to the extent necessary to ensure that expenditures for said program do not exceed the amount appropriated herein; and provided further, that such benefits may be distributed by electronic benefit transfer to the extent such distribution does not jeopardize otherwise available federal funding or impede the effective distribution of such benefits	5,583,680

STATE SUPPLEMENT TO FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR AGED AND DISABLED
4405-2000	For the state supplement to the supplemental security income program for the aged and disabled, including a program for emergency needs for supplemental security income recipients; provided, that the expenses of special grants recipients residing in rest homes, pursuant to section 7A of chapter 118A of the General Laws, may be paid from this item; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance, in collaboration with the division of medical assistance, is hereby authorized to fund an optional supplement living arrangement category under the supplemental security income program that makes payments to persons living in assisted living residences certified pursuant to chapter 19D of the General Laws who meet the income and clinical eligibility criteria established by the department and said division; and provided further, that said optional category of payments shall be administered in conjunction with the Medicaid group adult foster care benefit	201,487,994

HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS ASSISTANCE
4406-3000	For the homelessness program to assist individuals who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, including assistance to organizations which provide food, shelter, housing search, and limited related services to the homeless and indigent; provided, that the department may allocate funds to other agencies for the purposes of this program; and provided further, that not less than $1,400,000 shall be made available for a transitional housing program, to be administered by the department through contracts with the Young Men`s Christian Associations and Young Women`s Christian Associations	33,052,436

EMERGENCY AID TO THE ELDERLY, DISABLED AND CHILDREN
4408-1000	For a program of cash assistance to certain residents of the commonwealth pursuant to chapter 117A of the General Laws, entitled emergency aid to the elderly, disabled and children, who are found by the department of transitional assistance to be eligible for such aid, pursuant to regulations promulgated by said department and subject to the limitations of appropriation therefor; provided, that benefits under this item shall only be provided to residents who are citizens of the United States or qualified aliens, so called, or non-citizens otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that the payment standard shall equal the payment standard in effect under the emergency aid to the elderly, disabled and children program in fiscal year 1999; provided further, that a $35 rent allowance, to the extent possible within the amount of this appropriation, shall be paid to all households incurring a rent or mortgage expense and not residing in public housing or subsidized housing; provided further, that the department may provide benefits to persons 65 years of age or older who have applied for benefits under chapter 118A of the General Laws, to persons suffering from a medically determinable impairment or combination of impairments which is expected to last for a period as determined by department regulations, which substantially reduces or eliminates the individual`s capacity to support himself, and which has been verified by a competent authority, to certain persons caring for a disabled person, to otherwise eligible participants in the vocational rehabilitation program of the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission, and to dependent children who are ineligible for benefits under both chapter 118 of the General Laws and the separate program created by section 210 of chapter 43 of the acts of 1997 and parents or other caretakers of dependent children who are ineligible under said chapter 118 and under said separate program; provided further, that no ex-offender, person over 45 years of age without a prior work history, student, or person in a residential treatment facility shall be eligible for benefits under this program unless said person otherwise meets the eligibility criteria described herein and defined by regulations of the department; provided further, that any person incarcerated in a correctional institution shall not be eligible for benefits under said program; provided further, that no funds shall be expended from this item for the payment of expenses associated with any medical review team or other disability screening process, or costs associated with verifying disability for this program; provided further, that in promulgating, amending, or rescinding its regulations with respect to eligibility or benefits, including the payment standard, medical benefits, and any other benefits under this program, the department shall take into account the amounts available to it for expenditure from this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated herein; provided further, that the department is authorized to promulgate emergency regulations pursuant to chapter 30A of the General Laws to implement these eligibility or benefit changes or both; and provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the funds made available herein shall be the only funds available for said program, and the department shall not spend funds for said program in excess of the amount made available herein	58,688,486

Federal Grant Spending

TANF CLOSED CASES TRACKING
4400-3065	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, TANF Closed Cases Tracking	170,794

FOOD STAMP EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
4400-3067	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Food Stamp Employment and Training	1,137,908

FULL EMPLOYMENT FOOD STAMP CASH OUT
4400-3069	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Full Employment Food Stamp Cash Out	400,000

Trust and Other Spending

4400-1225

FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

10,000