The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) provides low-income individuals and families with transitional services that promote responsibility and self-sufficiency. The Department administers five major programs of income assistance and other services: Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Assistance (EA), Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC), the state supplement to the federal Supplemental Security Income program (SSI), and the federal Food Stamp program. 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 1998, the Department will serve approximately 74,500 families in the TAFDC program, 143,900 individuals in the SSI program, and 27,100 individuals and families in the EAEDC program.

Objectives

In Fiscal Year 1998, the Department will implement the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the federal welfare reform legislation which took effect in August, 1996. The Act replaces the federal entitlement to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, which will provide the Commonwealth with greater flexibility in designing programs that promote work and self-sufficiency. Since the federal reforms are very similar to the state welfare reform provisions which were implemented in the Fall of 1995, the Department anticipates a smooth transition to the new federal requirements. However, the federal legislation does require the Department to implement two significant changes to welfare policy in Massachusetts. First, the Department will limit eligibility for TAFDC benefits to two years within every five-year period; and second, the Department must comply with federal benefit restrictions regarding certain legal non-citizens.

In order to ensure that TAFDC recipients have the skills necessary to move into the labor force within the new two-year time limit, and in order to provide legal non-citizens with a safety net of services, the Department will:

• expand the Employment Services Program to provide education, training, and job placement services to an additional 4,550 TAFDC recipients;
• provide certain recipients of TAFDC and SSI who became ineligible for assistance under the federal welfare reform law with continued TAFDC and EAEDC benefits at full state cost; and
• provide legal non-citizens with Emergency Assistance benefits as needed.

The Department will also:

• implement the Electronic Benefits Transfer program statewide by October, 1997, to distribute food stamps and cash assistance via ATM-like transactions, replacing the current practice of issuing coupons and checks;
• provide all local DTA offices with limited access to the Benefit Eligibility and Computer On-line Network (BEACON), which is expected to provide centralized intake and eligibility information by December, 1998; and
• enter into an interdepartmental service agreement with the Office of Refugees and Immigrants to consolidate services for approximately 370 refugee families who receive TAFDC assistance.

The success of welfare reform is contingent upon the Department's ability to provide all able-bodied TAFDC and EAEDC recipients with immediate job readiness services and placement assistance. Since September, 1993, the number of TAFDC recipients with earned income has risen 60%, from 7,000 to 11,200 in December, 1996. As part of the expansion of job placement services, the One-Stop Career Centers will continue to work with the Division of Education and Training to provide all recipients with employment counseling, resume writing assistance, job listings, employment-related library materials, and computer access.

The successful employment of TAFDC and EAEDC recipients is also contingent upon the availability of quality subsidized child care. In Fiscal Year 1998, the Division of Child Care will provide child care for all current or former TAFDC families who are participating in qualified work, education, or training activities.

To enhance food bank capacity for certain non-citizens and other needy individuals who become ineligible for Food Stamp benefits under the federal law, the Administration will also expand the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program by $7 million.

Budget Recommendations

The Fiscal Year 1998 recommendation is $1.01 billion. In Fiscal Year 1998, the previous reimbursement methodology of funding for TAFDC programs, under which Massachusetts received 50% federal reimbursement for most state spending, will be replaced by the TANF block grant. The State will receive a federal block grant of $459.4 million each year until federal Fiscal Year 2002, provided that the Commonwealth maintains a fixed level of state spending on related programs. In Fiscal Year 1998, under the provisions of the federal law, the Department will spend $325.63 million of the TANF grant on TAFDC-related programs and will transfer $133.77 million of the grant to the Child Care Fund and the Social Services Fund.

In an effort to meet the goals of the state and federal welfare reform initiatives, the Department will expand the Employment Services Program by $7.47 million in item 4401-1000 to fund an additional 1,100 enrollments in General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, 1,400 placements in skills training programs, 1,950 placements in job placement and subsidized private sector employment programs, and 100 enrollments in the Young Parents program, a specialized employment counseling program for teens. An additional $17.86 million increase in this account reflects the consolidation of a former federal grant with the new TANF block grant.

The Department will also spend an additional $46 million in item 4408-1000 to provide EAEDC cash assistance to approximately 11,700 non-citizens who will become ineligible for federal SSI benefits under federal welfare reform. To cover the administrative costs of expanding this state program, the Department will also spend an additional $1.21 million in item 4400-1000. In addition, expenditures for EAEDC health care benefits, which were funded previously from item 4408-1000, were transferred to the Division of Medical Assistance.

Due to a continuing decline in the caseload, overall TAFDC spending will decrease by $33.49 million in Fiscal Year 1998 to $480.12 million.

Budgetary Direct Appropriations

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION
4400-1000	For the central administration 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; provided, that the department shall continue finger imaging pilot programs in two offices of the department in Springfield and one office in Lawrence, pursuant to section one hundred fifteen of chapter five of the acts of nineteen hundred ninety-five; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, the per cent of expenditures from this item which the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund shall be between sixteen and twenty-nine one-hundredths and twenty-six and twenty-nine one-hundredths; provided further, that said per cent shall be based upon certification by the department of transitional assistance that said per cent reflects the appropriate distribution of actual charges, and shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance; provided further, that the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the General Fund the remainder of expenditures from this item; and provided further, that the comptroller shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than ten days prior to charging expenditures from this item otherwise than as provided herein below	126,884,538
	General Fund 78.71% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 21.29%

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 eighteen 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 one hundred eighteen 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 the department of transitional assistance may allocate funds from this item to other state agencies including community colleges for the purposes of the employment services program; provided further, that payment 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 public means or private automobile is not reasonably available and affordable, and shall be subject to reasonable maximums determined by the department; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, the per cent of expenditures from this item which the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund shall be between forty-three and fifty-three; provided further, that said per cent shall be based upon certification by the department of transitional assistance that said per cent reflects the appropriate distribution of actual charges, and shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance; provided further, that the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the General Fund the remainder of expenditures from this item; and provided further, that the comptroller shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than ten days prior to charging expenditures from this item otherwise than as provided herein below	37,102,693
	General Fund 52.00% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 48.00%

TAFDC GRANT PAYMENTS
4403-2000	For a program of transitional aid to families with dependent children; provided, that the need standard shall be equal to the standard in effect in fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-nine; provided further, that the payment standard shall be equal to the need standard; provided further, that the need and payment standard for families which do not qualify for an exempt category of assistance under the provisions of subsection (e) of section one hundred ten of chapter five of the acts of nineteen hundred and ninety-five shall be two and three quarters per cent below the payment standard in effect in fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-five; provided further, that benefits under this program shall be provided only to residents who are citizens, or non-citizens who are in mandatory or optional coverage groups, so called, under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of nineteen hundred and ninety-six, or non-citizens who were residents of the commonwealth as of July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven and are either lawfully admitted for permanent residence or permanently residing under color of law; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance may establish by regulation categories of non-citizens who are eligible consistent with the provisions of this item and federal law; provided further, that the department shall notify all teen parents receiving benefits from said program of the requirements, found in clause two of subsection (i) of said section one hundred ten of said chapter five; provided further, that a forty dollar 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 one hundred fifty dollars shall be provided to each child eligible under this program in September, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven; provided further, that benefits under this program shall not be available to those families where 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 two of chapter one hundred eighteen 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 was living with her in the month of payment would be 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 division of child care or for transportation services for the employment services 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 the department may enter into an interdepartmental service agreement for the purposes of allocating funds to the Massachusetts refugee resettlement program for certain individuals who otherwise would have been eligible to receive benefits under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program; provided further, that those individuals eligible for benefits through the Massachusetts refugee resettlement program as a result of said interdepartmental service agreement shall not be eligible for benefits under chapters one hundred seventeen A or one hundred eighteen while eligible for cash assistance under the refugee resettlement program; provided further, that the total cost of providing cash assistance under the Massachusetts refugee resettlement program shall not exceed the cost of providing cash assistance under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program for the same recipients; provided further, that no funds so allocated shall be used for the costs of managing or administering the Massachusetts refugee resettlement program; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, the per cent of expenditures from this item which the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund shall be between thirty-eight and forty-eight; provided further, that said per cent shall be based upon certification by the department of transitional assistance that said per cent reflects the appropriate distribution of actual charges, and shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance; provided further, that the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the General Fund the remainder of expenditures from this item; and provided further, that the comptroller shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than ten days prior to charging expenditures from this item otherwise than as provided herein below	447,173,040
	Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 57.00% General Fund 43.00%

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE - RENT ARREARAGES
4403-2110	For expenses of the emergency assistance program directly attributable to rent liability; provided, that no funds may be expended for heat or utility arrearages, so called; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance 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 under this item so as not to exceed the appropriation; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, thirty days before promulgating any such eligibility or benefit changes, the commissioner of said department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means and with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate a determination by the secretary of health and human services that available appropriations for said program will be insufficient to meet projected expenses and a report setting forth such proposed changes; provided further, that benefits under this program shall be provided only to residents who are citizens of the United States or certain non-citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or permanently residing under color of law, and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that the department may establish by regulation categories of non-citizens who are eligible consistent with the provisions of this item; provided further, that the department shall prepare and promulgate rules and regulations to prevent abuse in the emergency assistance program pursuant to the provisions of this item and of item 4403-2120; 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 thirty-six months; provided further, that if a person has utilized emergency assistance benefits more than once within thirty-six 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 nineteen hundred and ninety-eight; provided further, that no provision set out herein is intended to give rise to an enforceable legal right or entitlement not otherwise provided in regulations of the department; provided further, that nothing in the preceding proviso shall authorize the department to alter eligibility criteria or benefit levels, except to the extent that such changes are needed to avoid a deficiency in this item; provided further, that no emergency assistance expenditures shall be paid from this item unless explicitly authorized by this item; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, the per cent of expenditures from this item which the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund shall be between thirty-two and forty-two; provided further, that said per cent shall be based upon certification by the department of transitional assistance that said per cent reflects the appropriate distribution of actual charges, and shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance; provided further, that the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the General Fund the remainder of expenditures from this item; and provided further, that the comptroller shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than ten days prior to charging expenditures from this item otherwise than as provided herein below	11,472,715
	General Fund 63.00% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 37.00%

TEEN STRUCTURED SETTINGS
4403-2119	For the provision of structured settings as provided in subsection (i) of section one hundred ten of chapter five of the acts of nineteen hundred and ninety-five for parents under the age of twenty who are receiving benefits under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program	5,256,441

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE - FAMILY SHELTERS AND SERVICES
4403-2120	For certain expenses of the emergency assistance program, namely (i) contracted family shelters, (ii) transitional housing program, (iii) intake centers, so called, (iv) voucher shelters, so called, and (v) a furniture donation pickup van; provided, that no funds may be expended from this item 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 amounts available to it for expenditure under this item so as not to exceed the appropriation; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, thirty days before promulgating any such eligibility or benefit changes, the commissioner of said department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means and with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate a determination by the secretary of health and human services that available appropriations for said program will be insufficient to meet projected expenses and a report setting forth such proposed changes; provided further, that benefits under said program shall be provided only to residents who are citizens of the United States or certain non-citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or permanently residing under color of law and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance may establish by regulation categories of non-citizens who are eligible consistent with the provisions of this item; provided further, that the department shall promulgate 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 thirty-six months; provided further, that if a person has utilized emergency assistance benefits more than once within thirty-six 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 nineteen hundred ninety-eight; provided further, that no emergency assistance expenditures shall be paid from this item unless explicitly authorized by this item; provided further, that no provision set out herein is intended to give rise to an enforceable legal right or entitlement not otherwise provided in regulations of the department; provided further, that nothing in the preceding proviso shall authorize the department to alter eligibility criteria or benefit levels, except to the extent that such changes are needed to avoid a deficiency in this item; provided further, that the department is authorized to enter into an interdepartmental service agreement with the department of housing and community development for a program to prevent homelessness; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, the per cent of expenditures from this item which the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund shall be between thirty-one and ninety-five one-hundredths and forty-one and ninety-five one-hundredths; provided further, that said per cent shall be based upon certification by the department of transitional assistance that said per cent reflects the appropriate distribution of actual charges, and shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance; provided further, that the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to charge to the General Fund the remainder of expenditures from this item; and provided further, that the comptroller shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than ten days prior to charging expenditures from this item otherwise than as provided herein below	34,320,103
	General Fund 63.05% Transitional Aid to Needy Families Fund 36.95%

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 to recipients residing in rest homes, as provided in section seven A of chapter one hundred eighteen A of the General Laws, may be paid from this item; and provided further, that the payment levels for the optional supplement categories shall be those in effect on July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-five	171,964,625

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 of transitional assistance may allocate funds to other state agencies for the purposes of this program; and provided further, that the department shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means of all such allocations	28,563,380

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 one hundred seventeen A of the General Laws and 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 the department and subject to the limitations of appropriation therefor; provided, 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 nineteen hundred and ninety-seven; provided further, that a thirty-five dollar 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 sixty-five years of age or older who have applied for benefits under chapter one hundred eighteen A 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 and which substantially reduces or eliminates the individual's capacity to support himself or herself 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, to otherwise eligible students under twenty-one years of age who are regularly attending a full-time grade school, high school, or technical or vocational school not beyond the secondary level, provided said students have been admitted legally to the United States within the preceding two years or are not fluent in the English language, and provided said students who are minors are living with a responsible adult, and to families with dependent children whose sole reason for ineligibility for benefits under chapter one hundred eighteen of the General Laws is either an inability to satisfy the work history requirement or an inability to satisfy the relationship requirement of said program; provided further, that the department shall establish non-financial eligibility requirements for said families consistent with the transitional aid to families with dependent children program; provided further, that no ex-offender, person over forty-five years of age without a prior work history, 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 this program; provided further, that benefits under this program shall be provided only to residents who are citizens of the United States or certain non-citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or permanently residing under color of law and shall not be provided to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that only those non-citizens residing in the commonwealth of Massachusetts as of July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven shall be eligible for benefits; provided further, that no funds shall be expended from this item for the payment of expenses associated with any medical review team, 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 under this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated herein; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law or of this item to the contrary, before implementing any eligibility or benefit changes or both to the program, the commissioner of said department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means and with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate a determination by the secretary of health and human services that available appropriations for said program will be insufficient to meet projected expenses and a report setting forth such proposed changes; provided further, that said report shall contain detailed information concerning the current and proposed operation of the program, including categories of eligibility, number of eligible persons in each category, demographic information regarding said persons, services rendered to said persons, direct service costs, administrative costs, and an explanation of need for proposed changes in eligibility requirements or benefit levels or both; provided further, that the department is authorized to promulgate emergency regulations pursuant to chapter thirty A of the General Laws to implement such eligibility or benefit changes or both; provided further, that nothing herein shall be construed as creating any right accruing to recipients of the former general relief program; provided further, that the secretary of health and human services shall report monthly to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the secretary of administration and finance for the preceding month on the number of persons applying for benefits under this program, by category, age, and disability, if any, and the number of persons receiving and denied benefits under this program by category, age and disability, if any; provided further, that an amount not to exceed seventeen million eight hundred thousand dollars in reimbursements collected from the Social Security Administration on behalf of former clients of the emergency aid to the elderly, disabled and children program and unprocessed payments from said program that are returned to the department shall be credited to this account and may be expended without further appropriation for the purposes of this program; 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	114,871,098

Budgetary Retained Revenues

CHILD SUPPORT RETAINED REVENUE
4403-2013	The department of transitional assistance is hereby authorized to expend an amount not to exceed thirty-two million nine hundred fifty thousand dollars accrued from the child support payments collected pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, for the purposes of the program of transitional aid to families with dependent children in accordance with the provisions of item 4403-2000	32,950,000

Federal Grant Spending

FULL EMPLOYMENT FOOD STAMP CASH OUT
4400-3069	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Full Employment Food Stamp Cash Out	1,800,000