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Department of Transitional Assistance
| DEPARTMENT | FY 2009 Budgetary Recommendations |
FY 2009 Federal, Trust, and ISF |
FY 2009 Total Spending |
FY 2009 Budgetary Non-Tax Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Transitional Assistance | 877,264 | 16,025 | 893,289 | 407,319 |
| account | description | amount |
|---|---|---|
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE | 893,289,138 | |
| Budgetary Direct Appropriations | 877,264,138 | |
| Direct Appropriations | ||
| 4400-1000 | Department of Transitional Assistance
For the central administration of the department of transitional assistance |
68,136,719 |
| 4400-1001 | Food Stamp Participation Rate Programs
For programs to increase the commonwealth's participation rate in food stamps and other federal nutrition programs; provided, that not less than $1,500,000 shall be expended for a grant with Project Bread-The Walk for Hunger, Inc. |
2,963,471 |
| 4400-1025 | Domestic Violence Specialists
For domestic violence specialists at local area offices |
735,950 |
| 4400-1100 | Caseworker Salaries and Benefits
For the payroll compensation of caseworkers |
58,850,868 |
| 4401-1000 | Employment Services Program
For employment and training services, including support services, for recipients of benefits provided under the transitional aid to families with dependent children program and the absent parents of those recipients; provided, that funds from this item may be expended on former recipients of the program for up to 1 year after termination of their benefits; and provided further, 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 chapter 118 of the General Laws but for the deeming of the grandparents' income, shall be eligible to receive services |
27,234,085 |
| 4403-2000 | TAFDC Grant Payments
For the operation of a program of transitional aid to families with dependent children; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, benefits under the program 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 2008 unless the department determines that a reduction in the monthly payment standard should be implemented before the end of the fiscal year to keep program expenditures within the amounts appropriated in this item; 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 subsection (e) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 shall be 2.75 per cent below the payment standard, under the state plan required under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance shall notify all teen parents receiving benefits from the programs of the requirements in clause (2) of subsection (i) of section 110; 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 these programs in September 2008; provided further, that the children's clothing allowance shall be included in the standard of need for the month of September 2008; provided further, that benefits under this program shall not be available to those families in which a child has been removed from the household under 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 that department's procedures; provided further, that notwithstanding 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 these payments are to be made or within the 3 month period following the month of payment, and who, if the 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 this loss; provided further, that the department shall review and revise its disability standards to reflect current medical and vocational criteria; provided further, that the department may provide state-funded transitional benefits alternative payments to those recipients ineligible for these payments through the federal food stamp program because assistance under this item was paid by a solely state-funded program; and provided further, that the department may reimburse the United States Department of Agriculture for such transitional benefit alternative payments made in fiscal year 2009 |
291,442,465 |
| 4403-2007 | Supplemental Nutritional Program
For the department of transitional assistance to develop and implement a nutritional benefit program for low-income workers; provided, that benefits shall be provided only to those for whom receiving these benefits will improve the work participation rate under the federal program of temporary assistance for needy families |
1,200,000 |
| 4403-2119 | Teen Structured Settings Program
For the provision of structured settings 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 |
6,938,579 |
| 4403-2120 | Emergency Assistance - Family Shelters and Services
For certain expenses of the emergency assistance program as follows: (i) contracted family shelters; (ii) transitional housing programs; (iii) programs to reduce homelessness in Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties; (iv) residential education centers for single mothers with children; (v) intake centers; and (vi) voucher shelters; provided, that eligibility shall be limited to families with income at or below 130 per cent of the federal poverty level; provided, however, that any family whose income exceeds 130 per cent of the federal poverty level while the family is receiving assistance funded by this item shall not become ineligible for assistance due to exceeding the income limit for a period of 6 months from the date that the 130 per cent level was exceeded; provided further, that the department shall establish reasonable requirements for these families to escrow some or all of the portion of their income which exceeds 130 per cent of the federal poverty level; provided further, that any escrowed funds shall be exempt from otherwise applicable asset limits; provided further, that the family shall be allowed to withdraw the amount placed in escrow upon transition to permanent housing or losing eligibility for shelter services; 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; provided further, that the department shall take all steps necessary to enforce regulations to prevent abuse in the emergency assistance program; provided further, that no emergency assistance expenditures shall be paid from this item unless explicitly authorized; provided further, that eligible households shall be placed in shelters as close as possible to their home community unless a household requests otherwise; provided further, that if the closest available placement is not within 20 miles of the household's home community, the household shall be transferred to an appropriate shelter within 20 miles of its home community at the earliest possible date unless the household requests otherwise; provided further, that eligibility for shelter by an otherwise eligible family shall not be impaired by prior receipt of any non-shelter benefit; provided further, that the department shall make every effort to ensure that children receiving services from this item shall continue attending school in the community in which they lived prior to receiving services funded from this item; provided further, that notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall immediately provide shelter for up to 30 days to families who appear to be eligible for shelter based on statements provided by the family and any other information in the possession of the department but who need additional time to obtain any third-party verifications reasonably required by the department; provided further, that shelter benefits received under the preceding proviso shall not render a family ineligible under any regulation providing that a family who previously received shelter is ineligible for shelter benefits for a period of 12 months; provided further, that families receiving shelter benefits who are found not to be eligible for continuing shelter benefits shall be eligible for aid pending a timely appeal under section 16 of chapter 18 of the General Laws; provided further, that the department shall not impose unreasonable requirements for third-party verification and shall accept verifications from the family whenever reasonable; provided further, that in adopting, amending or rescinding regulations with respect to eligibility or benefits under this program, the department shall take into account the amounts available to it for expenditure in this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated in this item; and provided further, that the department shall report quarterly to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the emergency assistance family shelter program; and provided further, that the report shall contain the same data required in this item in chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 |
86,277,382 |
| 4405-2000 | State Supplement to Supplemental Security Income
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 funds may be expended from this item for burial expenses incurred in the prior fiscal year; provided further, that the department of transitional assistance, in collaboration with the executive office of health and human services, may fund an optional supplemental living arrangement category under the supplemental security income program that makes payments to persons living in assisted living residences certified under chapter 19D of the General Laws who meet the income and clinical eligibility criteria established by the department and the executive office; provided further, that the optional category of payments shall only be administered in conjunction with the Medicaid group adult foster care benefit; and provided further, that reimbursements to providers for services rendered in prior fiscal years may be expended from this item |
219,862,107 |
| 4406-3000 | Homeless Individuals Assistance
For a program to assist homeless individuals or those in danger of becoming homeless, including assistance to organizations that 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 agencies for the purposes of this program; and provided further, that funds from this appropriation may be expended on innovative or pilot programs that are designed to reduce reliance on emergency shelter, including transitional housing, for individuals |
36,306,684 |
| 4406-3010 | Home and Healthy for Good
For a grant to the Home and Healthy for Good pilot program |
1,200,000 |
| 4408-1000 | Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children
For a program of cash assistance to certain residents of the commonwealth, entitled emergency aid to the elderly, disabled and children found by the department to be eligible for this aid under chapter 117A of the General Laws and regulations adopted by the department and subject to the limitations of appropriation for this purpose; provided, that benefits under this item shall only be provided to residents who are citizens of the United States or qualified aliens 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 any such individual shall not be subject to sponsor income deeming or related restrictions; provided further, that the payment standard shall equal the payment standard in effect under the general relief program in fiscal year 1991; provided further, that the department may provide benefits to persons age 65 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 and 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 chapter 118 and under the separate program; provided further, that the department shall review and revise its disability standards to reflect current medical and vocational criteria; provided further, that no ex-offender, person over age 45 without a prior work history or person in a residential treatment facility shall be eligible for benefits under this program unless the person otherwise meets the eligibility criteria described in this item and defined by regulations of the department; provided further, that no person incarcerated in a correctional institution shall be eligible for benefits under the program; 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 the department shall adopt emergency regulations under chapter 30A of the General Laws to implement the changes to this program required by this item promptly and within the appropriation; provided further, that in initially implementing the program for this fiscal year, the department shall include all eligibility categories permitted in this item at the payment standard in effect for the former general relief program in fiscal year 1991; provided further, that in adopting, 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 by this item so as not to exceed the amount appropriated in this item; provided further, that the department may adopt emergency regulations under chapter 30A of the General Laws to implement these eligibility or benefit changes or both; provided further, that nothing in this item shall be construed as creating any right accruing to recipients of the former general relief program; provided further, that reimbursements collected from the Social Security Administration on behalf of former clients of the emergency aid to the elderly, disabled and children program or unprocessed payments from the program that are returned to the department shall be credited to the General Fund; and provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the funds made available in this item shall be the only funds available for the program, and the department shall not spend funds for the program in excess of the amount made available in this item |
69,115,828 |
| account | description | amount |
|---|---|---|
| Retained Revenues | ||
| 4401-1100 | Employment Services Program Federal Food Stamp Reimbursement Retained Revenue
For the department of transitional assistance; provided, that the department may expend not more than $7,000,000 from federal bonuses and from reimbursements received from the United States Department of Agriculture for food stamp employment and training programs as provided in section 2A of chapter 18 of the General Laws |
7,000,000 |
| account | description | amount |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Grant Spending | 16,025,000 | |
| 4400-0705 | McKinney Emergency Shelter Grants Program
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, McKinney Emergency Shelter Grants Program |
2,900,000 |
| 4400-0707 | Continuum of Care
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Continuum of Care |
6,000,000 |
| 4400-3066 | Training for Food Stamp Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependents
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependents |
1,600,000 |
| 4400-3067 | Food Stamp Employment and Training
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Food Stamp Employment and Training |
2,100,000 |
| 4400-3069 | Full Employment Food Stamp Cash Out
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Full Employment Food Stamp Cash Out |
25,000 |
| 4400-9404 | McKinney Shelter Plus Care - Continuum of Care
For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, McKinney Shelter Plus Care - Continuum of Care |
3,400,000 |
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