The Bangor Daily News completely missed the mark in its Jan. 22 editorial piece “LePage is contracting out welfare-to-work program for wrong reasons.” In fact, decisions being made within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are to provide the best assistance and support to Maine families as they get back on their feet. For years the Legislature has adopted policies that have led to more and more people being trapped in the cycle of poverty rather than supported along the pathway to employment and self-sufficiency.
This federal employment program is primarily funded through federal grants, and under federal law a certain percentage of the TANF population must be engaged in qualified work activities or the State faces substantial fines. Maine’s TANF program has fallen short of that benchmark for years. Consequently, Maine taxpayers face millions of dollars in penalties. The decision by this Administration to seek out a contract for welfare-to-work related services is partly motivated to help alleviate that financial burden of the federal penalties on Maine taxpayers, but the overarching reason could not be more opposite from the assertions made by the BDN.
The primary reason for this decision is that for too long, our work ethic and individualism in Maine has been eroded by destructive attitudes and counterproductive policies that have worked against the very people these programs are designed to help. By help we mean, urgently assisting an individual parent or parents get jobs to support their families. We are led by our belief in the potential of people to succeed and guided by the incredible value of work not just in the income it generates but in the self-worth it builds. But for years, policies have been established and a system perpetuated that not only failed to maintain that central focus of a pathway to employment, it enabled dependency, ignored their potential, and undermined human dignity.
This program since the federal reforms of 1996 has had real measurable expectations of those receiving benefits. Those expectations include actively getting job skills through training and/or on the job experience, working, or participating in educational programs geared toward available job opportunities. The penalties we face are for individuals who have not been engaged in any or enough of the previously mentioned activities. For those clients who have failed to demonstrate meaningful progress toward those goals, policies and practices within Maine’s system have insulated them from real accountability. That is a disservice to our clients and to Maine taxpayers, and it’s time for a change. We expect a contractor with expertise in integrated welfare-to-work services to provide intensive case management to clients in order to keep them on track and on their way to successful employment. The contractor will offer in-house trainings, provide job-search and skill building help, as well as more substantive education options.
A properly qualified contractor will also be able to help TANF recipients remove barriers to employment, by, for example, providing transportation to clients who need it. All of these services would represent a substantial improvement above what the Department is currently able to do, even accounting for our partnership with the Department of Labor. For that reason, several states across the country have gone in this direction and had great success.
We agree with the BDN and our friend from Wisconsin, Eloise Anderson, that the federally mandated work participation rates (WPR) aren’t always a good measure of success. They are too process-driven and aren’t focused enough on meaningful outcomes. We agree with another statement by Anderson as well, “The WPR also serves the purpose of holding parents responsible for taking steps to achieve independence from public assistance.”
We support revisions of the WPR that will better align with the ultimate goal of moving families toward a life of independence. At the same time, Maine receives $78 million a year from the federal government for this program, and we take seriously our responsibility to hit those rates to be in compliance and avoid further penalties.
Finally, despite the BDN’s claim that “seventy state employees would lose their jobs,” there is still a role for state employees in the process and significant work will be done by state staff. Yes, we are redesigning some positions and yes, some state positions will be eliminated. Our first priority must be to those low-income Maine families looking for a temporary hand up to get back on their feet and into the workforce. This plan is the right step forward for those families.
Mary Mayhew is commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.