October 1, 1996
Contact: Cary B. Willis
502-564-6786

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 1, 1996) -- Individual self-sufficiency contracts, regionalized economic development strategies and "diversion" for people needing only short-term assistance are among the highlights of Kentucky's new welfare-reform plan, unveiled today at the state capitol.

Grounded in values that call for adults to take responsibility for their own children and their own livelihood, Kentucky's innovative plan nevertheless is designed to provide families with the tools they need to succeed. Under the plan, state government will collaborate with local governments, non-profit agencies and private companies to create a partnership that will educate, train, employ and empower Kentuckians.

"With the release of this plan today, Kentucky takes a bold step toward providing its poor families with the tools they need to break the cycle of dependence and to venture untethered into a new era of self-determination, " Gov. Paul Patton said during a news conference announcing the plan.

"My staff and I put a lot of hard work and vision into this plan, and I think it shows," said Families and Children Secretary Viola Miller, who spearheaded the plan's development. "This is a plan that can and will help unemployed Kentuckians find work.

"Now begins the difficult but necessary process of changing my cabinet's function from one of determining eligibility for a government check to helping families free themselves of the need for a check at all."

The Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program, or K-TAP, was prepared by the Cabinet for Families and Children. The 20-page plan was mailed over the weekend to the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services for review.

States have until July 1, 1997, to file their welfare-reform plans with the federal government. Kentucky officials put their plan on the fast track when they learned the state would receive $10 million in additional federal funds for filing at the start of the new federal fiscal year on Oct. 1.

President Clinton signed the federal welfare-reform bill in August, changing the system from one based on entitlements to a work-centered one in which cash assistance is paid out of block grants given to each state. Ever since then, day-long work sessions have brought together many of the best and brightest workers from numerous departments within Kentucky government to design a program that is built around both work and compassion. Comments made by citizens during eight public forums and interactive video conferences were incorporated into the plan, as were suggestions made during meetings between Families and Children officials and advocacy groups, local governments, non-profit agencies and legislators.

EMPLOYER INCENTIVES
K-TAP offers incentives to employers who will train and hire welfare recipients and provide affordable child care. The plan also offers subsidized employment opportunities for qualified participants as a way to encourage a transition to economic independence. The governor is determined to help participants find private-sector jobs where possible, and he is just as determined not to create new competition for current jobs. However, when jobs are not available, or participants are not yet ready for work, state government will work with local communities to place people in "workfare" jobs or community service. These opportunities will provide valuable experience to the participants and satisfy new federal work requirements as well.

One of the most innovative aspects of the K-TAP plan will be a diversion program, called Family Alternatives. Under this program, participants found to need only temporary assistance will be able to obtain benefits just long enough to avert a crisis, reducing the danger of dependence and allowing the commonwealth to spend its limited welfare funds on families facing more long-term difficulties.

Kentucky will attempt to place participants deemed "work ready" in unsubsidized employment within six months. Because Kentucky recognizes the value of education, participants previously enrolled in post-secondary education through the state's Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program will be allowed to continue that education for up to 12 months. After that, they may continue only if they are engaged in at least 20 hours per week of work activity. Up to six weeks of job search will be counted as a work-related activity.

Those deemed not work-ready will be enrolled in education and training. Within six months, adult participants must work at least 20 hours per week.

Kentucky will make vigorous attempts to bring new commerce into areas where jobs are scarce, enhancing stability in those communities and making all of Kentucky stronger. But the K-TAP plan also recognizes today's economic realities, and as a result it introduces a new concept for use in cases in which there are no other alternatives. The state will develop a Relocation Assistance Program (R.A.P.) to pay moving expenses for participants who are unable to find work in their home communities and must relocate to areas where specific job opportunities exist.

Kentucky has adopted the maximum time limits allowed under the new federal law, requiring adult participants to be involved in work activities within two years of receiving benefits and setting a lifetime benefit cap of five years. The clock on those limits starts ticking today.

For the most part, eligibility standards and benefit levels will not change at first, so as to reduce the scope of adjustment both participants and case workers will need to make. But flexibility provided by the new federal law will allow Kentucky to update its rules as needed, and over time the screening and assessment of potential participants will be simplified. The state will develop a single assessment tool for all benefits, reducing paper work and making assistance easier to understand for all concerned. The state is also developing a unified Electronic Benefits Access system, which will allow participants to use a single card, similar to a credit card, when obtaining cash assistance, food vouchers (stamps) or government-funded medical care. On a related note, Medicaid will remain available to anyone who would have been eligible for assistance under the now-abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), using standards in place on July 16, 1996.

CAR VALUE NOW UNLIMITED
Kentucky has moved promptly to institute one noteworthy improvement in eligibility right away -- eliminating the $1,500 limit on the value of a welfare family's motor vehicle. This change will increase the likelihood that participants will have a reliable source of transportation to and from work.

Transitional Assistance Agreements (TAAs) will function as contracts between individual participants and the state, assessing the needs of participants and identifying goals and requirements. To the extent funds are available, the state will provide linkages to transportation, child care, case management, education and training programs, family-literacy programs, substance-abuse treatment and other support services to enable participants to work.

TEEN PARENTS
Teen parents, who face particularly large obstacles to self-sufficiency, will receive special emphasis in Kentucky's new welfare system. The Cabinet for Families and Children will work closely with other state agencies and with other public and private resources to provide family support services, child care, education, training and employment to assist teen parents in overcoming their obstacles. Incentives will be offered to help keep this population enrolled and active in school.

While the state wants to reduce out-of-wedlock births across all age groups, the Cabinet will focus much of its effort on teen parents by working with local school districts to encourage abstinence, increasing the number of after-school programs, holding a statewide summit on teen pregnancy and developing programs to promote male responsibility. Under the new plan, unmarried minor parents will be required to live with a parent, legal guardian or other adult relative to receive benefits.

Child support enforcement will be strengthened as well, with initiatives planned to encourage voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, limit paternity challenges, add non-welfare child-support cases to record-keeping and collection efforts, and enhance wage withholding provisions. Custodial parents are required to cooperate with efforts to collect support from non-custodial parents or risk reductions in their grant.

OTHER CHANGES
The federal welfare-reform law will necessitate changes in other aspects of public assistance in Kentucky, among them:

1) Able-bodied adults ages 18 to 50 with no dependents will have to work at least 20 hours a week or will be allowed to receive food stamps no more than three months out of 36 months. All food-stamp recipients will experience lower increases in benefit levels in this and coming years.

2) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will no longer cover children considered disabled because of maladaptive behavior nor adults deemed disabled because of substance-abuse problems. Persons in those categories will be reassessed by staff.

3) Some immigrants who are not U.S. citizens will no longer be entitled to welfare payments or food stamps. There are a variety of exceptions to this rule, however.

The new federal block-grant approach provides Kentucky with both welcome flexibility and enormous challenges. Gov. Patton is encouraged by the opportunity to find regional solutions to regional problems, and he is eager to get to work on initiatives that will allow all of Kentucky's citizens to achieve economic self-reliance. On the other hand, the governor recognizes that many difficulties facing Kentucky's poor have deep roots and cannot be overcome in the blink of an eye. With the release of the K-TAP plan, the governor asks that all Kentuckians join with him in making a commitment to lift up the state's less fortunate.

"Welfare reform is not something government can do alone," Gov. Patton said. "It will take all of us working together -- non-profit agencies and private companies, churches and synagogues, office executives and coal miners, politicians and everyone else -- to make this work. By sharing the burden we can provide jobs for all of Kentucky's citizens and a bright future for Kentucky's children."