DTA Budget Outlook

In a letter to Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) staff published in DTA Transitions (February 2010), Julia E. Kehoe, DTA Commissioner, reports on what the Governor’s Budget, if adopted without changes, would mean for their clients.

Governor Patrick announced his House 2 budget for Fiscal Year 2011. As you know, the Patrick Administration remains committed to preserving the safety net for the Commonwealth’s poorest residents, and we are pleased to preserve subsistence benefits for thousands of families. These include monthly cash assistance, at current eligibility and benefit levels, for more than 50,000 Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) households and more than 20,000 Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) households. Services for survivors of domestic violence and the annual clothing allowance for TAFDC families are also protected.

The Commonwealth continues to face economic challenges, and each agency must bear its share. (Th)us, FY11 will bring a $9 million reduction to our Employment Services Program (ESP). In order to allocate this reduction equitably, the Department’s approach is to target services to those with the greatest needs and fewest available resources. In addition, some smaller initiatives that supplement existing programs will be eliminated. As a result, we will be eliminating the Community College “bridge” programs; transportation supports for clients seeking employment or enrolled in an ESP activity; and the “employment ready” and “employment education and training” models (Models I and II) of the recently procured Competitive Integrated Employment Services Program (CIES). In addition, two ESP programs for homeless families (Project SAFE and Project Hope’s Hot Jobs) and the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) will no longer be funded by DTA. The remaining ESP components and activities will face reductions of 5-10%.

Our FY11 budget may also affect our efficiency. Within the last year alone, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) has increased by 30%.The total number of households on SNAP has increased by over 250% since the beginning of FY02, while total Department staffing levels decreased about 30% in that same time period. In FY10, the Department received funding through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), also known as the federal economic stimulus, to hire caseworkers, interpreters, and clerical employees to help manage the SNAP caseload. The Legislature decreased our FY10 state appropriation for caseworkers under the assumption that the stimulus funding would supplant this reduction. This funding has not been replaced in House 2, which will have a substantial impact on the timely administration of SNAP and other benefits if new federal funding is not available to use for these critical staff. We hope to maintain at least the current level of staff through the state and federal funding sources. The FY11 budget is not yet final.

In the coming months, the budget will move through the House and Senate; the Governor will submit a revised budget; the House and Senate will submit a “conference committee” budget; the Governor will submit his vetoes; and the House and Senate will have the opportunity to override the Governor’s vetoes. During this time, we will develop our plans to implement our reductions. The final FY11 budget will take effect on July 1, 2010. It is our goal to be able to preserve all existing DTA staff positions, which will be crucial as we face continued dramatic caseload growth. Although employment services, training, and education are critical to assisting families to move out of poverty, maintaining subsistence-level benefits that are already very low must be a priority, particularly since any reduction would not be replaced by assistance from other organizations. We will work to mitigate the impact of these reductions by continuing to work with community partners and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) to leverage other existing employment, education and training resources for our clients.

-Adapted from DTA Transitions February 2010, posted by Julia E. Kehoe, DTA Commissioner, on housingbenefits@googlegroups.com, February 11, 2010.

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