The Public
Vocational Rehabilitation Program:
The Economic
Impact of a Substantial Influx of Temporary Assistance for Need
Families (TANF) Customers
Welfare reform has dramatically impacted welfare caseloads throughout America. The decline in welfare caseloads has been phenomenal. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of families and recipients on welfare each declined about 40 percent since August 1996…” (Casey Foundation, 2/01) Federal TANF time limits, which limit lifetime welfare benefits to five years, place additional pressure on state welfare agencies to move “hard to serve” customers into employment.
While welfare caseloads have been shrinking, the
composition of the remaining caseload has changed. As
states move deeper into their TANF caseloads, they are seeing an
increasing number of individuals with disabilities. A
recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report found that
individuals with disabilities represent approximately 44 percent
of the remaining TANF population. Many of these
individuals have previously unidentified or undisclosed
disabilities. Many have multiple and significant barriers
to employment.
State welfare agencies are increasingly turning to State
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies for assistance in
assessing the needs of individuals with disabilities and helping
them find and maintain employment. While State welfare
agencies have clearly been successful in helping hundreds of
thousands of TANF families move from welfare to work, these
agencies often lack the expertise needed to assist individuals
with multiple barriers to employment to enter the workforce.
VR Counselors are uniquely qualified to assess the needs of
individuals with severe and multiple barriers to employment and
to identify the services and supports that such individuals need
to enter or re-enter the workforce, and have proven success in
working with this population.
Unfortunately, reliable data on increased referrals from
State welfare agencies to State VR agencies is not available at
this time. In addition, reductions in the welfare
caseloads happened during a booming economy. The economy
is now in an economic recess, with large numbers of individuals
being laid off or being unable to find employment.
Although no one can predict what this will mean for
State welfare agencies, State VR agencies throughout America can
anticipate a significant increase in referrals as more TANF
customers must find employment before their benefit time-limit
runs out. As more and more TANF customers are referred to
State VR agencies, VR counselors will have to dedicate a
considerable amount of time and resources to conducting
evaluations and assessments to determine their eligibility for
VR services. Of those determined eligible, many will
receive individualized employment and training services leading
to employment and self-sufficiency. In states where VR is
operating under an order of selection (i.e., a system whereby
services are prioritized for those individuals with the most
significant disabilities), some TANF recipients who are eligible
for VR services will still not be served because they do not
fall within the parameters of the state’s order of
selection.
Over the last decade, annual increases in the federal
funds for the Public VR Program have been minimal.
In fact, although VR has a mandatory Consumer Price Index
increase written into its authorizing legislation, the CPI
increase has become a ceiling for increases in the VR
appropriation rather than the floor as was intended by the
legislation. In addition, when the formula for
distributing the federal appropriation to the individual states
and territories is applied, a substantial number of states and
territories do not even get the mandated CPI increase. As
a result, VR’s resources are not adequate to meet the demands
being placed on the Program by changes in the composition of the
TANF caseloads. In order to address this and other demands
being placed on the Program, the Public VR Program must have a
significant increase in program resources.
