AG 2000 08 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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While in each county a large portion of the county's Work First Block Grant is directed at child abuse/neglect services, the focus of the county planning process is upon the welfare reform effort. Cabarms has of course been a leader in innovation in the welfare reform effort. The Work Over Welfare demonstration project, implemented in 1996 under special enabling legislation and federal waivers, its 1998 expansion by the General Assembly to provide the state's first pay-after-performance system, and the recent implementation of the New Focus Program for preventing welfare dependency, have been highly successful. Our caseload of families receiving welfare payments has declined from 1,013 families in. June 1995 to 335 in June 2000. (Most of those remaining are grandparents and other relatives caring for children). We have been increasingly able to turn our attention to preventing welfare dependency. Our recently-implemented New Focus Program has been successful in diverting 74% of families that would otherwise have become welfare payment recipients. Families in our community are achieving a sound standard of living through good jobs and the support of programs like child care subsidies and Medicaid. I have attached a copy of the most recent state performance report for all counties. The planning process provides a good opportunity to refine our community's efforts. This planning process and the subsequent legislative session are also a time that the county will need to take steps to assure that it can continue the effective programs currently in place. At the inception of the state's Work First Program, the General Assembly provided for counties to designate their preference for either "standard", or "electing" status. (The number of electing counties is limited to a group comprising 15.5% of the state's total welfare population). Standard counties were to essentially follow basic state eligibility rules. Electing counties were to be permitted flexibility in establishing eligibility rules. In an effort to be certain Cabarrus maintained the capacity to proceed with the Work Over Welfare demonstration project, and to expand it to include a pay- after-performance policy, Cabarrus initially requested electing status. When the General Assembly extended and expanded the Work Over Welfare Program, however, Cabarrus requested a change to standard status, as electing status involved some substantial financial risks. With the current authorization for Work Over Welfare expiring June 30, 2000, electing status would again help to assure we have flexibility in designing and operating our County's programs (if for some reason Work Over Welfare can not be extended). Electing status would also provide some financial advantages to the County as it would make it PoSsible to reduce, from 100% to 90%, the County's maintenance of effort requirement for county spending in this program area. With electing status, the County would be required to develop a second-level appeals process for denied applications. This would be relatively simple and inexpensive. Other factors which created risk initially for electing counties are no longer at issue. (For example, it was initially thought