WorkFirst program cuts over the last decade are hurting low-income families. During the Great Recession, Washington state lawmakers implemented harsh sanction and time limit policies that have made it more difficult for families to receive the support they need. These program changes disproportionately impact families who are experiencing homelessness, families who have mental health needs, and families that need treatment for substance use disorder. Families of color are also disproportionately impacted by harsh sanction and time limit policies. Since 2015, nearly 1 in 3 individuals in Washington who lost their TANF/WorkFirst benefits were African American, while only 1 in 5 TANF/WorkFirst recipients are African American.
House Bill 1603/Senate Bill 5684 would reverse these punitive policies and make simple fixes to strengthen TANF/WorkFirst and ensure that all families who need support receive it. Take action today.
These bills propose to:
-Ease tightened sanctions so that parents can successfully return to program compliance, preventing children from completely losing vital cash assistance if their parent doesn’t meet the exacting WorkFirst requirements;
-Eliminate permanent disqualifications to ensure that TANF/WorkFirst is there when families most need it;
-Integrate the mandatory orientation into a recipient’s comprehensive evaluation; and
-Allow common-sense extensions to the time-limit when parents are “playing by the rules” and meeting program requirements, including extensions for families experiencing homelessness or struggling with behavioral health challenges.
These policy changes exacerbate hardship, making it so that families who struggle most due to societal barriers are least likely to access TANF/WorkFirst. As a mother and current TANF/WorkFirst recipient shared in testimony at yesterday’s public hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services, “[E]very time I was supposed to go [to my WorkFirst appointments] the man I was with [in a domestic violence relationship] thought I was trying to go off and meet someone else. I was supposed to meet 30 hours a week of WorkFirst compliance. But how could I, when I had a maniac trying to control my every move? One day, he instigated a physical fight…[I was badly injured]…missed my WorkFirst classes…and sanctioned.”
Parents should never have to go without the support they need to provide for their children, especially if their family falls on hard times.
In Washington state, WorkFirst, our Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, is designed to not only protect low-income parents and children from the harm of living in deep poverty, but to support them as they transition to stability. TANF/WorkFirst assistance helps families pay for housing, transportation, and other basic needs; access child care and supportive services; and connect with education and job training opportunities.
These bills are moving! Yesterday, lawmakers in the Senate heard testimony from us, several community members, and a broad coalition of organizations in support of Senate Bill 5684 and the need for common-sense fixes to TANF/WorkFirst. And this afternoon, Wednesday, January 30, House Bill 1603 will have a public hearing as well. Now is the time to let your legislators know that we must implement critical fixes to TANF/WorkFirst!TANF is a vital lifeline for families; let’s strengthen this resource and ensure that it keeps supporting families and kids!
Take action to strengthen TANF as a lifeline for low-income families!
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