RD5 - Report on the Virginia Indepedence Program - Implementation, Impacts and Outcome Measures


Executive Summary:
The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds a host of important and effective programs throughout the Commonwealth including the Virginia Independence Program (VIP). The Virginia Independence Program (VIP) consists of two related but distinct sets of requirements for TANF participants, eligibility requirements and work requirements. The policies that mandated eligibility requirements were effective statewide on July 1, 1995. The Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare Program (VIEW) is the work-related portion of VIP that requires participants to be employed or engaged in a work activity. Implementation of VIEW was phased in over a two-year period beginning in July 1995 and ending in October 1997.

Since VIP was implemented in July 1995, the TANF caseload has dropped from 70,797 to a little less than 30,400 in June 2002, a decrease of more than 57 percent. Of the approximately 77,000 TANF recipients enrolled in VIEW since 1995, more than 55,000 found employment and joined the work force by June 2002. This caseload decline contributed to a net savings in federal and state funds of over $435 million.

Virginia's welfare reform program has performed well in placing participants in employment and increasing the earnings of participants. However, the percentage of TANF cases exempt from participation in VIEW continues to rise. Currently, about two-thirds of families receiving TANF are exempt from participation in the VIEW program. Families currently exempt from VIEW do not receive services and may be vulnerable when Virginia's welfare reform waivers expire and they are subject to limits on how long they can receive TANF. A program goal for the upcoming year is to increase the percentage of TANF participants engaged in work and other self-sufficiency activities.

TANF was supposed to be reauthorized by Congress before September 30, 2002. Currently the program is operating under a continuing resolution. It is unclear as to whether the continuing resolution will be extended or a reauthorization bill will be passed. When reauthorization does occur, the program requirements could change. However, regardless of the outcome of federal legislation, Virginia has an opportunity to create a more efficient and effective service delivery system by building upon past success, taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by the current block grant, and more effectively partnering with other social and workforce agencies at the state and local levels. By combining this flexibility with the better use of technology in the delivery and management of services, Virginia can create a more seamless and effective system of service delivery that meshes social services and workforce development with economic development.