2004 INNOVATIONS AWARDS PROGRAM Application Form

Transcription

1 2004 INNOVATIONS AWARDS PROGRAM Application Form 1. Program Name The Transitional Opportunities Program (TOP) 2. Administering Agency New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (NYSOTDA) 3. Contact Person (Name and Title) Shari Noonan, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Transitional Supports and Policy (DTSP) 4. Address 40 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY Telephone Number (518) FAX Number (518) Address 8. Web site Address N/A 9. Please provide a two-sentence description of the program. TOP is a specialized service delivery system that ensures that participating lowincome families receive all of the ongoing assistance and support they need to remain in the workforce and improve their financial well being. Operational in twenty local districts, TOP serves working families with active cash assistance (Family Assistance) cases and those families that have transitioned off of cash assistance due to earnings. 10. How long has this program been operational (month and year)? Note: the program must be between 9 months and 5 years old on May 1, 2004 to be considered. TOP has been operational since January Why was the program created? (What problem[s] or issue[s] was it designed to address?) TOP is a way to address the serious concern that many families leaving cash assistance due to earnings were not receiving the transitional benefits and supportive services needed to help make work pay. When people first move from welfare to work, they often secure low paying jobs and transitional benefits, such as Child Care, Food Stamps and Medical Assistance coupled with supportive services such as defraying costs of automobile repair and uniforms, - - 1

2 are essential to the health and well being of those newly employed families. The traditional social services model offers some of this assistance to working families who have left cash assistance, but it offers access through multiple workers in sometimes different offices. As a result, struggling families who are grappling with the stresses of new employment are further stressed in negotiating the system to obtain the help they need. 12. Describe the specific activities and operations of the program in chronological order. Although TOP was designed mindful of the need for local social services district flexibility, there are activities and operations consistent statewide. Working families are transferred to the TOP Unit upon employment and most counties provide a congratulatory/welcome to TOP letter that acknowledges the client s success in getting a job and introduces the new case manager. This sets a positive tone from the beginning and rewards working families with specialized case management in a centralized location. A TOP intake assessment is conducted. TOP staff evaluates the family needs and strengths and begin to formulate a plan with the client s input and direction. A TOP Checklist is completed to inventory the supports needed and supports in place and this is a starting point for service delivery. Frequent contact with the newly employed family is encouraged and tracked through local district procedure. The TOP model provides supportive services for the working families, retention and advancement services, immediate intensive job re-employment services when a client loses a job, and transitional benefits and supportive services for those families able to close their cases due to increased earnings. For the families who transition off of cash assistance, an exit interview is conducted and the TOP Checklist is completed to ensure that all transitional benefits and supportive services are discussed and accessed, according to the family s needs and eligibility. The TOP model promotes financial literacy and in addition to the budgeting skills services provided on site, the TOP offices provide quality referrals to local organizations providing training on financial literacy (i.e. Cornell Cooperative Extension). 13. Why is the program a new and creative approach or method? The Transitional Opportunities Program (TOP) is the next step in Welfare Reform. TOP was established in recognition of both the tremendous success welfare reform has had moving families into employment and the critical importance of supporting those working families, particularly as they first transition to self-sufficiency. This innovation is the first major initiative to focus on families moving from welfare to work and supports a case management approach to ensure transitional benefits and supportive services are provided. TOP offices are designed to be professional and reflect a non-welfare like environment. Alternate hours are the norm, and offices provide flexible staffing to ensure access for families working various shifts/hours

3 14. What were the program s start-up costs? (Provide details about specific purchases for this program, staffing needs and other financial expenditures, as well as existing materials, technology and staff already in place.) A request for proposal was issued in 2000 and made available $3 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding for the establishment of local district TOP offices/units. Sixteen counties responded to the RFP and $2.4 million was allocated to the districts for start-up costs, such as costs for leasing and/or remodeling new floor space, costs for remodeling existing floor space and costs for utilities, telephone service, furniture and/or office equipment, supplies, etc. These non-personnel and the personnel costs, i.e. salaries and fringe benefits, were cost allocated among the program stakeholders i.e. TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Child Support, etc. 15. What are the program s annual operational costs? Since implementation in 2001, $11.4 million has been available to support TOP. This was allocated to the participating districts on an annual basis as follows: State fiscal year , approximately $3 million State fiscal year , approximately $1.8 million State fiscal year , approximately $2.1 million State fiscal year , approximately $4.5 million 16. How is the program funded? TOP is funded mainly out of New York State s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Services Block Grant. Non-TANF activities are funded from MA, New York State Safety Net Funds, and other appropriate sources depending on each office s cost allocation. 17. Did this program require the passage of legislation, executive order or regulations? If YES, please indicate the citation number. No 18. What equipment, technology and software are used to operate and administer this program? To track TOP cases for all TOP local districts, a TOP Indicator field was added to the Welfare Management system (WMS), New York State s data storage system for all public assistance programs. This has been operational approximately five months and accuracy lies in the ability for the local district staff to correctly apply and remove the indicator as necessary. Technical assistance is currently being supplied to all the offices on this function. 19. To the best of your knowledge, did this program originate in your state? If YES, please indicate the innovator s name, present address, telephone number and address. Yes

4 Shari Noonan, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Transitional Supports and Policy OTDA 40 N. Pearl Street (9D) Albany, New York (518) Dale Peterson, Director, Bureau of Transitional Programs OTDA 40 N. Pearl Street (9D) Albany, New York (518) Are you aware of similar programs in other states? If YES, which ones and how does this program differ? Although there are no other statewide programs, a few local municipalities in New Jersey, through that state s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Work First New Jersey, have established units or staff dedicated to post- TANF services, as offered in TOP. Mercer Count, New Jersey has organized special units in its management division to deal with post-tanf issues and to provide services to working families. Staff ensures transitional benefits are provided, at the time of cash assistance case closing. A separate unit is responsible for the housing, transportation, and employment retention and advancement through education/training, for these families. TOP is designed mindful of the need for local county flexibility due to the unique circumstances of each local district, including resources, staffing and caseloads. Districts have the option of concentrating their efforts on employed post-tanf families, employed TANF families or a combination of both. 21. Has the program been fully implemented? If NO, what actions remain to be taken? Yes. TOP is operational in the following twenty local departments of social services in New York State: Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Erie, Franklin, Jefferson, Monroe, Niagara, NYC Bronx, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Westchester, Wyoming. Many other local districts have indicated interest. Additionally, statewide expansion to all 58 counties may be considered. 22. Briefly evaluate (pro and con) the program s effectiveness in addressing the defined problem[s] or issue[s]. Provide tangible examples. Although it is too early to have long-term quantitative analysis, OTDA s Bureau of Data Management and Analysis are studying the TOP model service delivery system. The preliminary findings (attached) of this early evaluation support the premise that individuals whose cases are closed due to excess income receive critical transitional benefits, particularly Food Stamps and Medical Assistance (Medicaid), at a superior rate when they have been case managed in a TOP Unit - - 4

5 versus services in a traditional welfare unit. Also, the study shows that TOP offices have been successful in preventing recidivism to cash assistance. Considering that there are over 15,500 families benefiting from TOP services, there has been, and will continue to be, significant cost savings as these families leave the welfare cash system and move to economic independence. Additionally, we know anecdotally that the working poor are more likely to receive the supports, benefits and services that are needed to help them retain and/or advance their employment level at a TOP office versus a traditional welfare setting. TOP has been highly praised by the media, New York State Legislature, advocates and local and State officials as an innovative and effective program for the working poor. Two locally reported success stories of families who have transitioned off of the welfare system and are maintaining freedom from cash assistance: The Colgate TOP Center Director in NYC received a letter from a young woman who explained that the assistance she received through her case manager allowed her to finish her degree, get a good job, and transition off of assistance. She was enrolled in Associates in Applied Sciences Degree at Bronx Community College and had childcare needs. Her case manager secured childcare for her during the day and also arranged for evening childcare to accommodate her class schedule. After graduation she was able to get a better job and now is employed at Health and Hospital Corporation with benefits and hope of advancement. She will be enrolling in college and plans on seeking a Bachelors Degree. She credits the work of her case managers and feels that her transition to financial independence was bolstered by their willingness to go the extra mile. In two years of operation in Rensselaer County, 251 TOP families ended their dependence on cash assistance by transitioning off of the welfare rolls. The TOP staff helped these families move to self-sufficiency, while ensuring all transitional needs were met. This produced an estimated annual savings of $1,850, How has the program grown and/or changed since its inception? Originally, sixteen districts responded to our proposal for TOP office origination. Later, four additional counties expressed interest and were accepted into TOP. TOP was originally designed to focus on serving the transitional needs of families who were moving from cash assistance to independence through employment. A more hybrid approach exists today, and several counties are serving the transitioning population as well as the families with active cash assistance cases who are working. These efforts capture the working populations in TOP districts and provide a whole array of supportive, transitional, and ongoing benefits for these families. Additionally, the services provided have grown to include the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that is active in 11 TOP offices. TOP staff prepares income taxes and secures EITC (State and federal) for the low-income working populations in their community. Many counties have also expanded the financial literacy services aimed at increasing clients knowledge about money - - 5

6 matters. Some TOP offices are using the FDIC s Money Smart curriculum to this end. 24. What limitations or obstacles might other states expect to encounter if they attempt to adopt this program? In the current social services environment of fiscal constraints and national State/local budget deficits, it is challenging to support specialized programs when soaring Medicaid costs are putting a real strain on local and state budgets. The low client-worker ratio required to practice proactive case management supports a staff rich model in times when there are not adequate staffing levels in many agencies. Counties have had to do more with less, and only those who know the benefits of case management and are committed to supporting families as they transition off of assistance and into the world of work and self-sufficiency will overcome the barriers to establishing a specialized office to meet the needs of the working poor. Add space as appropriate to this form. When complete, return to: CSG Innovations Awards 2004 The Council of State Governments 2760 Research Park Drive, P.O. Box Lexington, KY innovations@csg.org DEADLINE: All original applications must be received by April 20, 2004, to be considered for an Innovations Award for ApplicationForm04.doc - - 6