THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

Introduction

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, commonly known as the Federal Welfare Reform Act, mandated significant substantive changes in the operation of public assistance programs administered with federal funds throughout the states. From the states' standpoint, the most significant changes were:

• termination of the permanent entitlement program (Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC]) and initiation of a temporary assistance block grant program for working participants (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families [TANF]); and,
• mandated strengthening of state laws dealing with collection of child support.

The Mississippi Governor's Office, in conjunction with the state Department of Human Services, submitted its first TANF state plan for 1996-1997 to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services on September 30, 1996. This necessitated legislative action during the 1997 session to conform state law with federal TANF legislation so that the state could receive maximum benefit from the block grant program.

The PEER Committee authorized the staff to analyze the state's plan for welfare reform, to assist the chairpersons of the Senate and House committees charged with handling subsequent welfare reform legislation, and to prepare a post-session report on welfare reform.

Overview

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) bill (House Bill 766, 1997 Regular Session) and the child support bill (Senate Bill 2164, 1997 Regular Session) provide the basics of 1997 welfare reform in Mississippi. These laws give the state Department of Human Services broad authority to administer TANF and to implement programs for locating absent parents and collecting and disbursing child support funds.

With some exceptions, Mississippi's TANF program imposes a sixty-month lifetime cap on cash assistance and requires persons to begin participating in an approved work activity no later than twenty-four months after first receiving assistance. Assistance is limited to children living or in gestation at the time the parent applies, with other children added only after the parent has left the assistance rolls for one year. Minor parents and school-age children whose families receive TANF must maintain satisfactory attendance in a school or GED program. MDHS provides support services such as child care and transportation and may sanction participants who fail to meet work activity or other requirements of the program.

The child support bill requires that MDHS establish a central unit to receive and disburse child support. The act also establishes a Directory of New Hires, a computer data base to collect information on recently hired workers which is then used to help locate parents who are in arrears on child support payments. The act also includes other provisions to help facilitate child support collections.

Welfare reform issues which may require legislative attention in the near future include monitoring and measurement of TANF program results, determining eligibility for vocational training and support services and appropriate work activities, possible technical corrections, and provisions in the child support bill which allow MDHS to contract out the Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit and Directory of New Hires.

Recommendations

TANF Program Administration

1. In its first annual report to the Legislature on the state's TANF program, due December 15, 1997, the Department of Human Services should present a complete compendium of what the department intends to achieve with its TANF authority and how it intends to measure its achievements. Specifically, the department should prepare measurable outcomes and outputs, set indicators for determining achievement of outcomes and production of outputs, and identify resources committed to achieving the outputs and outcomes for these programs. Additionally, the department should report any other information or measures which it believes are relevant to measuring the accomplishments of the programs administered.

The department should provide this information to the Joint Legislative Department of Human Services Oversight Committee prior to the release of the annual report to other legislators. The Joint Committee Chairman should advise the MDHS Executive Director of the required date for this information to be released to the committee members.

2. Prior to the 1998 regular session, the Joint Legislative Department of Human Services Oversight Committee should require MDHS to present written information to address the issues discussed in this report. MDHS's information should answer specific questions on monitoring and measurement of program results, determining eligibility for vocational training and support services, and determining appropriate work activities. (See page 23 of the report for a list of the specific questions the department should address.)

Child Support Bill

3. Due to legislative concern over the need to give MDHS contracting authority for the Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit and the Directory of New Hires, the Legislature should:

• review the report of MDHS's cost-benefit analysis of privatizing the Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit prior to appropriating FY 1999 funds for operation of the unit (Section 1 of Senate Bill 2164 requires this cost-benefit study); and,
• review the privatization process for the Directory of New Hires, if MDHS exercises its authority to contract this new child support function to the private sector. The department should provide the Legislature with a complete description of its cost-benefit analysis and contracting processes with all supporting documentation.

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