Nov 27 -- The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), invites public comments on the possibilities for design and implementation of the new pilot program and work outcomes measures of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The FRA requires HHS to carry out a pilot program for up to five states to promote accountability by measuring employment and earnings outcomes as well as additional indicators of family stability and well-being for TANF recipients. In addition, it requires all states to report the information necessary to calculate certain statutory work outcomes measures. ACF seeks input from partners to help understand some of the options, opportunities, and potential challenges associated with the development and implementation of the pilot program and the reporting of new statutory work outcomes measures applicable to all states. Comments are due January 11, 2024.
Pilot Program
Section 302 of the FRA authorizes a pilot program under which HHS may select up to five states to test alternative performance metrics in the TANF program. Section 302 of the FRA provides that for the duration of the pilot projects, the work participation requirements shall not apply to the pilot states and instead, participating states will comply with agreed upon performance measures and benchmarks. In lieu of the work participation rate (WPR), state performance will be measured by (A) the percentage of work-eligible individuals who are employed during the 2nd quarter after exiting the TANF program; (B) the level of earnings of those individuals in the 2nd and 4th quarters after exit; and (C) other indicators of family stability and well-being as established by HHS. States that fail to meet agreed upon performance benchmarks for these measures will be required to enter into a plan with HHS to either achieve the level of performance or adjust the benchmarks. In the event neither is accomplished, the state will no longer be permitted to participate in the pilot. The pilots will be in effect for six years, with the first year being used to establish baseline data.
Since TANF was enacted in 1996, the chief measure of program performance has been the requirement that states meet WPR targets. The WPR measure the extent to which states engage families receiving TANF cash assistance in certain work activities for a specified number of hours each week each month during a fiscal year. A state must meet an overall (or “all families”) and a two-parent work participation requirement or face a potential financial penalty. The WPR targets are 50 percent for all families and 90 percent for two-parent families, but a state's individual targets equal the statutory rates adjusted downward by the number of percentage points by which the caseload has fallen since a base year for reasons other than changes in eligibility rules.
Over time, states, members of Congress, and others have advocated for moving TANF beyond solely relying on the WPR as a means of defining the success of states in supporting TANF recipients in entering employment and gaining the skills they need for economic stability. Many have also noted that the WPR is a process measure rather than an outcome measure, as it measures only a state's ability to engage individuals in specified countable activities that lack research to support their connection to long term employment outcomes.
While this performance standard structure has remained largely unchanged since 1996, in recent years there has been an increasing interest in alternative methods of measuring state performance in TANF and other human services programs. The FRA authorized pilots to test alternatives to the WPR.
As an alternative to the WPR, states participating in the pilots would be measured against negotiated benchmarks for work outcomes and other indicators of family stability and well-being. The pilots will provide an important opportunity for selected states to demonstrate different approaches to measuring their performance in assisting families with low incomes. We encourage states to think about strategies for promoting and measuring economic success and family stabilization. ACF is interested in learning more about the opportunities that the pilot program presents for states. ACF is committed to a successful pilot program, one that results in useful information for policymakers and leads to a more effective TANF program that further benefits American families.
Work Outcomes Measures
Section 304 of the FRA requires all states to collect and submit “the information necessary” to determine four indicators of performance. These are:
• Employment in the Second Quarter after Exit: The percentage of individuals who were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program, who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after the exit;
• Employment Retention: The percentage of individuals who were work-eligible individuals who were in unsubsidized employment in the second quarter after the exit, who are also in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after the exit;
• Median Earnings: The median earnings of individuals who were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program, who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after the exit; and
• High School Attainment: The percentage of individuals who have not attained 24 years of age, are attending high school or enrolled in an equivalency program, and are work-eligible individuals or were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program, who obtain a high school degree or its recognized equivalent while receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part or within 1 year after the exit.
Section 304 specifies that to ensure nationwide comparability of data, HHS shall issue regulations governing reporting of the performance indicators after it consults with the Secretary of Labor and with states. This RFI is one of the ways HHS is consulting with states.
The above measures are similar to some of the performance accountability measures required under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA). The FRA does not specify which data sources should be used for the above measures. For the first three measures, ACF is considering requiring states to submit Social Security Numbers (SSN) of all work-eligible individuals who left TANF in a given quarter and ACF would then match those SSNs with quarterly wage records in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). ACF would then use the matched results to compute the first three work outcomes measures on behalf of states. This approach would allow for standardized measures and would not require states to initiate new data sharing agreements at the state level. ACF is interested in learning about alternative data sources, such as unemployment insurance quarterly wage records contained in the State Wage Interchange System (SWIS), as well as data sources that could be used to supplement standardized measures. Under WIOA, states are allowed to submit “other information as is necessary to measure the progress of those participants through methods other than quarterly wage record information” if quarterly wage records are not available for a participant.
ACF has matched individual TANF case records with NDNH wage records since FY 2002 for the High Performance Bonus measures, and later for performance measures that are reported as part of the Congressional Budget Justification, but ACF has not calculated a high school attainment measure and so is looking for information about potential data sources and key considerations. Other areas include how to operationally define TANF exiters, which are defined in the statute as those who “cease[ ] to receive assistance under the program funded by this part.” However, many studies have defined an “exit” from TANF in different ways, taking churn into account; TANF “leavers” studies from the early 2000s often defined a “leaver” as someone who has left cash assistance for at least two months, while WIOA defines a “common exit” as a participant not receiving Department of Labor-administered services for at least 90 days.
These work outcomes measures are intended to assist federal—and state—policymakers in better understanding the effectiveness of TANF programs in promoting successful employment and credential attainment. As with the pilots, the work outcomes measures may inform future improvements to the TANF program. ACF is interested in hearing from states their thoughts on operationalizing these new measures including the potential administrative cost and burden involved.
Through this RFI, ACF is soliciting input and information from a broad array of stakeholders on how best to design and implement the FRA pilot program and the new work outcomes measures. . . .
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-26100