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October 9, 2007 Re: S. 1730, a bill to facilitate appropriate services and accommodations for families that include persons with disabilities Dear Senator _____________ The undersigned organizations are writing to request your support for the Pathways to Independence Act. This legislation will allow states to more effectively serve families that include a person with a disability in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. We believe this legislation, if enacted, will significantly improve the ability of states to help families successfully move from welfare toward work while also ensuring that the needs of family members with disabilities are met. The undersigned organizations enthusiastically support this legislation. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is a coalition of national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, DC. We work together to advocate for national policies that ensure the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration, and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. The CCD TANF Task Force seeks to ensure that families that include persons with disabilities are afforded equal opportunities and appropriate accommodations in programs funded by the TANF block grant. Congress explicitly stated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act that, in implementing TANF, states are to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitative Services Act of 1973. To achieve this, states must provide appropriate services to these families, adopt non-discriminatory methods of administering the program, and modify, as necessary, policies, procedures, and requirements to ensure that recipients with disabilities can participate in the program fully. The Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance that explains what states must do to make sure their TANF programs are compliant with the disability laws. The guidance explains, for example, that states may need to provide recipients with disabilities a longer period of time to complete education and training programs than is typically permitted if a recipient’s disability slows their progress. An individual with a disability may need modifications to the number of hours he or she is required to participate if his or her health condition precludes full-time participation. And a recipient with a serious mental health problem may be unable to engage in a full course of standard education, training, or work experience activities until his or her health condition is stabilized and, instead, may need mental health treatment as a precursor to these activities. Unfortunately, the changes made to the TANF program by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the subsequent regulations issued by HHS place states in an untenable position. Because the federal work requirements are so inflexible, a state that makes these kinds of modifications for recipients with disabilities faces a greater risk of failing to meet federal “work participation” requirements — a measure of the share of TANF recipients states must have in a specific set of work activities for a prescribed number of hours each week. States that fail to meet these requirements face significant financial penalties. The National Governor’s Association expressed its concerns about the TANF requirements and people with disabilities in a recent letter to the chair and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. In that letter, the governors stated: With an increased number of TANF participants facing severe barriers to work, key rehabilitative and supportive services (such as substance abuse, behavioral and mental health and domestic violence treatment) play an integral role in moving participants to work and retaining employment. …Governors urge Congress to restore states' ability to count rehabilitation and supportive services as a category other than job search/job readiness. S. 1730 would address the tension between TANF requirements and the requirements of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Under this bill, states will receive credit when they engage recipients with disabilities in appropriate work activities. This provides a powerful incentive — rather than penalties — to states to invest in the supports necessary to help individuals with disabilities succeed in the labor market and achieve a higher degree of self-reliance. The flexibility provided in this bill can improve the overall performance of the TANF program by helping families at greatest risk move toward employment. We urge you to consider supporting families that include a person with a disability by agreeing to co-sponsor S. 1730. We are happy to provide any additional information you require and look forward to working with you and your staffs to ensure that this provision becomes law. Sincerely, |
