We all deserve to have what we need to put food on the table, pay for our families’ everyday needs, and pursue our own goals in life. Cash assistance programs should provide a meaningful pathway out of poverty.
Prior to the Great Recession, families leaving TANF received 12 months of support services for items like car repairs, gas, work clothing, and tools after their TANF benefits ended. For families receiving low cash grants, a $2000 transition stipend provided the financial stability needed to leave TANF and land on their feet. Since the recession, that support has been cut to only 3 months, and families have been trapped at the edge of the benefits cliff, unable to leave TANF and still support their families.
SB 6135 would reinstate these essential services and help families bridge the gap between receiving TANF and supporting themselves independently. To make TANF a pathway out of poverty, we need to provide support services to families transitioning off of benefits.
For families on TANF and other benefits, invasive fraud investigations create lasting community harm. DSHS has confirmed that you are more likely to be investigated if you are Black, Hispanic, Native, Pacific Islander, or a Spanish speaker, but more data is needed to see the demographics and impacts of investigations.
Increased transparency would help the Office of Fraud and Accountability (OFA) build confidence and trust, foster collaboration with community partners, and identify ways to streamline and improve OFA policies and procedures to decrease departmental spending and increase efficacy. SB 6226 asks OFA to report regularly on their investigation demographics and outcomes.
To increase the efficacy of benefits programs and fraud investigations, we need to be transparent about investigations and make cash assistance programs a meaningful pathway out of poverty for recipients. Tell your lawmakers: make TANF work better for families! |
