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senior staff writer
In Colorado, a proposal to hand some welfare reform decision-making and a block grant of $180 million over to counties received initial approval Feb. 3, after eight hours of discussion at a House committee hearing.
In California, Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed what some are calling a 'controversial' welfare reform proposal that leaves many key decisions to counties.
Ready or not, devolution is here.
Yet as states and counties wrestle with implementation of the federal welfare reform law passed last fall, several are working together on plans that would give counties block grants or the flexibility to craft individual plans based on their own economies. The following are a few examples.
The legislation in Colorado, the Colorado Works Program Act, sponsored by Colorado Speaker Chuck Berry (R), "[is] not perfect by any means, but it's a start," says Laura Beard, legislative counsel to Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI).
Although CCI has not taken an official position on the bill, Beard said the association likes the bill because it "supports the philosophy of flexibility."
The most debated issue, according to Beard, is the issue of whether the state should require counties to offer some minimum level of benefits, and if they don't, whether recipients would then move from county to county, "shopping" for the best benefits.
"People simply do not move," Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said at the Feb. 3 hearing before lawmakers. "It's an issue of transportation and [affordable] housing."
Berry asked the House committee to amend the bill so that what he called "irresponsible" counties would be sanctioned for chasing away welfare recipients.
The bill would also:
Another welfare reform bill in Colorado being touted by Gov. Roy Romer (D.) and the state Department of Human Services calls for a statewide minimum benefit for recipients.
In his state of the State address, the governor called for a strong state-county partnership and said counties should be given more flexibility. But he remained adamant on the topic of a statewide minimum benefits level. Other proposals are also being considered.
Gov. Wilson's welfare reform legislation was introduced Feb. 28 as County News was going to press. Meanwhile, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and the County Welfare Directors Association have drafted a welfare reform plan, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Thompson, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, that includes strategies for welfare-to-work, child care, two-year time limits to find work, and work training.
The CSAC proposal includes the following requirements for welfare reform:
The plan also calls for the state and federal government to fund any cost shifts to county programs "as a result of benefit restrictions on legal immigrants."
At this point, it is uncertain whether funding would be directly "block-granted" to counties. "The proposal doesn't deal with funding," said Margaret Peña, CSAC's welfare reform lobbyist. "We're trying to reach a consensus around policy first."
The draft also proposes taking the "safety net" responsibility from the counties and turning it over to the state, Peña said.
The California Assembly and Senate are creating a welfare reform conference committee to examine the issue.
Each county will draft its own welfare reform plan, according to a proposal drafted by a North Carolina welfare reform task force. The proposal, which would become part of the state's Work First Program, was developed with input from counties; the task force was co-chaired by Wake County Commissioner Betty Lou Ward, NACo first vice president.
Recommendations from the task force call for a state/county partnership. Counties will create their own plans to implement welfare reform to "recognize demographic and employment differences ... as well as the level of support services" available, according to a draft document prepared by the task force.
County welfare reform plans will target performance measures required by the state and other goals stipulated by local planning efforts. Counties will also receive rewards for outstanding results.
Counties will be supported in efforts to conduct demonstration projects and to work regionally. Also under the plan:
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners is pushing for uniform benefits statewide, with support services varying by county, depending on need. "Our biggest problem is child care and transportation," said Patrice Roesler, director of intergovernmental programs. "There are pockets in the northeast where there's nothing."
County officials in Ohio helped draft proposed legislation being referred to as "The Straw Man," which began with the Ohio Department of Human Services. A bill is expected to be introduced by the middle of this month.
About 300 people packed the last of seven public forums Feb. 5 in Columbus, Ohio. Questions on their minds: How will welfare recipients get to work? Who will take care of the children whose parents find jobs? How are we going to get the word out about welfare reform to welfare recipients?
The Ohio plan calls for the state and counties to have a "partnership agreement" (rather than contracts) and share in risks and rewards. Duties and obligations must be met by both the state and the counties.
If counties meet certain goals and save funds, they may keep portions of that money. If they don't, they will be financially penalized.
"Counties can use incentive dollars from exceeding outcomes and administrative savings to provide additional services to clients [e.g., child care, emergency assistance, etc.]," the plan states.
Counties will also be allowed to take steps to keep people from getting sucked into the welfare system by giving money, for instance, to pay a bill or fix a car.
In response to the draft plan, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO) noted that the state "must be accountable for provision of resources, including effective technical assistance and coordination of the efforts of state agencies."
"Counties cannot succeed unless the state changes its mindset from micro-manager to facilitator, and from whip-wielding overseer to a collaborative partner," the association wrote.
"The keys are two-way contracts, shared responsibility, flexibility, simplification, adequate funding for child care, training, medical and administration of local responsibilities," the association said.
CCAO also recommended that educational systems and facilities should be held accountable for outcomes, just as counties are.
"We feel this design is about as good as it's going to get," said CCAO Assistant Director Jerry Collamore.
Collamore said two different models may be used, one giving counties "full flexibility" and the other giving them "partial flexibility" to "see what counties can do."
The Ohio House Welfare Oversight Committee also held meetings with human service agencies in 12 counties and held public forums in eight counties.
If counties are given responsibility for achieving the goals of welfare reform, they must be given the funds they need to succeed, said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
County officials must ask themselves, he said, whether "the dollars [from state government] are going to reflect the number of poor people and the severity of poverty in my jurisdiction."
"It puts a lot of burden on counties," said Mark Rom, Robert Wood Johnson scholar on health policy research at the University of California at Berkeley. He is working on a book titled Welfare Is Gone for Good.
"It's a double-edged sword," he said, explaining that although counties might be the best at administering programs and deciding what should go in them, counties must have the tools they need to enact them.
For example, he noted, "with these time limits to find a job ...
someone has to keep those records. Counties are going to have to beef up
their data management."