Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families Employment and Training
Background
There are three overriding philosophies in Texas government:
- Local control,
- Smaller, more efficient government, and
- An emphasis on work and individual responsibility.
To meet these goals, Texas devolved to the local level management of federally-funded and other workforce development programs, including:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Employment and Training (Choices),
- Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T),
- Workforce Investment Act (WIA),
- Wagner-Peyser Employment Services (ES),
- Veterans Employment and Training,
- Other workforce development programs, and
- Subsidized child care.
The local one-stop service delivery system of Texas Workforce Centers integrates these programs into a seamless continuum of services. Workforce Center staff works with customers to define an appropriate array of services that bridge number of funding streams. For example, a Choices individual enrolled in employment activities may be co-enrolled in a WIA-funded training program. Integration and seamless service delivery are central tenets of the Texas workforce development system.
TANF Employment and Training (Choices)
Choices operates under a Work First service model. From the point of applying for cash assistance (through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission), throughout delivery of benefits and employment services, Choices individuals receive a consistent message:
- Government assistance is temporary.
- Texans are responsible for the support of themselves and their families.
- Employment is the goal
Both State and federal welfare reform legislation emphasizes personal responsibility, time-limited cash assistance benefits, and the goal of work instead of welfare. To support these mandates, TWC and local Boards developed a service delivery model with the goal of employment at the earliest opportunity for applicants and recipients of cash assistance.
Choices provides services to two populations:
- Single-parent families
- Two-parent families
On October 1, 2001, Texas created a TANF State-funded program specifically serving two-parent households. One or both adults in a two-parent household are responsible for meeting the family's mandatory work requirement.
Choices Services - Workforce Orientation for Applicants
The Workforce Orientation for Applicants (WOA) is an introduction to workforce center services. TANF applicants are required to attend a WOA as a condition of eligibility, unless HHSC exempts them. Once certified for benefits, TANF recipients must attend an Employment Planning Session (EPS).
During an Employment Planning Session (EPS), Choices staff meets with TANF recipients to introduce them to Choices services, to develop an in-depth assessment, and to develop a Family Employment Plan. Following the FEP, Choices participants are generally expected to participate in work activities (30 hours minimum for single parents, 35/55 hours for two-parent families depending upon their receipt of subsidized child care). Participation for most recipients will include job readiness activities and job search activities as a means of "testing the labor market" and locating employment at the earliest opportunity.
Employment Services for Choices Participants
Employment services for participants gives priority to unsubsidized employment appropriate to each individual's educational and functional literacy level. If the Choices participant does not obtain employment, subsidized employment, community service, or other work activities designed to provide recipients with the skills necessary for employment are required. Services will vary based upon local service strategies. Teenagers who are heads of household are encouraged to finish high school or to achieve their GED before entering employment activities.
Initial activities that assist Choices participants with finding employment include Job Readiness and Job Search. Job Readiness activities include but are not limited to the following:
- Self-esteem building,
- Job search skills,
- Labor market information,
- Employment goal setting,
- Resume writing,
- Interviewing techniques,
- General workplace expectations, and
- Job retention skills.
Almost all Choices individuals participate in structured Job Search activities, with the goal of unsubsidized employment at the earliest opportunity. Recipients are responsible for making a designated number of employer contacts per week. In addition, workforce staff makes job referrals and provides job development activities to assist recipients in their job search.
Choices Participation
Choices participants who cannot obtain immediate employment are subject to mandatory community service requirements. A mandatory Choices participant, excluding teens in school, must be scheduled to participate in community service if not enrolled in one of the following activities after four weeks:
- Unsubsidized employment,
- Subsidized employment,
- On-the-job training, or
- Work experience.
Support services are available to assist Choices participants who are actively looking for work or who become employed. Support services include:
- Child care,
- Transportation assistance,
- Work-related expenses, and
- Other support services needed to help Choices participant begin work and to remain employed.
Active Choices participation is a basic requirement. Failure to participate without Good Cause results in an immediate sanction that discontinues all of the family’s TANF cash benefits, the adult family member’s Medicaid benefits, and support services.
Choices Post-Employment Services
Post-employment services are a continuum in the Choices service strategy to support an individual's job retention, wage gains, career progression and progression to self-sufficiency. Workforce Centers offer post-employment services to:
- Mandatory Choices participants and exempt TANF recipients who are employed, and
- TANF applicants and former TANF recipients who obtained employment but require additional assistance in retaining employment and achieving self-sufficiency.
Key post-employment strategies may include:
- Extended or ongoing case management,
- Child care, transportation, and work-related expenses,
- Job search, job placement, and job development services,
- Referrals to education and training resources (including WIA),
- Referrals to support services available in the community,
- Additional career planning and counseling,
- Referrals to other service providers and community resources,
- Developing and establishing an employees’ assistance program, and
- Mentoring.
Additional Employment Programs/Special Initiatives
Based on state and federal legislation, additional employment programs or special initiatives are being developed as resources for TANF recipients.
Self-Sufficiency Fund - Job Training for TANF Recipients
The Self-Sufficiency Fund engages employers and training organizations, in cooperation with their Local Workforce Development Board, to provide targeted training for TANF recipients. Customized job training programs will be designed by a private business or trade union in partnership with a training provider. The purpose of the fund is to provide specialized workforce training that will meet the needs of local employers and TANF recipients with the intent of placing the recipients in a specific job upon completion of the customized training program.
Microenterprise Development Projects
Microenterprise development activities attempt to assist with the creation and continued viability of privately owned businesses. Many of these small businesses, and the entrepreneurs that wish to start one, are at a disadvantage because they do not meet the eligibility requirements of conventional loans or sources of capital. TWC is authorized to administer a self-employment assistance program that provides a TANF recipient with entrepreneurial training, business counseling and technical assistance so that the recipient can establish a successful business and become self-employed.
Examples of microenterprise development services, both financially and socially oriented, include the following:
- Financial assistance/credit/small loans
- Personal development workshops/resources to enhance self-esteem and motivate individuals
- Technical skills training (basic management, accounting, marketing practices, etc.)
- Transportation
- Child care provision
- Health care assistance
- Continuous case management
- Follow-up
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