Social Services (TANF) - Research Paper Example

Social Services (TANF) Social services include but are not limited to social security, adoption processes, foster care, mental health services, homeless service, rehabilitation services and welfare services. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) represents one of the federal agencies tasked with the effective and efficient oversight of certain social services (Blank, 2004). As the name suggests, the federal agency provides temporal financial assistance to needy persons with an aim of permanent empowerment through employment programs. This paper will provide a critical analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of TANF in regards to the delivery of desired social services. Background As mentioned, TANF represents a federal block grant aimed at empowering needy persons. The program came about through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Thus, the program provides a platform for addressing the societal welfare needs with regard to effective social service delivery (Blank, 2004). TANF is structured to provide a platform for assistance and empowerment of needy families through the implementation of necessary welfare programs. However, the assistance provided by the program is time-bound, thus, eliciting a process of responsibility and self sufficiency among the assisted persons. History As mentioned, the 1996 welfare legislation marked the inception of TANF program. Thus, its inception was as a result of the need to consolidate support for various welfare programs (Blank, 2004). These welfare programs included the support of needy persons and creation of various jobs opportunities as well as offering emergency assistance services. Thus, TANF provides the necessary funds geared towards addressing various social services. Mission The core aim of TANF program is the promotion of self-sufficiency among needy persons. Thus, the effective implementation of this mission involves various processes. These processes can be outlined as follows: Development of regulatory, legislative and budgetary proposals. Presentation of initiatives related to welfare reform and operational planning objectives to relevant authorities. Overseeing and monitoring progress of approved projects. Provision of coordination and leadership for welfare reform. Provision of linkages with other acknowledged agencies on welfare reform. Goals TANF provides block grants to states. These grants must be designed and operated in adherence to accomplishing the various purposes and goals of TANF. These goals include the following: Promoting the provision of effective childcare through assistance to needy persons. Reducing the dependency of needy persons through job and work preparation. Prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Encouraging formation and maintenance of nuclear families. Structural Organization Structurally, TANF is comprised of the following divisions: Division of State TANF Policy. This division provides a framework for the operation of TANF programs within a given state. Thus, this division is crucial to the operation of TANF programs since it provides the necessary regulations and guidelines for program implementation. The division also provides evaluation platforms with regard to various operations. This, in turn, helps in aligning various programs with the desired program requirements. The division also provides for the necessary penalty actions with regard to operational deficiencies. Division of State and Territory TANF Management. This division is tasked with provision of necessary technical assistance to various groups. It is also charged with the responsibility of overseeing healthy marriages. Division of Data Collection and Data Analysis. This division is charged with collection of the necessary data and its analysis. Therefore, statistical and financial data is collected, analyzed and compiled by this division. Division of Tribal TANF Management. This division is tasked with the provision of necessary guidance to federally recognized tribes and immigrant communities with regard to implementation and administration of TANF programs. TANF Bureau Regional Program Units. This division provides a platform for effective administration of block grants and effective collaboration between different states and agencies. Financial Operations of TANF During its inception in 1996, the total TANF block grant was set to 16.6 billion dollars. However, funding of TANF program has steadily increased with time to over 30 billion dollars as depicted by the 2009 TANF expenditure chart (Blank, 2004). Thus, this significantly created a need for federal intervention in the with regard to the delivery of welfare services. TANF programs presented the necessary platform for these supplementary programs, thus, creating a need for additional funding as employed. As outlined above, TANF expenditure is divided into various operations. These operations include the following: Cash assistance Childcare Work support and employment programs Systems and administration Other services As can be seen from the chart, cash assistance operations receive the largest chunk of the TANF block grant. This epitomizes the program’s mission of providing assistance to needy persons. Thus, operations regarding to systems and administration receive the least amount in terms of cash. Therefore, this points to the effectiveness and efficiency of the TANF program in providing necessary financial assistance and empowerment to needy persons. Eligibility for funding by TANF programs is determined uniquely by various states. Effectiveness of TANF Program Services Provided By TANF The TANF program creates a platform for the provision of numerous social services with regard to welfare. These services can be outlined as follows: Childcare. TANF oversees proper nutrition of needy children through this program. Care for Disabled Persons. This program provides the necessary platform foe effective care of persons with various disabilities under the TANF program. Disaster Assistance. This service enables the federal government to respond to various calamities with the aim of helping the victims. Education and Training. TANF programs may also be expanded to include various educational and training initiatives with regard to social welfare. Thus, education and training may be provided to needy families covering aspects such as preparation for disaster and disaster response and recovery. Parenting. TANF programs also provide a platform for the parental education with regards to various aspects. These aspects include the following: 1. Prevention of unwanted pregnancies 2. Effective parenthood 3. Importance of proper nutrition Education and Training Programs by TANF TANF offers common needs training to its employees, thus providing them with development opportunities. This training is done through various methods. These methods include the following: Traditional classroom training Online self-study Development programs Career counseling Thus, the training and development programs cover a wide range of programs including leadership programs. Leadership programs may include programs such as career coaching and individual development plans. Interaction of TANF with the Criminal Justice System Since TANF agencies enjoy federal funding from the government, agencies are subject to various civil rights laws. The agencies must also comply with the Disabilities Act. This, therefore, implies that these agencies must abstain from any form of discrimination based in color, race, origin or disability as stipulated by the Civil Rights Act and the Disabilities Act. Thus, discrimination in application of sanctions and provision of job training by TANF agencies represents a violation of the law and is subject to punishment by the criminal justice system. In addition, TANF agencies must create the necessary platform for effective communication with persons with limited English proficiency (LEP). Thus, in the event of interacting with persons with LEP, TANF agencies must take the necessary steps for effective communication. Such steps may include the provision of interpreter services. Thus, failure to adhere to this regulation represents a violation by the TANF agency punishable by the criminal justice system. Ways in Which TANF Could Improve Its Effectiveness TANF programs were initiated in 1996 by the government to provide financial assistance and empowerment of needy families towards self-sufficiency. However, changing times have necessitated certain revisions to the program (Barbara, 2001; Mimi, 2005). Thus, in order to effectively achieve its goals, TANF agencies could embrace the following policy recommendations: 1. Adjustment of TANF funding at the state and federal levels. This can be attributed to the advancement in the needs of the affected families with changes in the time spells. Thus, this creates a need for the adjustment of TANF funding at the necessary levels so as to reflect the needs of the modern society. Moreover, other factors such as inflation, low contributions and low income render the current TANF cash benefits negligible (Harknett, 2003). This, in turn, cripples the process of empowerment of the victims to self-sufficiency levels. Therefore, for effectiveness in empowerment of the victims to self-sufficiency, funding of TANF programs at the state and federal levels should be adjusted. 2. Implementation of various modifications with regard to work requirement and time limits. This implies that states should make some exemptions with regard to single parents for children under the age of 1 (Bernal and Keane, 2011). This is owed to the fact that infants and toddlers need dedicated time with their parents for effective and healthy development. Thus, such parents should be exempted from certain requirements and timelines with regard to TANF schedules. Moreover, TANF programs should also provide states with incentives geared towards the promotion of workforce preparation and better parenting skills. This will, in turn, go a long way in ensuring healthy social, cognitive and emotional development of children. This, thus, provides the desired platform for effective empowerment of the needy children for self-sufficiency. 3. Increase access to high quality early child care. The current funds allocated to TANF programs are not sufficient for the effective realization of high quality early child care for the vulnerable families. Thus, there should be increased investment in quality early child care services (Harknett, 2003). As a result, quality early child care would be critical to the success of TANF programs. The government should, thus, invest largely in pre-kindergarten child care. 4. Implement various modifications with regard to transitions. This would, as a result, allow parents transitioning off TANF programs to have a sufficient grace period before elimination of benefits. This, in turn, would ensure the maintenance and continuity of child care. This is owed to the significance of continuity in child care process. Thus, abrupt termination of benefits by TANF programs in the event of a transition robs the children of the necessary continuity in child care (Harknett, 2003). Therefore, for effective child care continuity, necessary efforts must be considered by the TANF programs. 5. Expand access to various forms of treatment for TANF beneficiaries. This is owed to the fact that certain illnesses contribute significantly to the prevention of employment for the affected families. Such barriers include mental illness issues, domestic violence and substance abuse. Thus, for effective realization of empowerment of needy persons to self-sufficiency levels, TANF programs should expand access to various forms of treatment (Mimi, 2005). This may include such processes as life skills training, treatment of substance abuse and building of rehabilitation facilities. Moreover, such treatment procedures such as mental illness and domestic violence require enough time for effective treatment process. Thus, rushing through a treatment program doe s not help the victims since the root causes of their problems may not be tackled. In addition, rushing through a treatment program may result in the reoccurrence of the disease. Thus, TANF programs should be expanded with regard to research and implementation of various projects. Technical assistance should also be increased with regard to various TANF initiatives. 6. Create incentives to promote inter-agency interactions. This could be in the form of creation of more grants involving federal, state and local agencies. This is because inter-agency cooperation would result in effective and efficient utilization of resources. This would, in turn, reduce loss of child care during transition spells. Therefore, this would result in the promotion of stability of child care which is crucial to effective child development. 7. Maintain accurate data collection and research databases for future TANF programs. This process would be crucial to future policies with regard to the operations of TANF programs. Therefore, considering the interaction of TANF programs with the criminal justice system, a prediction can be made concerning the future of social service agencies. Thus, future social service agencies will have to comply fully with set regulations in order to avoid penalties from the criminal justice system. In addition, maintenance of accurate data records would be crucial to the reauthorization of future TANF programs. With regard to efficiency of social service delivery of the TANF programs, the programs have significantly contributed to the assistance and empowerment of needy families. However, as outlined by the regulations above, the program still lacks in effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of the desired social services with regard to welfare of the needy families. References Barbara, L. (2001). Contractual Welfare: Non-Accountability and Diminished Democracy in Local Government Contracts for Welfare-to-Work Services. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 28(5), 1-5. Bernal, R. & Keane, M. (2011). Child care choices and children's cognitive achievement: The case of single mothers. Journal of Labor Economics, 29(3), 459-512. Blank, R. (2004). Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States. Journal of Economic Literature, 40(4), 1105-116. Harknett, K. (2003). How An Earning Supplement Can Affect Union Formation Among Low Income Single Mothers. Demography, 40(1), 451-78. Mimi, A. (2005). The Largely Untold Story of Welfare Reform and the Human Services. Social Work, 50(2), 2-5. Read More