From: WhitLLaJLid To: 31mm Cc: mam Subject: FW: research - nothing Just verifying assumptions Date: Thursday, October 22, 2015 2:36:24 PM Hi Sheryl, Been spending the day reading up on this myself. I am certainly not the expert on these contracts but, I can speak on how they will look on this from an audit perspective. In that vein an auditor will look strictly at what the statutes say governing the transfer and see if our expenditures meet that criteria. I would think that in the case of contracts with vendors, they would at the very least require some data that supports the restrictions on use. I do believe that from my read of the actual statute and the latest compliance supplement we need to produce something that says the population served by these particular contracts meet the 200% FLP and benefit children or their families. Unless we can produce that I do not think the Budget Office will allow the financial order to go through and, moreover, if that is the case we likely need to undo the journals we did related to prior year expenditures for these vendors. Whether TANF directly would otherwise fund these same services is another question and one we can explore. Happy to meet with you on this if you are free. Warmest Regards, David Whitt Department of Administrative and Financial Services Deputy Director Financial Services Center 221 State Street Augusta, ME 04333 Cell: 207-248?7150 From: Peavey, Sheryl Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2015 1:23 PM To: Whitt, David Cc: Wiley, Jeffrey; Mullins, Janre Subject: RE: research - nothing Just verifying assumptions I have been taking us down a different path, in part because the more I read from the feds, the more i believe they really don?t have clear parameters. For instance, spending TANF (even directly) on community development initiatives in which a large proportion of TANF eligible families live is allowable (not buildings, of that in the nutshell is Target Group Eligibility. They live in that area, the money can be spent. Taking that logic down its natural course, if the feds allow THAT, how the heck can they argue with our approach? Sheryl Peavey Director of Strategic Reform Maine Department of Health and Human Services (207) 287?5758 From: Whitt, David Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2015 12:29 PM To: Peavey, Sheryl Cc: Wiley, Jeffrey; Mullins, Janre Subject: research - nothing Just verifying assumptions From reading of the below I THINK 3 things are true: We can certainly transfer 10% 2. We are subject to 200% FLP for transferred funds 3. The funds are restricted to bene?t "children or their families? Pg 20 of the attached: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. EXCEPTION RELATING TO TITLE XX PROGRAMS All amounts paid to a State under this part that are used to carry out State programs pursuant to title XX shall be used only for programs and services to children or their families whose income is less than 200 percent of the income of?cial poverty line (as de?ned by the Of?ce of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 673 (2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) applicable to a family of the size involved. .r/rhivl-2-2nf When TANF funds are transferred to CCDF or SSBG, the rules of those block grants, not TANF rules, govern the use of the funds. As a result, transferred funds may be spent over the course of three years in CCDF and two years in 888G191 [n the federal TANF spending reports upon which this analysis is based. funds are reported as transferred whether or not they have been spent. Thus, TANF funds reported as unspent do not include funds that have been transferred but remain unspent in CCDF or ssae??l The states transferred $938.7 million to SSBG in ?scal year 2001. SSBG funds a wide array of social services for families with children as well as single individuals and childless couples, especially the elderly. TANF funds transferred to SSBG can be used for any allowable SSBG service, but only for families with children that have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold. The 1996 welfare reform law replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with a block grant to states, called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), under Title of the Social Security Act. The law allowed states to transfer up to 10% of their annual TANF allotments into the SSBG. Under provisions of the Transportation Equity Act of 1998 (PL. 105- 178), the amount that states could transfer into SSBG was reduced to 4.25% of their annual TANF allotments, beginning in FY2001. However, this provision was superseded in Y2001 by the FY2001 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which maintained the 10% transfer authority level. Funds transferred from TANF to the SSBG can be used only for children and families whose income is less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Under welfare reform law, states also may use SSBG funds for vouchers for families that are not eligible for cash assistance because of time limits under the welfare reform program, or for children who are denied cash assistance because they were born into families already receiving bene?ts for another child. Eligibility There are no federal eligibility criteria for SSBG participants. Thus, states have total discretion to set their own eligibility criteria. One exception is that welfare reform established an income limit of 200% of poverty for recipients of services funded by TANF allotments that are transferred to the SSBG. In 1993, HHS issued a regulation establishing uniform de?nitions for 28 SSBG service categories. State spending is not limited to these services; instead, these service categories are used as guidelines for reporting purposes. (Spending on an activity that falls outside the scope of services de?ned in regulation is characterized under ?other services? on annual reports.) In addition to supporting social services, SSBG funds may be used for administration, planning, evaluation, and training. (See Table 4 for a full list of the service categories reported on by states.) Warmest Regards, David Whitt Department of Administrative and Financial Services Deputy Director Financial Services Center 221 State Street Augusta, ME 04333 Cell: 207-248?7150