CHi'iJi'REN ~FAMILIES 330 C Street, S.W. 1 Washington , D.C. 20201 I www.acf.hhs.gov OCT 1 3 2016 Mr. Samuel Adolphsen Chief Operating Officer Maine Department of Health and Human Services 221 State Street 11 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0011 Dear Mr. Adolphsen: The Region 1 office of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) received your letter (dated August 15, 2016) requesting clarification on the appropriate rules governing funds transferred from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) and the use of funds transferred from TANF to SSBG. The purpose of this letter is to provide existing ACF references to clarify the proper use of these funds transferred from TANF to SSBG. ACF will provide further clarification on the proper use of transferred funds as it relates to eligibility (e.g., "target group eligibility") under separate cover. Limitation on Amount Transferred to SSBG: Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, annual appropriations for SSBG have included a provision stipulating that States may transfer up to 10 percent of their TANF block grant funds to SSBG. Applicable Rules: Any Federal TANF funds that a State transfers to SSBG, as documented by appropriate financial reports, take on the rules and regulations of the receiving program corresponding to the Federal fiscal year that the funds were originally awarded to the State and transferred to SSBG. This has been the case since the inception ofTANF. In addition, per section 404(d)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act requires that all (TANF) amounts 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 official poverty line applicable to a family of the size. Resources: Current guidance on the use of funds transferred from T ANF to SSBG is listed below for your reference and is available on the ACF website (www.acf.hhs.gov). • SSBG IM 04-2001 Reporting of Funds Transferred from Temporary Assistance to Needy Page 2 - Mr. Adolphsen • TANF-ACF-PI-2002-02 (Clarification of Procedures and Methods of Obligating Federal Funds Under the T ANF Program) Sincerely, r:::.£-¥ Director Office of Community Services Attachment- Letter from Mr. Adolphsen (dated August 15, 2016) Cc. Susan Golonka, Acting Director, Office of Family Affairs, Administration for Children and Families Carol Monteiro, Acting Regional Administrator, Administration for Children and Families Paul R LePage, Governor Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner's Office 221 State Street 11 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0011 Tel.: (207) 287-3707; Fax (207) 287-3005 TTY Users: Dial711 (Maine Relay) Mary C. Mayhew, Commissioner August 15, 2016 Linda Greenberg, PhD, Acting Regional Administrator Administration for Children and Families JFK Federal Bldg., Room 2000 15 new Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02201 Email: linda.greenberg@acf.hhs.gov Dear Dr. Greenberg: The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is seeking formal, definitive guidance regarding the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) block grant dollars once they have been transferred to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). Although federal rules make explicitly clear that states may transfer up to 10 percent of annual TANF grant award funds to SSBG, the rules are ambiguous regarding governance of those funds once the transfer has occurred. In recent years, Maine DHHS has worked diligently to maximize federal resources on behalf of our state's most vulnerable residents. In so doing, we have focused on deploying block grant funds efficiently, directing those funds-within federal rules-to areas of acute social services need in Maine. This year, Maine DHHS had intended to use TANF transfer dollars to fund SSBG-eligible services. Due to a lack of clarity regarding expenditure eligibility, however, Maine DHHS stopped this effort while we attempt to get a clear answer to some questions. What we seek to understand for our future reference is whether TANF rules or SSBG rules apply to expenditure eligibility once a state has transferred TANF funds to SSBG for their dispersal. Whereas Maine DHHS has been led to believe that SSBG rules apply to the transfer, we are requesting definitive guidance to that end. It is important to note that in 2015 Maine DHHS contracted the Public Consulting Group, an independent consultant, to complete an assessment of potential uses ofTANF, SSBG, and CCDF. PCG's assessment noted the permissibility of transferring funds from TANF to SSBG and/or CCDF and related uses. Maine DHHS utilized the PCG report to assess allowable priority uses of block grant funds. We subsequently proceeded under the basic premise that a state has the authority to transfer 10% of its TANF funding to the SSBG under the following conditions: e [IJ Federal law states that transferred funds are subject to the rules of the program to which they are transferred; in this case, TANF transfer dollars become subject to the rules of SSBG. [IJ Specifically, the Administration for Children and Families ("ACF") Program Instruction TANF-ACF-PI-2002-02 (Clarification of Procedures and http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ofa/funding guide.pdf Page Two Methods of Obligating Federal Funds Under the TANF Program), states that "any Federal T ANF funds that a State transfers to the SSBG and/or CCDF programs, as documented by appropriate financial reports, take on the rules and regulations of the receiving program corresponding to the Federal fiscal year the funds were originally awarded to the State and transferred to SSBG and/or CCDF." The services funded with the transferred dollars must be within the 29 allowable categories of expenditure in SSBG (in our case, meeting the broader SSBG goal of maintaining self-sufficiency and reducing institutional care and qualify under independent/transitional living). • Welfare reform established an income limit of 200% of poverty for recipients of services funded specifically from TANF allotments that are transferred to the SSBG and benefit children or their familiesY 1 Following the model of other states, Maine could use the definition of families as defined in its SSBG Annual Grant Application since 2009 to determine financial eligibility. This method, also known as "target group eligibility" is used by other States, particularly for descriptions ofTANF transfer to SSBG in those states' Intended Use Plans. We reasonably assumed that those plans, posted online, were approved by the federal government. To clarify conflicting guidance that Maine DHHS has received in the past, we request that you verify Maine D HHS' articulated understanding of the rules that govern funds transferred from TANF to SSBG and their subsequent uses. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your response. Samuel Adolphsen Chief Operating Officer Maine Department of Health and Human Services SA!klv 2 [ 1 http://www.cbpp.org/archives/3-21-02tanf.htm, PRWOR ACT, 1996 and also cited in the Congressional Research Service document on SSBG prepared for Congress in 2012.