Background:

WorkFirst Program.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal block grant that provides temporary cash assistance, subsidized childcare, and work programs for families. The Washington WorkFirst TANF Act of 1997 created the WorkFirst program. With limited exceptions, adult TANF recipients must participate in one or more WorkFirst activities. These activities may include paid and unpaid employment-based training programs; career development; community service; work skills assessment and job hunting training; and vocational training programs. WorkFirst participants may receive additional services such as child support collection, food assistance, and subsidized childcare.

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) administers the WorkFirst program in partnership with the Department of Commerce (COM), the Department of Early Learning (DEL), the Employment Security Department (ESD), the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC).

Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Oversight Task Force.

The Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Oversight Task Force (Task Force) was established in 2011 to oversee a redesign of the WorkFirst program and the operation of the TANF program.

The Task Force is composed of eight legislative members and six Governor-appointed agency representatives. Agencies represented include the DSHS, the COM, the DEL, the ESD, the OFM, and the SBCTC.

Intergenerational Poverty.

Intergenerational poverty refers to two or more consecutive generations of a family experiencing poverty. According to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 12 percent of Washington's population is living under the federal poverty level. The 2016 federal poverty guideline for a household of four is a monthly income of $2,025.

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Summary of Third Substitute Bill:

Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Poverty Reduction Oversight Task Force.

The Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Poverty Reduction Oversight Task Force (Task Force) is established and the Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Oversight Task Force is eliminated. The Task Force is tasked with:

overseeing the operation of the WorkFirst and TANF programs;
determining evidence-based outcome measures for the WorkFirst program;
developing accountability measures for WorkFirst recipients and agencies responsible for recipient progress toward self-sufficiency;
collaborating with the Intergenerational Advisory Committee (Committee) to develop and monitor strategies to prevent and address adverse childhood experiences and reduce intergenerational poverty;
seeking input on best practices for poverty reduction from service providers, community-based organizations, legislators, state agencies, stakeholders, the business community, and subject matter experts;
collaborating with partner agencies and the Committee to analyze available data and information regarding intergenerational poverty; and
recommending policy actions to the Governor and the Legislature to effectively reduce intergenerational poverty.

Intergenerational Poverty Advisory Committee.

The Committee is created to advise the Task Force. Committee members are appointed by the Secretary of the DSHS, and staff support is provided by the DSHS. The Committee must choose co-chairs from among its membership.

Committee members must include representatives of advocacy groups; academic experts in childhood poverty, education, or early childhood education; faith-based organizations; tribal governments; families impacted by poverty; local government; the business community; a subject matter expert in infant mental health; the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF); and the DSHS.

Task Force Membership.

The Task Force membership must include diverse, statewide representation reflecting regional, racial, and cultural diversity. Voting members include four members of the Senate, four members of the House of Representatives, and eight members representing the following state agencies: the DSHS; the DCYF; the COM; the ESD; the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the Department of Health (DOH); the Department of Corrections (DOC); and the SBCTC.

The Governor must appoint five nonvoting members to the Task Force representing the Commission on African American Affairs, the Commission on Hispanic Affairs, the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, and the OFM.

The co-chairs of the Committee must serve as nonvoting members of the Task Force.

Reporting.

The partner agencies must provide the Task Force with regular reports on progress toward meeting the outcome and performance measures established by the Task Force, caseload trends and program expenditures information, and characteristics of families who have been unsuccessful on TANF and have lost their benefits.

The Task Force must direct the DSHS to develop five-year and 10-year plans to address intergenerational poverty. Subject to oversight and approval by the Task Force, the DSHS must submit the first set of plans to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 2019. The Task Force must review the five-year and 10-year plans annually and direct the DSHS to update the plans as necessary.

Third Substitute Bill Compared to Engrossed Second Substitute Bill:

The third substitute bill makes the following changes:

The Task Force goal of reducing the percent of people living 200 percent below the federal poverty level by 50 percent by the year 2025 is removed, as are the associated Task Force duties and annual legislative report.
The deadline for the five-year and 10-year plans to address intergenerational poverty is changed from December 1, 2018, to December 1, 2019. The plans must be reviewed annually by the Task Force.
Voting membership of the Task Force is changed to replace the DEL with the DCYF; add the DOH and the DOC as voting members; and designate the OFM as a nonvoting member. The co-chairs of the Committee are designated as nonvoting members of the Task Force.
The following Committee members are removed from the Committee and added to the Task Force as nonvoting members: the Commission on African American Affairs; the State Commission on Hispanic Affairs; the State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; and the Governor's Office of Indian affairs.
Members representing the DCYF, the DSHS, and a subject matter expert in infant mental health are added to the Committee. Early childhood education is added to the list of possible areas to be represented by advocacy, academic, and faith-based groups on the Committee.
Direction to the Governor to request participation by representatives of tribal governments on the Task Force is removed.
The DSHS must endeavor to accommodate the participation needs of Committee members, including considering the location and time of committee meetings, making options available for remote participation, and convening meetings of the Committee in locations with proximity to available child care whenever feasible.
Committee members may receive travel reimbursement.
The establishment of a data system to track intergenerational poverty is removed.
Definitions for "Department" and "Secretary" meaning the DSHS and the Secretary of the DSHS, respectively, are added. A definition of "Partner agency" is added to mean an executive branch agency represented by a voting or nonvoting member of the Task Force.
A June 30, 2017, null and void clause is removed and content relating to the elimination of the Legislative-Executive WorkFirst Oversight Task Force and the establishment of the new Task Force is reorganized.