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States get set for new, tougher welfare regulations

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 28, 2006

WASHINGTON - No more bed rest, going on errands for a friend or reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to fulfill work requirements for welfare.

The Bush administration will issue new regulations today that clarify what states can count when it comes to work participation under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.

Under the law, states are supposed to have at least half of their welfare recipients in approved work activities or face cuts in funding of as much as 5 percent. However, states have been on their own in defining those work activities. Some have gone too far, the administration says.

Congress recently instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to draft regulations that would define the 12 work categories cited in federal law. For instance, on-the-job training will be defined, as will community service and unsubsidized employment.

In a recent speech, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt signaled that he wanted stricter definitions of work. He questioned Wisconsin's use of bed rest as a work activity. He also questioned other activities, such as motivational reading.

"Needless to say, I think we can all agree we need to have a better definition of what constitutes work," Leavitt said.

The Government Accountability Office said last year there were too many differences in how states defined work.

For instance, of 10 states reviewed, five said caring for a disabled family member would meet work participation requirements. Five did not. Six states counted substance abuse treatment as work, but four did not.

Such inconsistent definitions make for unreliable comparisons when determining which states do a good job of helping residents find work, the GAO said.

Wade Horn, the HHS assistant secretary who oversees welfare, said the regulations will reflect the average American's definition of job training, community service or any of the other work activities already established in law.

"The average person doesn't believe that bed rest is what they would understand as a job-readiness activity," Horn said. "The danger in not using common sense definitions for these categories is that the American people start to believe that the government is playing games with them."

Changes approved to the nation's welfare program in 1996 set limits on how long people could obtain cash assistance.

Since the law went into effect, the welfare rolls have dropped from about 4.4-million families to less than 2-million.

[Last modified June 28, 2006, 02:21:49]