NASW Letter to Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee

The Honorable [first name, last name]
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Senator [last name]:

On behalf of the 153,000 members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), I urge your support for two issues which have not received sufficient attention during the debate on the reauthorization of the 1996 welfare law. The first is how best to serve recipients with significant or multiple barriers to self-sufficiency and the second is the need to improve the skills, retention rates, and professionalism of the welfare workforce.

Much debate has been focused on structural barriers to employment, such as child care and transportation, but little attention has been paid to serving families with "hidden" barriers, such as mental disorders, substance abuse, or domestic violence. Parents dealing with one or more of these problems, or caring for family members with disabilities, often have great difficulty in meeting current program requirements. Under a program of "universal engagement" with increased work requirements, the difficulties will escalate.

The majority of states have not yet instituted meaningful screening and/or assessment procedures for determining hidden barriers, identified or developed effective services or programs to address those barriers, or instituted pre-sanction reviews so that benefits for families are not wrongfully terminated. Greater congressional intervention is clearly warranted. Consider the following:

• The Urban Institute found that of parents receiving welfare in 1997, 34 percent had one obstacle to employment and 44 percent had two or more. The presence of multiple barriers was a strong predictor of families who were not participating in work activities.
• Between one-fourth and one-third of current welfare recipients have symptoms associated with a mental health disorder. More than one-half of individuals with a mental health disorder also have problems with substance abuse. Seventy-five percent of women in substance abuse treatment are victims or survivors of sexual or physical abuse.
• Studies have found that families with barriers are disproportionately sanctioned. In Minnesota, sanctioned families are four times as likely as the caseload as a whole to have a substance abuse problem, three times as likely to have a family health problem, and twice as likely to have a mental health problem or to have been a recent victim of domestic violence.

A second issue needing additional congressional attention is helping states improve the training, skills, and workloads of welfare staff. Contrary to popular belief, fewer than 1 percent of NASW's membership is employed in public welfare. The majority of welfare staff are former eligibility workers with only high school diplomas or college degrees unrelated to social services delivery. They are not sufficiently prepared to develop meaningful Individualized Responsibility Plans (IRPs) that address family challenges and utilize family strengths. The current lack of staff capacity can have devastating consequences for families who are at the mercy of their decision-making. Consider the following:

• Studies of welfare offices in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio found that widespread uncertainty exists among recipients about the details of time limits and related policies--core components of the 1996 law.
• More than 88 percent of recipients interviewed in Lansing, Michigan, said some caseworkers deliberately do not inform recipients about their eligibility for services or benefits. Similar problems around the country have resulted in between one-third to one-half of all families leaving welfare for work not receiving the medical assistance, food stamps, or child care for which they are eligible.
• In Illinois, 78 percent of caseworkers wanted more training than they were receiving, and 40 percent of staff surveyed in California felt that identifying potential barriers to employment was not part of their job and they were unprepared to do so. Staff turnover rates often reach 50 percent a year.

Given that the development of a trusting, personal relationship between client and caseworker is an essential ingredient of successful programs and that a large proportion of current recipients have at least one barrier to employment, it is essential that these two issues be adequately addressed. As you finalize legislation to reauthorize the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, I urge you to include the following provisions.

• Require development of truly individualized self-sufficiency plans, intensive case management, and improved sanction procedures for families with multiple barriers to employment.
• Expand allowable work activities to include treatment and counseling for mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence for as long as qualified professionals deem necessary.
• Extend time limits and exemptions for individuals actively participating in activities to overcome one or more barriers to self-sufficiency.
• Provide dedicated funding to help states create a more qualified, stable, and professional workforce. Funds could be used for hiring or training staff to ensure they have the resources, skills, and expertise necessary to successfully carry out the program. Key elements include manageable caseloads and the ability to screen for hidden barriers, refer participants to other appropriate programs, and deliver services free from racial, ethnic, or cultural discrimination.
• Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to evaluate innovative approaches to service delivery, including best practices in staffing, training, workloads, and intra- and inter-agency collaboration.

Thank you for your consideration of these important issues.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH
Executive Director