Economic Services Administration (ESA) administers welfare grants, related employment training, and child care to very low-income persons in the following groups: disabled and unemployable persons, persons who have children under age 18, and pregnant women. In addition, ESA administers services which promote economic independence and self-sufficiency for refugees through the effective use of financial, medical, and social services. ESA also administers food Assistance services.
Included
in this presentation:
Excluded in this presentation:
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Consolidated
Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP): ESA provides for specific
emergent needs such as food, shelter, clothing, minor medical, household
maintenance, job-related transportation or clothing, and transportation
for foster care-bound children. Payment is limited to specified maximums
for individual emergent need items or the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) Payment Standard, whichever is lower. Benefit payments
are authorized for only 30 days in any 12 consecutive month period.
CEAP is available to the following persons: (1) pregnant women in any
stage of pregnancy or (2) families with dependent children. Prior to
January 2000, clients could be eligible for CEAP benefits while receiving
ongoing cash Assistance. Beginning January 1, 2000, clients must be
ineligible for TANF, State Family Assistance (SFA), Refugee Cash Assistance
(RCA), or Diversion Cash Assistance (DCA) to receive CEAP benefits.
This policy change restricting eligibility accounts for the significant
decline in numbers served between Fiscal Year 99 and Fiscal Year 00.
Diversion Cash Assistance (DCA) Service:
ESA provides one-time DCA grants to low-income families with temporary
emergent needs who are not likely to need continued Assistance if those
needs are met. DCA grants are limited to $1500 once per year. DCA payments
may be used to cover emergent needs for shelter, transportation, child
care, food, medical care, and employment-related expenses. Recipients
must meet TANF or SFA eligibility criteria to receive a DCA grant. If
the family or Assistance unit goes on TANF or SFA Assistance within
12 months of receiving a DCA grant, a proportionate amount of the DCA
payment must be repaid.
Basic Food Program / Food Stamp (FS) Benefits: Federal Food
Stamp Program (FSP) benefits are available to households with income
below 130% of the federal poverty level and resources below federal
limits. Legal immigrants who are ineligible for the federal FSP but
meet FSP income and resource limits receive food Assistance through
a state-funded food Assistance program. Food Assistance benefits are
generally available to all low-income households regardless of factors
such as age, incapacity, and dependency. Certain Able-Bodied Adults
Without Dependents (ABAWDs) are limited to no more than 3 months of
benefits during a 36-month period unless they either work at least 20
hours a week or participate in Food Stamp Employment and Training. Recipients
receive debit cards or coupons redeemable for food at participating
food stores.
General Assistance-Aged, Blind, and
Disabled (GA-A/B/D), General Assistance-Institutional (GA-I), General
Assistance-Unemployable (GA-U), and General Assistance-Expedited Medical
Disability (GA-X): ESA provides GA-A/B/D, GA-I, GA-U, and GA-X
cash grants to clients who are poor and unable to work due to a physically
or mentally incapacitating medical condition. GA-A/B/D benefits
are paid to the aged, blind, and/or disabled. GA-I benefits are
paid to clients residing in institutional facilities. GA-U benefits
are paid to those with medical conditions that are not severe or long-term
enough to meet federal disability criteria. GA-X benefits are
paid to clients who are awaiting SSI determination (GA-X).
ORIA Services and CSO Case Management: The
Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) provides a variety
of services including English as a Second Language (ESL) Training, Health
Screening, Self-Sufficiency Assessments, Citizenship Training, Planning,
Employment Services, Foster Care, and other Social Services. All ORIA
Services are provided to refugees and immigrants through private
non-profit and government contractors. ESL Training assists refugees
and immigrants to overcome communication problems and to obtain the
necessary language skills to find employment. Employment Services include
assessment, job development, job placement, on-the-job-training, trial
employment, and follow-up to ensure job retention. CSO Case Management
includes an evaluation of health, education, skills, work history, and
employment potential; Assistance in developing a personal employment
plan; and referrals to social and medical services.
Refugee Grants: Refugees who meet
state income and grant standards, but do not qualify for TANF or SSI,
receive federal Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) for their first eight
months in the United States. In general, RCA recipients are single persons
and married couples without children.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) State Supplement
Payments: SSI is a national benefit service for individuals
and couples who are age 65 or older or who are blind or disabled as
determined by the Social Security Administration. SSI state supplement
payments are Washington State funded grants which supplement federal SSI payments. SSI state supplement payments are made to individuals
and couples who have countable income below a combined state and federal
income standard.
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) /
State Family Assistance (SFA): ESA provides TANF cash grants
to the following financially needy client groups: (1) children under
age 18, (2) children under age 19 attending high school or working towards
a GED full-time, (3) parents or caretaker relatives of these children,
(4) unmarried teen parents under the age of 18, and (5) pregnant women.
Eligibility for TANF cash grants is limited to a 5-year period during
which adult members of the family or Assistance unit are expected to
participate in WorkFirst (see the description below). In addition to
ongoing TANF cash grants, families may receive a special one-time Additional
Requirements for Emergent Needs (AREN) cash payment to meet emergency
housing or utility needs. ESA also provides SFA cash grants to
certain persons meeting Washington State residency requirements who
are not eligible for TANF Assistance and who are (1) qualified aliens
and have been in the United States for less than five years, (2) aliens
who are permanently residing in the US under color of law (PRUCOL),
(3) nineteen or twenty year-old students meeting certain education requirements
(i.e. receiving a special education due to their disability or participating
full-time in secondary education or vocational training), or (4) pregnant
women who have been convicted of either misrepresenting their residence
in order to receive benefits from two or more states at the same time
or of a drug-related felony.
WorkFirst: Persons age 16 or older who
are part of a TANF family or Assistance unit are required to participate
in WorkFirst. WorkFirst services include job search, basic education
(including high school/GED completion, remedial education, and English
language proficiency), jobs skills training, customized job skills training,
subsidized community jobs, one year of post-secondary education (career
counseling as well as limited academic education and vocational instruction),
and on-the-job training. In order to receive food Assistance, nonexempt
WorkFirst clients must register for the Food Stamp Employment and Training
(FS E&T) program and participate in job search, employment and training
activities, and/or attend General Education Development or English as
a Second Language classes.
Working Connections Child Care:
ESA provides child care Assistance to: (1) eligible TANF families who
require child care to participate in approved WorkFirst activities,
job search, employment, or training and (2) non-TANF families who require
child care to maintain employment or to attend approved training. Clients
receiving WC Child Care must pass an economic means test.
Note: CSDB Child Care counts include both the children being served and their adult, primary caregivers.
Additional Services in Program Total
Some services are small and unlike other services. Programs may choose to include these in the program only total, rather than include them with dissimilar services. Client counts and expenditures for the following services appear in the program total only:
- SSI Facilitation: ESA provides Assistance with the completion and monitoring of SSA Title II or Title XVI applications to the following client groups: (1) GA-U recipients, TANF recipients, and ADATSA shelter residents.
- Protective Payee Fees.
- Eligibility Determination: ESA staff perform assessment, evaluation, and documentation of incapacity for applicants or recipients.
- General Assistance-Legal Guardian (GH-H) payments: ESA provides cash grants for the basic needs of children who live with court-appointed legal guardians or permanent legal custodians. Beginning in July 2000, this service was integrated with TANF.
- Refugee Unaccompanied Minors: ORIA administers foster care contracts for children who have been identified as Unaccompanied Minors by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The contracting agencies provide services that include recruiting, training and/or licensing foster families, placement, and casework services. These agencies also provide emancipation training and cultural preservation activities.
Changes from NADB-Fiscal Year 94 to CSDB-Fiscal Year 99
Consolidated Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP) was reported for the first time in CSDB for Fiscal Year 99. This service was reported in the program total only in NADB for Fiscal Year 94.
- NADB for Fiscal Year 94 reported grants paid through Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). AFDC has been significantly re-structured due to federal welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 and is now referred to as Temporary Assistance to Need Families (TANF). CSDB for Fiscal Year 99 reports grants paid through TANF.
- NADB for Fiscal Year 94 reported services provided through ESA Child Care. These services have also been significantly re-structured due to federal welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 and are now referred to as Working Connections Child Care. CSDB for Fiscal Year 99 reports Assistance provided by Working Connections Child Care.
- NADB for Fiscal Year 94 reported services provided through Job Opportunities for Basic Skills (JOBS) training. These services have also been significantly re-structured due to federal welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 and are now referred to as WorkFirst. CSDB for Fiscal Year 99 reports Assistance provided by WorkFirst.
- Refugee Unaccompanied Minors services were reported as a separate service category in NADB for Fiscal Year 94. Due to significant decline in the numbers served, this service is reported in the program total only in CSDB for Fiscal Year 99.
Changes from CSDB-Fiscal Year 99 to CSDB-Fiscal Year 00
CSDB for Fiscal Year 99 reported General Assistance for Pregnant Women (GA-S). Through April 1999, ESA provided GA-S cash grants to low-income pregnant women who were not eligible for TANF because they were in the first two trimesters of their pregnancy. This service was integrated with TANF in May of 1999 by expanding TANF eligibility to include pregnant women in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. CSDB for both Fiscal Year 00 reports these grants under the TANF report group.
Changes from CSDB-Fiscal Year 00 to CSDB-Fiscal Year 01
CSDB for Fiscal Year 01 reports Food Stamp Employment and Training (FS E&T) clients as part of the WorkFirst reporting group total. These FS E&T clients must participate in job search activities and/or attend General Education Development or English as a Second Language classes in order to receive food Assistance.
Changes from CSDB-Fiscal Year 01 to CSDB-Fiscal Year 02
- Washington Basic Food Program was called Food Assistance Benefits in prior years.
- Child Care, which was called Working Connections Child Care in prior years, includes services that were previously administered by Children's Administration.
Source: CSDB - State Fiscal Year 2002
