TANF Emergency Fund and Jobs Programs

Posted on October 1, 2010 by townsend

• Latest unemployed: Stimulus-subsidized workers, By Tami Luhby, October 1, 2010, CNNMoney.com: “Tens of thousands of low-income workers lost their jobs Thursday as a stimulus-subsidized employment program came to an end. About a quarter of a million people in 37 states were placed in short-term jobs thanks to a $5 billion boost to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. States used about $1 billion to provide subsidized employment, with the remaining funds going to cash grants, food programs, housing assistance and other aid. About half the jobs were summer employment for youth and the rest were for disadvantaged parents. Each state configured its initiative differently. Some covered all the workers’ wages for a few months, while others paid for a portion of their salary. With the program expiring, many of the adults have been told not to report to work anymore. And it won’t be easy for them to find a new position at time when the unemployment rate continues to hover at 9.6%…”
• Stimulus aid ends for jobs program, By Richard Wolf, October 1, 2010, USA Today: “Cepeda White is a poster child for the $814 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Obama last year. Today, he nearly became one of its first casualties. That’s because federal subsidies ran out for a $5 billion program funded by the stimulus law that has provided 235,000 jobs in 36 states for low-income parents and young adults. The program, ending in some states and on life support in others, paid White’s $10-an-hour salary at the Nice Twice Thrift Shop here. For months, Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, have tried to get the program extended. They ran into opposition from Republicans, including House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, who complained that the program funded direct welfare and emergency payments as well as subsidized jobs…”
• Despite latest poverty figures, Senate lets worthy jobs program lapse, Editorial, October 1, 2010, Washington Post: “The Census Bureau reported this week that more than one in four children in the District of Columbia lives in poverty. That includes 36 percent of African American children — compared with 3 percent for non-Hispanic white children. And the District was not alone in receiving grim news. The overall national child poverty rate is nearly 21 percent. Poverty rose last year in 31 states and fell in none. In some ways, the District is better off than most jurisdictions: The only places where median household income rose in 2009 were the District (2.8 percent) and North Dakota (5.1 percent). Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to be poor as adults. They lag behind early in intellectual development, tend to attend lower-quality schools and are more likely to drop out of high school. It’s not surprising that poverty would rise during an economic downturn. But the current recession — marked by increased levels of long-term unemployment and homelessness — could have a particularly brutal and long-lasting effect on the children hit by it…”