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TANF
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The Department of Labor's Mission
The Department of Labor (DOL) is New York State's primary advocate for job creation and economic growth through workforce development. The Department administers New York's unemployment insurance system, labor exchange system and Welfare-to-Work programs. The Department also oversees State worker protection programs, including enforcement of safety and health regulations in the public sector, State labor laws and Federal statutes related to working conditions, wages and hours and laws related to public work. The Department is also the State's principal source for labor market information and offers a variety of services designed to help businesses find workers and people find jobs.
TANF & DOL Responsibilities
Under New York's Welfare Reform Act of 1997, DOL is responsible for supervising social services district operation of welfare employment programs. The programs are supported by the General Fund, federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funding and Food Stamp Employment and Training funding. The funds support programs designed to increase the self-sufficiency of eligible participants, including the Youth Education, Employment and Training Program (YEETP), the Green Teams program, Displaced Homemakers and the Bridge/EDGE Program. TANF funding is made available in the form of a block grant to social services districts and State agencies to support work activities and transitional services through DOL and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Funding is structured so that services may be provided to eligible individuals and families with incomes that do not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level, thus providing an important focus on avoiding welfare dependency through work.
While the TANF program is not specifically directed toward individuals with disabilities, research data indicate far-reaching effects of this program on people with disabilities. According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), a substantially higher proportion of TANF recipients reported having physical or mental impairments than did adults in the non-TANF population. In addition, many TANF families include a child with a disability. The work
requirements and lifetime limits to benefits, which are key elements of welfare reform, pose special challenges for state and local TANF agencies in addressing the unique needs of families with a disability who are TANF beneficiaries.
The Department has found that people with disabilities often face multiple barriers to work. In addition to the barriers faced by most low-income Americans as they attempt to work, such as inadequate transportation and limited opportunities to improve education and skills, people with disabilities must meet the specific challenges of their physical or mental impairment or health condition. This often requires assistive technology, accessible transportation, sign language interpreters, personal care assistance, or work place supports in order to participate in programs that assist in finding work. When appropriate assessments of individual needs for reasonable accommodations are provided, people with disabilities have equal opportunity for full participation, independent living, and economic stability. Also facing extraordinary challenges are parents of children with disabilities, who are frequently unable to find or to afford a child care setting able or willing to handle the special needs of their children. These parents often miss work to provide for these special needs, putting them at risk of incurring TANF sanctions. They are more likely than others to experience significant hardships when forced to leave the TANF program due to time limits.
RFQs & RFPs
The Department of Labor and Welfare-To-Work Division periodically post notice of available funding opportunities. Information about current requests will be posted here as they become available.
Welfare-To-Work and "Hidden" Disabilities
Since the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), policy analysts, researchers and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program administrators have focused attention on personal "barriers" which have prevented clients from leaving welfare. Traditionally, three issues have dominated the discussions: substance abuse, mental health and physical disabilities. Recently the issue of learning disabilities (LD) has been highlighted by representatives from the federal government as well as by agencies in a number of states (Rhode Island, Washington, Kansas and Virginia). Estimates of the TANF population with a learning disability range from 25%-40%. A conference sponsored by various federal agencies concluded, "... there is a major incidence of disability in the hardest to serve populations.". Many of these disabilities are not overt, such as occurs in individuals who are blind or deaf, but are disabilities such as addictive disorders, learning disabilities, mental illness and mental retardation.
These disabilities were not well understood by most welfare or adult literacy/job training programs and are difficult to diagnose and often impact both "soft" social skills and "hard" work-related technical skills. The Department of Labor's Welfare-To-Work Division provides job search assistance, job skills training, post-employment services and other programs that help overcome barriers to employment, as well as technical assistance to local districts that monitor the recipients' progress.
DOL Announces a SWP Bureau
A significant number of families that continue to receive assistance face significant barriers to self-sufficiency -- including learning disabilities, psychiatric disabilities and addictions. Many of these families are facing the end of their 60-month limit on TANF and may have tried and failed at traditional work and training assignments.
To address this need, The New York State Department of Labor's Welfare-To-Work Division operates a range of Welfare-to-Work programs for families faced with these barriers and has created a Specialized Work Programs Bureau.
State Budget
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Rules & Regulations
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