[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 116 (Thursday, July 31, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10645-S10648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, and Mr. Conrad):
  S. 1523. A bill to amend part A of title IV of the Social Security 
Act to allow a State to treat an individual with a disability, 
including a substance abuse problem, who is participating in 
rehabilitation services and who is increasing participation in core 
work activities as being engaged in work for purposes of the temporary 
assistance for needy families program, and to allow a State to court as 
a work activity under that program care provided to a child with a 
physical or mental impairment or an adult dependent for care with a 
physical or mental impairment; to the Committee on Finance.

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Pathways to 
Independence Act of 2003, along with Senators Conrad and Jeffords. This 
bill includes two important provisions that we will work to include in 
the TANF reauthorization. These provisions will help both TANF 
recipients with disabilities, and the States as they work with people 
with disabilities in their respective programs.
  In July 2002, the General Accounting Office reported that as many as 
44 percent of TANF families have a parent or a child with a physical or 
mental impairment. This is almost three times as high as among the non-
TANF population in the United States. In eight percent of TANF 
families, there is both a parent and a child with a disability; among 
non-TANF families, this figure is one percent. The GAO's work confirmed 
the findings of earlier studies, including work by the Urban Institute 
and the HHS Inspector General.
  These figures mean that we need to make sure that TANF 
reauthorization legislation give States the ability and incentives to 
help families meet their current needs, while also helping them to move 
from welfare to work. This is the lesson that Oregon and many other 
States have already learned as they developed and refined their TANF 
programs.
  The first provision of my bill provides a pragmatic approach to 
helping parents with disabilities and substance abuse problems receive 
the treatment and other rehabilitative services they will need to 
succeed in a work setting. It is designed so that, over time, States 
can gradually increase the work activity requirements, while continuing 
to provide them with rehabilitative services. Under this proposal, much 
like in other proposals under consideration, a person participating in 
rehabilitation can be counted as engaged in work activity for three 
months. After the first three months, if a person continues to need 
rehabilitative services, the State can continue to count participation 
in those activities for another three months, so long as that person is 
engaged in some number of work hours, to be determined by the State.
  The next step of my proposal builds on the concept of partial credit 
that is being considered in the Senate Finance Committee. If, after six 
months, a State determines that a person has a continuing need for 
rehabilitative services, the State may create a package that combines 
work activity with these services. The State will receive credit for 
the individual's efforts so long as at least one-half of the hours in 
which the individual participates are in core work activities. For 
example, if a State receives full credit for a person who works 30 
hours per week, and the State has determined that an individual needs 
rehabilitative services beyond six months, that individual would need 
to be engaged in core work activities for at least 15 hours per week to 
get full credit, with the remaining 15 hours spent in rehabilitative 
services. Similarly, if partial credit is available for a person who 
works 24 hours per week, then a State could receive that same partial 
credit if the person was engaged in core work activities for at least 
12 hours per week, with the remaining 12 hours spent in rehabilitative 
services.
  This approach is appealing for many reasons. First, it allows States 
to design a system in which a person can move progressively over time 
from rehabilitation toward work. Second, it gives States credit for the 
time and effort they will need to invest to help people move 
successfully from welfare to work by allowing States to use a range of 
strategies to help these families. Third, it creates a more realistic 
structure for individuals with disabilities and addictions who may 
otherwise fall out of the system either through sanction or 
discouragement, despite their need for financial support. Finally, this 
approach is appealing because it is designed to work within the 
structure of the final TANF reauthorization bill.
  The second provision in the bill would allow States the option of 
counting as work activity the time that an adult in a TANF family 
spends caring for a child with a disability or an adult relative who is 
in need of care. The studies reflect that these people often cannot 
find care for their relative so they can work. They are often forced 
into the impossible choice of caring for their child with a disability, 
or leaving that child to go to work in order to continue receiving 
their TANF grant. This is not a choice a parent should ever have to 
make.
  In order to be able to count the care provided by the TANF recipient 
as work activity, the State would first be required to determine that 
the child or adult with a disability is, in fact, truly disabled, and 
that the person needs substantial ongoing care. Then, the State must 
decide that the TANF recipient is the most appropriate means for 
providing the needed care. The State would also have to conduct regular 
periodic evaluations to determine that the child or adult with a 
disability continues to need the care provided by the TANF recipient. 
Nothing in the provision prevents a State from determining that the 
TANF recipient can

[[Page S10646]]

work outside the home or engage in other work-related training or other 
activities that will help the person eventually move to work on a full- 
or part-time basis.
  I would like to submit for the record a letter from close to forty 
national organizations that are members of the Consortium for Citizens 
with Disabilities supporting this legislation, as well as a letter of 
support from my home State of Oregon. I look forward to working with my 
co-sponsors, Senators Conrad and Jeffords, and with the Chairman of the 
Finance Committee on these important provisions in the upcoming months, 
and I urge my colleagues to join us in support of this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and letters of 
support be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows.

                                S. 1523

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Pathways to Independence Act 
     of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. STATE OPTION TO COUNT REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR 
                   CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS WORK FOR PURPOSES OF THE 
                   TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 407(c)(2) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(E) State option to treat an individual with a 
     disability, including a substance abuse problem, who is 
     participating in rehabilitation services as being engaged in 
     work.--
       ``(i) Initial 3-month period.--Subject to clauses (ii) and 
     (iii), for purposes of determining monthly participation 
     rates under paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (2)(B) of subsection 
     (b), a State may deem an individual described in clause (iv) 
     as being engaged in work for not more than 3 months in any 
     24-month period.
       ``(ii) Additional 3-month period.--A State may extend the 
     3-month period under clause (i) for an additional 3 months 
     only if, during such additional 3-month period, the 
     individual engages in a work activity described in subsection 
     (d) for such number of hours per month as the State 
     determines appropriate.
       ``(iii) Succeeding months.--

       ``(I) Credit for individuals participating in work 
     activities and rehabilitation services.--If a State has 
     deemed an individual described in clause (iv) as being 
     engaged in work for 6 months in accordance with clauses (i) 
     and (ii), and the State determines that the individual is 
     unable to satisfy the work requirement under the State 
     program funded under this part that applies to the individual 
     without regard to this subparagraph because of the 
     individual's disability, including a substance abuse problem, 
     the State shall receive the credit determined under subclause 
     (II) toward the monthly participation rate for the State.
       ``(II) Determination of credit.--For purposes of subclause 
     (I), the credit the State shall receive under that subclause 
     is, with respect to a month, the lesser of--

       ``(aa) the sum of the number of hours the individual 
     participates in an activity described in paragraph (1), (2), 
     (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (12) of subsection (d) for 
     the month and the number of hours that the individual 
     participates in rehabilitation services under this 
     subparagraph for the month; or
       ``(bb) twice the number of hours the individual 
     participates in an activity described in paragraph (1), (2), 
     (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (12) of subsection (d) for 
     the month.
       ``(iv) Individual described.--For purposes of this 
     subparagraph, an individual described in this clause is an 
     individual who the State has determined has a disability, 
     including a substance abuse problem, and would benefit from 
     participating in rehabilitative services.
       ``(v) Definition of disability.--In this subparagraph, the 
     term `disability' means--

       ``(I) a physical or mental impairment that constitutes or 
     results in a substantial impediment to employment; or
       ``(II) a physical or mental impairment that substantially 
     limits 1 or more major life activities.''.

       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     takes effect on October 1, 2003.

     SEC. 3. STATE OPTION TO COUNT CARING FOR A CHILD OR ADULT 
                   DEPENDENT FOR CARE WITH A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL 
                   IMPAIRMENT AS MEETING ALL OR PART OF THE WORK 
                   REQUIREMENT.

       (a) In General.--Section 407(c)(2) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)), as amended by section 2, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(F) Recipient caring for a child or adult dependent for 
     care with a physical or mental impairment deemed to be 
     meeting all or part of a family's work participation 
     requirements for a month.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), for purposes of 
     determining monthly participation rates under paragraphs 
     (1)(B)(i) and (2)(B) of subsection (b), a State may count the 
     number of hours per week that a recipient engages in 
     providing substantial ongoing care for a child or adult 
     dependent for care with a physical or mental impairment if 
     the State determines that--

       ``(I) the child or adult dependent for care has been 
     verified through a medically acceptable clinical or 
     laboratory diagnostic technique as having a significant 
     physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments 
     and as a result of that impairment, it is necessary that the 
     child or adult dependent for care have substantial ongoing 
     care;
       ``(II) the recipient providing such care is the most 
     appropriate means, as determined by the State, by which the 
     care can be provided to the child or adult dependent for 
     care;
       ``(III) for each month in which this subparagraph applies 
     to the recipient, the recipient is in compliance with the 
     requirements of the recipient's self-sufficiency plan; and
       ``(IV) the recipient is unable to participate fully in work 
     activities, after consideration of whether there are supports 
     accessible and available to the family for the care of the 
     child or adult dependent for care.

       ``(ii) Total number of hours limited to being counted as 1 
     family.--In no event may a family that includes a recipient 
     to which clause (i) applies be counted as more than 1 family 
     for purposes of determining monthly participation rates under 
     paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (2)(B) of subsection (b).
       ``(iii) State requirements.--In the case of a recipient to 
     which clause (i) applies, the State shall--

       ``(I) conduct regular, periodic evaluations of the 
     recipient's family; and
       ``(II) include as part of the recipient's self-sufficiency 
     plan, regular updates on what special needs of the child or 
     the adult dependent for care, including substantial ongoing 
     care, could be accommodated either by individuals other than 
     the recipient or outside of the home.

       ``(iv) 2-parent families.--

       ``(I) In general.--If a parent in a 2-parent family is 
     caring for a child or adult dependent for care with a 
     physical or mental impairment--

       ``(aa) the State may treat the family as a 1-parent family 
     for purposes of determining monthly participation rates under 
     paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (2)(B) of subsection (b); and
       ``(bb) the State may not count any hours of care for the 
     child or adult dependent for care for purposes of determining 
     such rates.

       ``(II) Special rule.--If the adult dependent for care in a 
     2-parent family is 1 of the parents and the State has 
     complied with the requirements of clause (iii), the State may 
     count the number of hours per week that a recipient engages 
     in providing substantial ongoing care for that adult 
     dependent for care.

       ``(v) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph 
     shall be construed as prohibiting a State from including in a 
     recipient's self-sufficiency plan a requirement to engage in 
     work activities described in subsection (d).''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     takes effect on October 1, 2003.

                                           Consortium for Citizens


                                            With Disabilities,

                                                    July 31, 2003.
     Hon. Gordon Smith,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. James M. Jeffords,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kent Conrad,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Smith, Conrad and Jeffords: We are writing to 
     thank you for introducing legislation that addresses two key 
     problems facing TANF families with a parent or child with a 
     disability. We believe that these provisions, if included in 
     a larger TANF reauthorization bill, will significantly 
     improve the ability of states to help families successfully 
     move from welfare toward work while also ensuring that the 
     needs of family members with disabilities are met. We 
     enthusiastically support this legislation.
       The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is a 
     coalition of national consumer, advocacy, provider and 
     professional organizations headquartered in Washington, DC. 
     We work together to advocate for national public policy that 
     ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, 
     integration and inclusion of children and adults with 
     disabilities in all aspects of society. The CCD TANF Task 
     Force seeks to ensure that families that include persons with 
     disabilities are afforded equal opportunities and appropriate 
     accommodations under the Temporary Assistance for Needy 
     Families (TANF) block grant.
       The research is clear that many TANF families include a 
     parent or a child with a disability, and in some families, 
     there is both a child and a parent with a disability. The 
     numbers are high--GAO has found that as many as 44 percent of 
     TANF families have a child or a parent with a disability--and 
     need to be addressed in the policy choices that Congress 
     makes in TANF reauthorization. We believe that, by designing 
     policies that take into account the needs of families with a 
     member with a disability, Congress can help the states move 
     greater numbers of these families off of welfare and toward 
     greater independence. Without reasonable

[[Page S10647]]

     supports, however, and through no fault of their own, these 
     families sometimes fail at work activity and are often 
     subject to inappropriate sanctioning and the crises that flow 
     from abrupt--and often prolonged--loss of income.
       Your bill could provide low-income families with members 
     with disabilities real opportunities to achieve self-
     sufficiency in two significant ways, if included in larger 
     TANF reauthorization legislation:
       Allow states to count individuals participating in 
     rehabilitative services beyond three months, while the 
     individual progressively engages in work activity.
       Under current law, states have the flexibility--either 
     through a waiver such as Oregon has or as a result of the 
     caseload reduction credit--to ensure that a parent with a 
     disability, including a substance abuse problem, receives the 
     rehabilitative services she needs in order to move towards 
     work. In recent years, increasing numbers of states have used 
     this flexibility as they realized that some parents would 
     need more specialized help if they were going to successfully 
     leave TANF. Some of the current reauthorization proposals, 
     however,--including the House-passed bill, H.R. 4--limit 
     states to counting three months of rehabilitative services as 
     work activity. An arbitrary limit of three months of 
     rehabilitation services would be inadequate to help many 
     families with members with disabilities find and sustain 
     employment, and, in light of proposed increases in state 
     participation rates, would discourage states from designing 
     programs and requirements that work for people with the most 
     severe barriers.
       Your bill will allow states to count rehabilitative 
     services as work activity beyond three months as long as the 
     rehabilitative services are mixed with work activity. We 
     believe this mix of activities and supports will help an 
     individual with severe barriers move toward greater 
     independence. First, the provision would extend the period of 
     time during which rehabilitative services, including 
     substance abuse treatment, can count toward the work 
     participation requirements from three months to six months. 
     However, during the second three months, the state would 
     require a small amount of work activity in addition to 
     rehabilitative services. Further, the provision would allow 
     states to count individuals participating in rehabilitative 
     services after this six month period as long as at least one-
     half of the hours in which the individual participates are in 
     core work activities. This will allow states to create a 
     progression of work activity hours combined with 
     rehabilitative services over time that will assist in moving 
     the family from welfare to work at a pace that is designed to 
     lead to success for that family.
       CCD is not asking Congress to exempt individuals, or family 
     members, with disabilities from participation in the TANF 
     program. On the contrary, we are looking for the essential 
     assistance and supports that will help families move off of 
     welfare toward greater independence. Your bill does not 
     create any exemptions from participation requirements, and in 
     fact, provides the necessary assistance and supports that can 
     come with participation in the TANF program. Under the bill, 
     states would have to engage the same number of recipients in 
     welfare-to-work activities as under the standard set in a new 
     reauthorization law. The provision simply allows states to 
     utilize a broader range of activities to help recipients with 
     barriers move to work. In short, this is a way to make the 
     TANF program work for parents with disabilities and substance 
     abuse problems. The provision would give states credit when 
     recipients with barriers are engaged in activities and, thus, 
     will encourage states to assist families with barriers to 
     progress toward work in a manner and at a pace that is more 
     tailored to their needs and disabilities.
       Allow states to count as work activity the time that the 
     adult in the TANF family spends caring for a child with a 
     disability or an adult relative with a disability.
       It is very difficult to find safe, accessible, and 
     appropriate child care for a child with a disability. This is 
     often the case regardless of the family's income. In 
     addition, the nature of some children's disabilities and 
     health conditions means that parents are called from work 
     regularly to assist a school with the child or to take the 
     child to medical appointments. At the same time, many parents 
     would like to work as much as possible or receive the 
     training they will need to secure a good job when they are no 
     longer needed in the home to care for their children with 
     disabilities.
       Your bill will allow states to receive work credit for the 
     time that a parent spends caring for a child with a 
     disability, if the state has determined that this is the best 
     way to secure the child's care. The provision also would 
     apply to providing care for an adult relative with a 
     disability. This would help to address the bind that some 
     TANF recipients face when they are told they must work away 
     from home, but leave an elderly parent or other relative with 
     a disability without the care they need to continue to live 
     in the community. Nothing in the provision would prevent a 
     state from designing a plan with the parent that combines 
     some amount of in-home care as work activity with other 
     activities that will help the parent prepare to enter the 
     workforce at a time that is appropriate in meeting the needs 
     of the child or adult relative with a disability.
       Thank you again for introducing this legislation and your 
     leadership on these very important issues. We look forward to 
     working with you and your staffs to ensure that these 
     provisions become law.
           Sincerely,
       American Association of People with Disabilities, American 
     Association on Mental Retardation, American Congress of 
     Community Supports and Employment Services, American 
     Counseling Association, American Music Therapy Association, 
     American Network of Community Options And Resources, 
     Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, 
     Association of University Centers on Disability, Bazelon 
     Center for Mental Health Law, Community Legal Services, 
     Council for Exceptional Children, Council for Learning 
     Disabilities, Council of State Administrators of Vocational 
     Rehabilitation, Disability Service Providers of America, 
     Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional 
     Children, Easter Seals, Epilepsy Foundation, Goodwill 
     Industries International,
       Helen Keller National Center, Learning Disabilities 
     Association, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National 
     Association of County Behavioral Health Directors, National 
     Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, National 
     Association of Social Workers, National Association of State 
     Directors of Special Education, National Association of State 
     Mental Health Program Directors, National Coalition of Parent 
     Center, National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness, National 
     Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, National Mental 
     Health Association, National Rehabilitation Association, 
     National Organization of Social Security Claimants' 
     Representatives, PACER Center, Spina Bifida Association of 
     America, TASH, The Arc of the United States, United Cerebral 
     Palsy.
                                  ____



                                            Oregon Law Center,

                                      Portland, OR, July 31, 2003.
     Hon. Gordon Smith,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. James M. Jeffords,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kent Conrad,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Smith, Conrad and Jeffords: I am writing on 
     behalf of the clients of the Oregon Law Center to express our 
     enthusiastic support for the Work and Treatment Act of 2003 
     which you are sponsoring. The Oregon Law Center is a 
     nonprofit law firm with offices throughout Oregon, that 
     advocates on behalf of low income families on a variety of 
     issues including the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families 
     program. The Work and Treatment Act addresses a critical 
     shortcoming in the current TANF law: that is, the failure to 
     address the needs of recipients with disabilities.
       Oregon's TANF waiver, which expired on July 1, 2003, 
     allowed the state to address the treatment needs of adults 
     and children with disabilities in the family's self-
     sufficiency plan. Oregon found, as has substantial national 
     research, that the TANF population contains a high percentage 
     of families who are unemployed or underemployed due to the 
     disability of the head of the household, or due to the need 
     to provide care to household dependents with disabilities. 
     This bill would allow Oregon to continue its work with these 
     families to help them achieve their highest levels of self-
     sufficiency.
       Thanks to all of you and particularly to Senator Smith who 
     has demonstrated great leadership in the TANF debates and 
     great understanding of the desperate needs of low income 
     families in Oregon.
           Respectfully submitted,
                                                 Lorey H. Freeman,
                                                  Attorney at Law.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, it is a pleasure for me to introduce 
today, along with my colleagues Senator Smith of Oregon and Senator 
Conrad of North Dakota, the Pathways to Independence Act of 2003.
  Let me begin by describing why this legislation is necessary. 
Currently, States have to meet a certain level of work participation in 
order to avoid penalties against their welfare funding. This level of 
work participation can be lowered through the ``caseload reduction 
credit.'' This means that States receive credit for moving people off 
of their welfare caseload. The caseload reduction credit has proven to 
be very successful since welfare reform was enacted in 1996. In fact, 
most States have received so much credit for moving people off of their 
caseloads, that their effective work participation rate is 0 percent.
  While this approach has been widely regarded as very successful, it 
has one major flaw. States are rewarded only for removing people from 
welfare, there is no consideration given to where those people end up. 
States get the same credit for training someone to be a nurse, 
electrician, or carpenter as they do for sending that person to live on 
the streets.
  This perverse incentive has been particularly difficult for the many 
welfare recipients who suffer from a disability or struggle with a 
substance abuse problem. In many States it is easier to write these 
people off than to give

[[Page S10648]]

them the support necessary to become truly independent.
  In Vermont, approximately 15 percent of the welfare caseload is 
diagnosed with a disability and receives services through the 
Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. However, that treatment is not 
included in the ``core activities'' allowed under welfare reform. So 
the State receives no credit for moving these individuals to 
independence. This is wrong.
  If we truly want welfare to be an initiative that helps people to 
become independent and self-sufficient, then we must be willing to take 
the steps necessary to get them there. This legislation would give 
States the tools necessary to assist them in that effort.
  Here is how it would work. The bill will allow States to count people 
with disabilities or substance abuse problems as working, provided that 
they are meeting certain criteria. First, a State can count someone as 
working for three months if they are involved in a treatment program. 
At the end of this three month period, the State can re-evaluate the 
status of the individual and decide to continue treatment for another 3 
months. Now, the individual must be engaged in work or work-preparation 
activities in addition to their continuing treatment program. At the 
end of 6 months, the State can continue treatment with the individual 
as long as the individual is meeting half of the regular work 
requirement and following their treatment program for the remaining 
hours.
  This is a common sense proposal. It is consistent with what we know 
about providing effective support programs to people with disabilities 
and effective treatment programs for people struggling with substance 
abuse. Allowing States to count these people in the ``working'' 
category provides the States with the necessary incentives to engage 
their welfare recipients in meaningful interventions. It will allow the 
States to truly place people with disabilities and substance abuse 
problems on a pathway to independence.
  In addition, this bill includes a provision first put forward by 
Senator Conrad that will allow States to exempt people who need to care 
for a child or family member with a disability. This is a proposal that 
was part of last year's Senate Finance Committee Work, Opportunity and 
Responsibility for Kids (WORK) bill, and I applaud Senator Conrad for 
his consistent support of that proposal.
  It is unclear when a full reauthorization of welfare will occur. It 
is clear however, that The Pathways to Independence Act of 2003 should 
be a part of any welfare reform package. I would like to thank the 
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities for their help in developing 
this legislation and their strong letter in support. I especially want 
to thank my colleague from Oregon, Senator Smith, and my colleague from 
North Dakota, Senator Conrad and their staff for all of the hard work 
that has gone into producing this proposal.
                                 ______