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Budget Summary FY2016

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44032000 - Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children Grant Pmt
Data Current as of:  8/19/2015





Account Description FY2015
Spending
FY2016
GAA
4403-2000 Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children Grant Pmt
For a program of transitional aid to families with dependent children; provided, that benefits under the program shall be paid only to citizens of the United States and to non-citizens for whom federal funds may be used to provide benefits; provided further, that no benefit under this item shall be made available to illegal or undocumented aliens; provided further, that not later than December 31, 2015, the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on the feasibility of requiring recipients to complete a financial report under 106 CMR 702.930 not more than twice per year, the department's report shall include, but not be limited to, the timeframe by which such a change may be implemented and the fiscal and administrative barriers to making the change; provided further, that the need standard shall be equal to the standard in effect in fiscal year 2015 unless the department determines that a reduction in the monthly payment standard shall be implemented before the end of the fiscal year to keep program expenditures within the amounts appropriated in this item; provided further, that the payment standard shall be equal to the need standard; provided further, that the payment standard for families who do not qualify for an exempt category of assistance under subsection (e) of section 110 of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 shall be 2.75 per cent below the otherwise applicable payment standard in fiscal year 2016, under the state plan required under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, as amended, and under said act and notwithstanding section 218 of chapter 149 of the acts of 2004 or any other general or special law to the contrary, the recipients defined in said section 218 of said chapter 149 whose youngest child of record is of the age at which full-time schooling is mandatory or older shall meet the federal standard of 30 hours per week of work-related activity; provided further, that the department shall notify parents under the age of 20 receiving benefits from the program of the requirements of clause (2) of subsection (i) of said section 110 of said chapter 5 or any successor law; provided further, that a $40 per month rental allowance shall be paid to all households incurring a rent or mortgage expense and not residing in public or subsidized housing; provided further, that a nonrecurring children's clothing allowance of $200 shall be provided to each child eligible under this program in September 2015; provided further, that the children's clothing allowance shall be included in the standard of need for the month of September 2015; provided further, that benefits under this program shall not be available to those families in which a child has been removed from the household under a court order after a care and protection hearing under chapter 119 of the General Laws, or to adult recipients otherwise eligible for transitional aid to families with dependent children but for the temporary removal of the dependent child or children from the home by the department of children and families under department procedures; provided further, that notwithstanding section 2 of chapter 118 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall render aid to pregnant women with no other eligible dependent children only if it has been medically verified that the child is expected to be born within the month the payments are to be made or within the 3-month period after the month of payment and who, if the child had been born and was living with such woman in the month of payment, would be categorically and financially eligible for transitional aid to families with dependent children benefits; provided further, that certain families that suffer a reduction in benefits due to a loss of earned income and participation in retrospective budgeting may receive a supplemental benefit to compensate them for the loss; provided further, that the department may, to the extent feasible within the existing appropriation and funding from other sources, review its disability standards to determine the extent to which such standards reflect the current medical and vocational criteria; provided further, that the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities 75 days before any changes to the disability standards are proposed; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be expended by the department for childcare or transportation services for the employment and training program, family reunification benefits or informal childcare; provided further, that the department shall provide oral and written notification to all recipients of their childcare benefits at the time of application and on a semi-annual basis; provided further, that the notification shall include the full range of childcare options available, including center-based childcare, family-based childcare and in-home relative childcare; provided further, that the notification shall detail available childcare benefits for current and former recipients, including employment and training benefits and transitional benefits; provided further, that the notice shall further advise recipients of the availability of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits; provided further, that in promulgating, amending or rescinding its regulations relative to eligibility for, or levels of, benefits under the program, the department shall take into account the amounts available to it for expenditure from this item so as not to exceed this appropriation; provided further, that the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate 75 days before adopting eligibility or benefit changes; and provided further, that the report shall include the text of, basis and reasons for the proposed changes
245,780,652 221,480,089

Veto Explanation:   I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary based on declining caseload.