Rep. Marcus Oshiro wrote a letter to Governor Lingle on June 13, 2008 to complain that Director Lillian Koller, Department of Human Services, crossed the line in her comments on the Mike Buck show, June 9th. He writes:
"Unfortunately, the debate over TANF funding has recently degenerated to the political level...Among other things, Ms. Koller discussed the legislative decision to reduce the TANF appropriation ceiling. She criticized that decision, but also went much further by suggesting that listeners vote for Republican candidates in November 2008 to restore the TANF funds. Her comments were unprofessional and inappropriate while conducting official State business. Moreover, her comments crossed an unspoken line of courtesy adhered to by Democratic legislators as well as your Administration. The line is that Democratic legislators do not use press conferences and interviews on official State business to declare a preference for partisan candidates."
Rep. Oshiro asked Governor Lingle whether she condones Director Koller's comments and is waiting for a reply.
Showing posts with label TANF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TANF. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
TANF funds draw more debate
Kauai Garden Island, Sunday, June 1, 2008
Hawai‘i’s needy families deserve the truth from administration
by Marcus R. Oshiro
In response to Lillian Koller’s commentary on welfare funds (“Undermining social services purely political,” Guest Viewpoint, May 28). What she writes for The Garden Island is appallingly different from what she reported to the Legislature.
First, Koller, the director of the Department of Human Services, states that “the truth is our reserve would not have been depleted in 18 months ...” However, a memo dated April 7, 2008, signed by the director herself, shows a negative $16.1 million balance on June 30, 2010. Maybe the “truth” doesn’t matter to her, but it will to her successor and the hundreds of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families beneficiaries.
Second, Koller states that “we have about four times the amount of money in reserve that we spend on cash assistance each year.” Hawai‘i spends roughly $40 million annually on cash assistance payments to families. So, four times that amount of money would be $160 million. The truth is the reserve balance has never been at that level of funding and in the director’s own report she lists a fund balance of only $66.8 million on June 30, 2007.Again, the facts speak for themselves.
Third, the director continues to live in the “don’t worry, be happy” world of the Lingle-Aiona Administration, claiming that everything is hunky dory and there is no economic downturn. She states, again without any facts, that it is “unlikely” that welfare cases will increase. However, an article in the May 4 edition of USA Today titled “States’ welfare caseloads starting to rise” would seem to indicate that some caution should be exercised.Director Koller recently told me that she does not follow current events, or read the daily papers, but perhaps she should before making misleading public statements.
Fourth, the director advocates that there is “no need to hoard for a rainy day that may or may not come.” By this logic, we should all drive without spare tires in our trunks and deposit no money in our savings accounts. Unfortunately, in the real world things don’t always go as planned and most rational and reasonable folks don’t spend every nickel and dime; they save a little for that proverbial “rainy day.”Government should, too.
On May 29, the Council on Revenues projected that Hawai‘i’s economy will continue to decline, and by next fiscal year, the state will be forced to make even more dramatic cuts. Director Koller criticizes the Legislature for not funding grants-in-aid for 2008, but fails to mention that it’s partially because the administration has not even released the majority of grants for 2007, and more than $5 million will lapse by June 30 if the governor does not take action.
As a former legal aid attorney, I understand the hardships of these families, and I would never propose cuts to intentionally hurt those in need. As such, I find her assertions that these reductions are “uncompassionate, unnecessary, and fiscally unsound” to be ethically wrong, irresponsible and disingenuous. She is merely dodging the inevitable hard decisions, hoping to leave them and the foreseeable crisis for her successor.
I accept responsibility for my actions and acknowledge that there will be impacts because of these hard decisions, but these are necessary if we want to be able to provide these services not just this year, but through the next decade as well.
• Marcus R. Oshiro is the chairman of the House Committee on Finance.
Hawai‘i’s needy families deserve the truth from administration
by Marcus R. Oshiro
In response to Lillian Koller’s commentary on welfare funds (“Undermining social services purely political,” Guest Viewpoint, May 28). What she writes for The Garden Island is appallingly different from what she reported to the Legislature.
First, Koller, the director of the Department of Human Services, states that “the truth is our reserve would not have been depleted in 18 months ...” However, a memo dated April 7, 2008, signed by the director herself, shows a negative $16.1 million balance on June 30, 2010. Maybe the “truth” doesn’t matter to her, but it will to her successor and the hundreds of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families beneficiaries.
Second, Koller states that “we have about four times the amount of money in reserve that we spend on cash assistance each year.” Hawai‘i spends roughly $40 million annually on cash assistance payments to families. So, four times that amount of money would be $160 million. The truth is the reserve balance has never been at that level of funding and in the director’s own report she lists a fund balance of only $66.8 million on June 30, 2007.Again, the facts speak for themselves.
Third, the director continues to live in the “don’t worry, be happy” world of the Lingle-Aiona Administration, claiming that everything is hunky dory and there is no economic downturn. She states, again without any facts, that it is “unlikely” that welfare cases will increase. However, an article in the May 4 edition of USA Today titled “States’ welfare caseloads starting to rise” would seem to indicate that some caution should be exercised.Director Koller recently told me that she does not follow current events, or read the daily papers, but perhaps she should before making misleading public statements.
Fourth, the director advocates that there is “no need to hoard for a rainy day that may or may not come.” By this logic, we should all drive without spare tires in our trunks and deposit no money in our savings accounts. Unfortunately, in the real world things don’t always go as planned and most rational and reasonable folks don’t spend every nickel and dime; they save a little for that proverbial “rainy day.”Government should, too.
On May 29, the Council on Revenues projected that Hawai‘i’s economy will continue to decline, and by next fiscal year, the state will be forced to make even more dramatic cuts. Director Koller criticizes the Legislature for not funding grants-in-aid for 2008, but fails to mention that it’s partially because the administration has not even released the majority of grants for 2007, and more than $5 million will lapse by June 30 if the governor does not take action.
As a former legal aid attorney, I understand the hardships of these families, and I would never propose cuts to intentionally hurt those in need. As such, I find her assertions that these reductions are “uncompassionate, unnecessary, and fiscally unsound” to be ethically wrong, irresponsible and disingenuous. She is merely dodging the inevitable hard decisions, hoping to leave them and the foreseeable crisis for her successor.
I accept responsibility for my actions and acknowledge that there will be impacts because of these hard decisions, but these are necessary if we want to be able to provide these services not just this year, but through the next decade as well.
• Marcus R. Oshiro is the chairman of the House Committee on Finance.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Rep. Marcus Oshiro Takes Issue with Director Koller on TANF Spending
There is an on-going debate between the legislature and the administration on spending Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Lillian Koller, the Director of Human Services, wants to spend down the reserve in order to service beneficiaries and programs. She wrote an op-ed for The Advertiser on May 22nd - view it here.
The Finance Chair, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, disagrees with that strategy. He believes Koller's policy to spend down the TANF reserve fund is irresponsible and leaves welfare families without a safety net by the year 2010. (At which point, the current administration will be out of office and a new administration will have to deal with any fallout.)
Here are the major discrepancies from the legislature's perspective:
Koller says: "In attempting to justify their misguided actions, the Senate and House budget committee chairs — Sen. Rosalyn Baker and Rep. Marcus Oshiro — claimed they had to impose severe spending cuts or the TANF reserve would be depleted in a year and a half.
This is simply untrue."
Oshiro says: A memo dated April 7, 2008, signed by Koller herself, shows a negative $16.1 million balance on June 30, 2010. Here is Oshiro's request to the department. Koller's response is here. (Negative balance is on page 4 spreadsheet.)
Koller says: "Every October we receive an infusion of nearly $99 million for our annual TANF block grant."
Oshiro says: Director Koller fails to mention that she was proposing to spend $137.6 million every year, or $38 million more than what the state receives.
Koller says: "The truth is welfare cases are dropping every year — regardless of economic conditions — as needy parents transition from welfare to employment or exhaust their five years of TANF eligibility."
Oshiro says: According to recent data, welfare cases across the nation are starting to rise. Here's a link to a May 5th USA Today articles which reports: "State welfare rolls, which declined for more than a decade after a 1996 overhaul of the nation's cash-assistance program, are beginning to rise, due in part to the struggling economy."
Koller says: "Compounding this problem, the Legislature denied more than $46 million in grant-in-aid requests from nearly 140 nonprofit groups."
Oshiro says: "When we saw how many millions had not been released from LAST YEAR, it was difficult to justify spending more money that would probably just sit there and not be released either. The Lingle/Aiona administration is hypocritical to say that we don't care about the needy. Just look at all the money that they are holding up, and you have to ask for what purpose? How does this serve the poor, the sick and the needy of our state? The money is there, we have accounted for it in the budget, and it just needs to be released."
For more information, here a link to the department's TANF financial plan.
The Finance Chair, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, disagrees with that strategy. He believes Koller's policy to spend down the TANF reserve fund is irresponsible and leaves welfare families without a safety net by the year 2010. (At which point, the current administration will be out of office and a new administration will have to deal with any fallout.)
Here are the major discrepancies from the legislature's perspective:
Koller says: "In attempting to justify their misguided actions, the Senate and House budget committee chairs — Sen. Rosalyn Baker and Rep. Marcus Oshiro — claimed they had to impose severe spending cuts or the TANF reserve would be depleted in a year and a half.
This is simply untrue."
Oshiro says: A memo dated April 7, 2008, signed by Koller herself, shows a negative $16.1 million balance on June 30, 2010. Here is Oshiro's request to the department. Koller's response is here. (Negative balance is on page 4 spreadsheet.)
Koller says: "Every October we receive an infusion of nearly $99 million for our annual TANF block grant."
Oshiro says: Director Koller fails to mention that she was proposing to spend $137.6 million every year, or $38 million more than what the state receives.
Koller says: "The truth is welfare cases are dropping every year — regardless of economic conditions — as needy parents transition from welfare to employment or exhaust their five years of TANF eligibility."
Oshiro says: According to recent data, welfare cases across the nation are starting to rise. Here's a link to a May 5th USA Today articles which reports: "State welfare rolls, which declined for more than a decade after a 1996 overhaul of the nation's cash-assistance program, are beginning to rise, due in part to the struggling economy."
Koller says: "Compounding this problem, the Legislature denied more than $46 million in grant-in-aid requests from nearly 140 nonprofit groups."
Oshiro says: "When we saw how many millions had not been released from LAST YEAR, it was difficult to justify spending more money that would probably just sit there and not be released either. The Lingle/Aiona administration is hypocritical to say that we don't care about the needy. Just look at all the money that they are holding up, and you have to ask for what purpose? How does this serve the poor, the sick and the needy of our state? The money is there, we have accounted for it in the budget, and it just needs to be released."
For more information, here a link to the department's TANF financial plan.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
About last night...
In addition to closing out the operating side of the budget bill, HB 2500, the chairs addressed two issues that have been in dispute and will have a critical impact on segments of our community. One is the funding levels for Hawaii's charter schools, and the other is the reserve levels for TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Charter Schools: Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro explained to conference members that the legislature will provide an additional $1.6 million for the charter schools. He realized that it is less than they wanted, but given the lack of financial resources this year, most state agencies will be taking a cut in their budgets by comparison.
In mid-December of 2007, Governor Lingle and her staff performed the initial calculation for the Charter Schools budget. In fiscal year 2008, Charter Schools received $51.6 million. While Charter Schools came in for an increase of $19 million, the administration reduced the amount to $4.5 million. Still, Charter Schools would be getting more money than last year, while many other state programs will be forced to cut their budgets.
Rep. Oshiro took care to emphasize that this is a one-time-only expenditure and that it should not be added to the baseline budget of the charter schools. In addition, he made it clear that the Governor and her administration gave no indication that they supported the charter schools' budget increase request. In fact, the two chairs asked the charter schools to have the Governor send down a Governor's Message to restore a larger increase, and that message never came.
Further, it was troubling that the charter schools voted to approve a new school just last month. The new school will add 250 students to the system at a time when financial resources are not available. Oshiro questioned the management decision.
TANF: The Advertiser has a story outlining the TANF restrictions here. Here are some additional comments.
The administration receives $98 million per year from the federal government for TANF, but they have been spending $138 million per year resulting in a $40 million deficit which is taken from the reserve. As stated in the Advertiser story, the administration would like to spend the reserve down to zero. The Legislature is concerned that a)the reserve level will deplete rapidly and b)we are going into a recession which will result in even more people dependent on welfare funds.
How much should states keep in reserve? According to Jack Tweedie, the Director of the Children and Families Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures, who responded to an inquiry by House Finance staff:
Therefore, the money committees decided to keep $44 million in reserve, and drop the annual level of funding from $138 million to $116, or a restriction of $22 million.
It has been 12 years since former President Clinton and the U.S. Congress ended the traditional "welfare" programs and started the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as a way to help people get out of poverty. Tweedie goes on to say that,
Charter Schools: Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro explained to conference members that the legislature will provide an additional $1.6 million for the charter schools. He realized that it is less than they wanted, but given the lack of financial resources this year, most state agencies will be taking a cut in their budgets by comparison.
In mid-December of 2007, Governor Lingle and her staff performed the initial calculation for the Charter Schools budget. In fiscal year 2008, Charter Schools received $51.6 million. While Charter Schools came in for an increase of $19 million, the administration reduced the amount to $4.5 million. Still, Charter Schools would be getting more money than last year, while many other state programs will be forced to cut their budgets.
Rep. Oshiro took care to emphasize that this is a one-time-only expenditure and that it should not be added to the baseline budget of the charter schools. In addition, he made it clear that the Governor and her administration gave no indication that they supported the charter schools' budget increase request. In fact, the two chairs asked the charter schools to have the Governor send down a Governor's Message to restore a larger increase, and that message never came.
Further, it was troubling that the charter schools voted to approve a new school just last month. The new school will add 250 students to the system at a time when financial resources are not available. Oshiro questioned the management decision.
TANF: The Advertiser has a story outlining the TANF restrictions here. Here are some additional comments.
The administration receives $98 million per year from the federal government for TANF, but they have been spending $138 million per year resulting in a $40 million deficit which is taken from the reserve. As stated in the Advertiser story, the administration would like to spend the reserve down to zero. The Legislature is concerned that a)the reserve level will deplete rapidly and b)we are going into a recession which will result in even more people dependent on welfare funds.
How much should states keep in reserve? According to Jack Tweedie, the Director of the Children and Families Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures, who responded to an inquiry by House Finance staff:
"There is no federal or generally accepted standard as to how much of their TANF block grant states should keep in reserve for potential increases in cash assistance caseloads. NCSL did an analysis of changes in state's TANF caseloads and concluded that most states would be able to cover increased costs of cash assistance for two years out of TANF reserve fund if they kept 50% of the most recent year's basic assistance spending (which includes, but is not limited to, cash assistance spending) in reserve.
We recommend being able to cover the costs of increased cash assistance out of a TANF reserve fund (rather than increased state spending or cuts in other uses of state or federal funds), because increases in cash assistance caseloads virtually always come in bad economic times when spending in other state assistance programs (especially Medicaid) are also increasing and state revenues are going down."
Therefore, the money committees decided to keep $44 million in reserve, and drop the annual level of funding from $138 million to $116, or a restriction of $22 million.
It has been 12 years since former President Clinton and the U.S. Congress ended the traditional "welfare" programs and started the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as a way to help people get out of poverty. Tweedie goes on to say that,
"Nothing that I have seen suggests that Hawaii has developed a strategy for using TANF funds in ways to reduce poverty or help move families toward self-sufficiency. Spending on youth programs does not contribute directly to reducing poverty....As your Auditor pointed out a few years ago, there does not seem to be much of a strategy in the funding of youth programs. Hawaii has also not tracked the families leaving TANF effectively, so you do not know how well they are doing or what has worked in your efforts to move them into jobs and off welfare."
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