04 ANNUAL REPORT 2 - Alabama Department of Human Resources

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accounts of eligible storm victims in accordance withfederal regulations.As the fiscal year drew to a close, DHR was seekingfederal authorization for a disaster food stamp program,which would help families who normally would notqualify. This would help families in need of food assistancebecause of hurricane-related losses of incomeand other financial resources.The DHR State Board presented awards to county departmentsof Human Resources and to individual state and countyemployees, in recognition of exemplary performance duringHurricane Ivan. Recipients included:Baldwin County: Wanda Peavy, Administrative Assistant II; and theBaldwin County DHR.Clarke County: Mary Andrews, Financial Support Supervisor; andthe Clarke County DHR staff.Conecuh County DHR staff.Covington County: Cathy Leverington, Director; and theCovington County DHR.Escambia County: Melinda Robinson, Luella Jackson, Diane Museand the Escambia County DHR.Mobile County: Donna Martin and the Mobile County DHR.Monroe County: Janie Stallworth, Administrative Assistant I; andthe Monroe County DHR.Charles Johnson - Program Administrator, Office of EmergencyWelfare Services and Employee Safety.Joyce O’Neal and her staff - The DHR State Board also recognizedFood Assistance Division Director Joyce O’Neal and her stafffor providing expertise and leadership in planning and coordinatingrelief efforts with the USDA, and with state and local governments.FAMILY ASSISTANCEThe number of families receiving TemporaryAssistance for Needy Families (TANF) did not increasesignificantly in FY 2004. A monthly average of 19,266families received welfare payments, compared to amonthly average of 19,069 the previous year. Evenwith the slight increase over the past few years, thepublic assistance rolls are still much lower than theywere before passage of the federal welfare reform lawof 1996. The Personal Responsibility and WorkOpportunity Reconciliation Act (Public Law 104-193)made sweeping changes in the nation’s welfare system.The historic legislation imposed a time limit forreceiving welfare benefits, and replaced AFDC (Aid to8The number of welfare families inAlabama has decreased significantlyin the past eight years.State receives $5.56 million bonusfrom federal Department of Healthand Human Services foroutstanding performance.Families with Dependent Children) with the TANF(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) BlockGrant. States were given more flexibility in administeringtheir public assistance programs, and were ableto fund job training and support services as lessmoney was required for the declining caseload.With administrative flexibility and the support of businessesand other community partners, DHR has beensuccessful in moving recipients from the welfare rollsto jobs. In August 1996 when the welfare reform lawwas signed, almost 41,000 families were receivingmonthly welfare payments in Alabama. Eight yearslater, in August 2004, there were approximately19,000 welfare families in the state.A successful partnershipThe state received a $5.56 million bonus from the federalDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS)for outstanding performance in moving recipientsfrom welfare to work and self-sufficiency. The awardwas based, in part, on Alabama’s high ranking in the“Success in the Workforce” category in which currentand former recipients in the state had the eighthbiggest increase in earnings from one year to the next.The state was ranked number one in having thebiggest increase in food stamp participation amongeligible low-income working families with children.The agency worked with faith-based organizations andother agencies to plan and conduct a statewide fatherhoodconference that was held in June 2004. Thedepartment continued the Alabama FatherhoodInitiative, which helps fathers obtain better jobs andincrease their earnings. With higher wages, they arebetter able to support their children.For several years, a steady decline in the number ofAlabama welfare families, coupled with some flexibilityin federal law, meant that TANF money could beused to meet other needs. Federal law permits statesto transfer some TANF funds to the Social Services
Block Grant (Title XX), and to child care assistance.The transfer to the Social Services Block Grant helpedfund child welfare services associated with the R.C.Consent Decree. The child care transfer helps to providesubsidized child care to low-income working families.An increase in the number of TANF families anda December 2002 increase in welfare benefits reducedthe amount of money available for subsidized childcare.ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICESThe Department of Human Resources is responsiblefor protecting disabled adults and the elderly fromabuse, neglect and exploitation. This responsibility isoften overshadowed by focus on the agency’s effortsto prevent and remedy the abuse and neglect of children.Unlike children, whose interaction with others providesan opportunity for possible abuse or neglect tobe detected, disabled adults and the elderly are oftenisolated. It is this isolation that makes them primetargets for abuse, neglect and exploitation, and it isnot unusual for the perpetrator to be a relative.In FY 2004, statewide, DHR investigated 4,739 reportsof adult abuse and neglect, up slightly from the 4,691reports investigated in FY 2003. The agency reliesupon its public and private sector community partnersto protect vulnerable adults. In FY 2004, DHR workedwith the state Attorney General’s Family ProtectionUnit, the state Department of Senior Services and theAmerican Association of Retired Persons (AARP) inconducting interdisciplinary seminars on elder abuse.Seven regional meetings were held during the year.The agency allocated available funding to countydepartments of Human Resources for homemakerservices and day care for adults. Minimum staffinglevels were established for Adult Protective Services(APS), assuring that core resources were reassignedto ensure that each county APS program has a fieldconsultant, and on-site training was provided forcounty APS workers. The department initiated ananalysis of services that DHR and the stateDepartment of Senior Services provide to the elderly.CHILD DAY CAREA monthly average of 29,986 children received subsidizedcare through the Department of HumanResources in Fiscal Year 2004. The year before, themonthly average was 38,351 children.A monthly average of 29,986 childrenreceived subsidized care throughDHR in Fiscal Year 2004.Total spending for day care slots was approximately$85.6 million in FY 2004, compared to $108 millionduring the previous year. In recent years, fewer familieson welfare meant more money was available fortransfer from the TANF Block Grant. Growing welfarerolls meant less money could be transferred to childcare. The ongoing funding of a December 2002 TANFbenefit increase was another factor in the decreasedchild care spending.The department saved tax dollars when it reduced thenumber of regions served by child care management(CMAs) agencies from 12 to 9, in FY 2004. The CMAshandle child care subsidy eligibility and case management,under a contract with DHR. The administrativesavings were used to help provide subsidized childcare for low-income families.In September 2004, DHR reduced the child/staffratios for licensed day care centers. The ratioreductions were implemented to improve child safety.The child/staff ratios and other changes were recommendedby a committee that included child careadvocates and day care providers.PROGRAM INTEGRITYThe Department of Human Resources is firmly committedto being a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollarsthat are entrusted to the agency each year. Thisincludes recouping benefit overpayments, whetherthey resulted from intentional fraud, a misunderstandingof program regulations or from an administrativeerror. The agency recovered a total of $2.2 million infood stamp and TANF (Temporary Assistance forNeedy Families) benefit overpayments in Fiscal Year2004. Approximately $800,000 of the total was recoveredthrough wage garnishments and by interceptingfederal and state income tax refunds.2004An interagency agreement between DHR and the stateAttorney General’s Welfare Fraud Unit produced 96criminal convictions in FY 2004. Under the agreement,9
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04 ANNUAL REPORT 2 - Alabama Department of Human Resources

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